In the South Bronx, school kids have unusually high rates of asthma. Thanks to a five-year study, we now know it's because diesel trucks spew a lot of soot into the air. The study found that kids had worse asthma on high-traffic days, which is bad news for kids who live in one of the busiest area of New York City. Around 12,000 trucks a day drive through Hunts Point Market alone, the study's authors want us to know. One of the study's principal researchers, George Thurston, Sc.D., who is associate professor of environmental medicine at NYU School of Medicine, said, "we went in and actually measured personal exposures to traffic pollution, which had not been done before. Our results confirm that diesel soot particles in air pollution are causing exacerbations of asthma in children."
So, New York, what are you going to do with this information? There are lots of clean diesel options out there. There's no excuse not to use them, and ULSD is just the beginning. [Source: New York University of Medical School via autobloggreen.com]
