Toxic diesel fumes result in severe health risks
The major cause of air pollution is exhaust from vehicles, especially the particulate matter (PM) from diesel engines. Unlike many toxic substances, there is no safe level of PM concentration and no means of mitigation except to remove the source.
There are 12 thousand people living within a 300 metre zone of influence of toxic air in the proposed Kettle Island Corridor. The Montfort Hospital, Montfort Long Term Care Facility, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel School are directly adjacent to The Aviation Parkway. Despite the very obvious evidence to the contrary the consultants for the bridge study have determined that the air quality impact on the Kettle Island Corridor is ZERO.
The following is a list of key conclusions of other studies around air pollution and health effects near high traffic-areas.
- Air pollution from busy roads linked to shorter life spans for nearby residents
- Truck traffic linked to childhood asthma hospitalization
- Pregnant women who live near high traffic areas more likely to have premature and low birth weight babies
- Traffic-related air pollution associated with respiratory symptoms in two year old children
- People who live near freeways exposed to 25 times more particle pollution
- Asthma more common for children living near freeways.
- Children living near busy roads more likely to develop cancer (particularly high risk for leukemia)
- Most traffic related deaths are due to air pollution, not traffic accidents,
- Emissions from motor vehicles dominate cancer risk
- Cancer risk higher near major sources of air pollution, including highways
- A school’s proximity to freeways associated with asthma prevalence
- Lung function reduction among children more likely if living near truck traffic
- Asthma symptoms caused by truck exhaust
- Exposure to carcinogenic benzene (associated with aplastic anemia and leukemia) higher for children living near high traffic areas
For more information on these studies see http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et0603/et0603s21.html
You are also encouraged to refer to a study from the 13th Annual University of California Transportation Research Conference February 16, 2007, which looks at the negative impacts of trucks in communities: http://www.its.ucla.edu/uctc/PowerPoints/Houston_UCLA.pdf
A further study has shown that babies’ DNA can be damaged even before they are born if their mothers breathe polluted air during pregnancy. This type of damage to the chromosomes makes people more susceptible to cancer. For more information see http://ecomall.com/greenshopping/babyair.htm
Send your concerns to info@ncrcrossings.ca
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