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New Policy Statement from
American Academy of Pediatrics
December 6, 2004
CHICAGO - Children are more vulnerable than adults to the adverse
effects of
air pollution for several reasons. First, children have increased
exposure
to many air pollutants because they spend more time outside, have higher
breathing rates and higher levels of physical activity compared with
adults.
In addition, the human lung continues to develop through adolescence,
and
exposure to harmful air pollutants during childhood has an important
impact
on lung development.
In a revised policy statement entitled, "Ambient Air Pollution: Health
Hazards to Children" the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises
that
not only can outdoor air pollution exacerbate asthma in some children,
but
recent studies have found that pollution has the potential to negatively
affect lung growth and function, and to increase cases of respiratory
tract
illness, preterm birth and infant mortality. The elderly and adults with
cardiovascular disease are populations also at higher health risk from
air
pollution due to fine particles, such as soot and smoke.
According to the policy statement, exposure to traffic-related
pollution,
such as exhaust emissions from cars and diesel exhaust from trucks and
even
school buses, increases a child's risk of respiratory complications as
well
as lifetime risk of cancer.
The statement indicates that pediatricians play an essential part in
educating local and national representatives, policy makers, children
with
asthma or chronic respiratory tract disease and school sports officials
about the harmful health effects of air pollution, and advocating for
prevention policies at the state and local level.
The Academy also makes the following recommendations in the policy
statement:
* Areas with poor air quality should alert local residents about
potential health hazards.
* Industrial mercury emissions need to be lowered.
* Local and federal government should encourage mass transit and car
pooling.
* Old power plants should be closed or retrofitted if they don't meet
current standards.
* Programs that exempt some passenger vehicles (e.g., SUV's, minivans,
and light-duty trucks) from fuel-economy standards should be eliminated.
* New schools should be built away from "hot spots" of localized
pollution.
The policy adds that pediatricians who serve as physicians for schools
or
for team sports should be aware of the health implications of pollution
alerts to provide appropriate guidance to school and sports officials,
particularly in communities with high ozone levels.
Link to complete policy statement can be found at
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/114/6/1699?maxtos=
Access is open to EPA to obtain full article.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary
care
pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical
specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants,
children, adolescents and young adults.
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