More Traffic, More Health Issues
Closely linked with environmental issues is the impact air pollution has on public health. Air pollution has been implicated in a myriad of health problems, including coughing, wheezing, headaches, aggravation of coronary and respiratory disease, increased incidence of asthma and other respiratory problems 6, and even premature death. 5 Nationwide, increased exposure to air-polluting particulates may result in as much as a 17% increase in mortality rates in the country’s most polluted cities. 5

As we established in the environmental challenges section, the transportation sector — and specifically diesel engines — is a primary contributor to air pollution and particulates linked to serious health problems.

Diesel Linked to Carcinogens
The Health Effects Institute confirms what many studies have demonstrated: there appears to be a link between routine exposure to diesel exhaust and an increased risk of cancer. 7  This degree of risk is comparable to second-hand tobacco smoke. The public should also be made aware that:

• Diesel exhaust produces an easily inhale-able fine soot cited as a carcinogen by the EPA. 4

• Diesel fumes can also cause eye irritation and respiratory problems. 4

• Diesel buses exceed excess exhaust levels considered to be a cancer risk by 23 to 46 times. 2

People at Risk
Air pollution from mobile sources is a major public health threat to everyone, but more so for children, the elderly, asthmatics and bus/truck operators. Perhaps most alarming is the serious effect air pollution has on those most susceptible to it: infants and children.

• Infants and children exposed to toxic air contaminants can experience effects on their developing respiratory, nervous, endocrine and immune systems, as well as an increased risk of cancer later in life. 1

• Children raised in urban areas with heavy air pollution face the prospect of reduced lung capacity, prematurely aged lungs and increased risk of bronchitis and asthma. 9

• Pollution has been shown to reduce lung function in children by an average of 10-15%. 9

Asthma among inner-city children exposed to heavy vehicular traffic has reached epidemic proportions. Specifically, children exposed to diesel particles may be more susceptible to allergies and asthma. 1 Children riding in diesel buses (which account for most school buses) may be exposed to up to four times more toxic diesel exhaust than car passengers 2 and 15 times higher than curbside levels. 8

Also vulnerable to the health effects of air pollution are the elderly and people with chronic coronary or respiratory illnesses. 10 The U.S. EPA also estimates that vehicle operators regularly exposed to diesel exhaust from trucks may have up to 50% greater risk of lung cancer overall.

Cleaning Up
We’ve seen what air pollution does to impair public health. How would cleaner air improve it? The projected health benefits of cleaning up heavy equipment diesel and fuel are profound, and include:

• 9,600 fewer premature deaths
• 16,000 fewer nonfatal heart attacks
• 5,700 fewer cases of chronic bronchitis
• 8,300 fewer hospital admissions
• 300,000 fewer asthma attacks 3

The Cost Beyond Health
Air pollution from mobile sources comes with significant economic as well as health costs. Linked to air pollution, increased medical-related costs, lost productivity, decreased quality of life, increased risk of mortality are costing U.S. cities billions of dollars a year.

What can be done to reduce the economic and health impact from vehicular air pollution? The solution can be found in a balanced use of alternative fuels that promote clean air, and a clean bill of health.

1. Air Pollution and Children’s Health. Cal/EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and The American Lung Association of California. Revised November 2003
2. American Lung Association, State of the Air: 2004
   NRDC and Coalition for Clean Air Study, February 2001
3. American Lung Association, State of the Air: 2004
   EPA. Regulatory Announcement: Public Health and Environmental Benefits of EPA’s Proposed Program for Low-Emission Non-road Diesel Engine and Fuel, April 2003.
4. “Can Diesel Engines Survive Move to Stricter Emissions Standards?” New Study to Explore Impact of Tightening Regulations on Trucks, Buses, and Off-Road Vehicles in Europe, Japan and the U.S., March 3, 2003.
5. Pope, C.A., III, M.J. Thun, M.M. Namboordiri, D.W. Dockery, J.S. Evans, F.E. Speizer, and C.W. Health, Jr., “Particulate Air Pollution as a Predictor of Mortality in a Prospective Study of U.S. Adults,” American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vo. 151, March 1995, pp. 669-674
6. Knox, R.B.; Suphioglu, C; Taylor, P; Desai, R.; Watson, H.C.; Peng, J.L.; Bursill, L.A. (1997) Clinical & Experimental Allergy 27 (3): 246-51, 1997 March.
7. Health Effects Institute, “Diesel Exhaust: Critical Analysis of Emissions, Exposure and Health Effects” November 12, 1999.
8. The New York League of Conservation Voters, 2004 New York City Legislative Agenda
9. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air & Radiation, Office of Planning & Standard Fact Sheet “Health and Environmental Effects of Particulate Matter”, July 17, 1997.
10. Morris, Robert D.M., Elena N. Naumova, and Rajika L. Munasinghe, “Ambient Air Pollution and Hospitalization for Congestive Heart Failure among Elderly People in Seven Large U.S. Cities,” American Journal of Public Health, October, 1995, Vol 85, No. 10, pp 1361-1365.

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