For more than 20 years, STI has worked with university and government researchers to evaluate how air pollution affects lung function, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease, birth outcomes, and other health outcomes in both children and adults.  As a small sampling of the many findings these studies have generated, STI scientists, together with our collaborators, have shown that:

• Pregnant women who resided within approximately 300 m of a freeway either during their last trimester of pregnancy, or at the time they delivered, gave birth to children who were at twice the average risk of being autistic. 
• Children who lived within 500 m of a freeway from ages 10 to 18 experienced substantial deficits in lung function development compared to similarly aged children who lived at least 1500 m from a freeway. 
• Living near a freeway is a strong predictor of traffic-related pollution (TRP).  Compared with living at least 1500 m from a freeway, living within 250 m of a freeway was associated with up to a 41% increase in TRP in a large urban area, and up to a 75% increase in small urban areas.  Thus, traffic strongly affects local air quality in large and small urban areas.

More extensive illustrations of related work are available from our Southern California Children’s Health Study (CHS) information page.  Our work with the CHS has shown that pollution exposure at an early age impedes lung development and can lead to lifetime health risks.  Many of these studies have examined exposure and health impacts related to near-road air pollution problems. 

Illustrations of near-road and traffic-related health and air quality impacts:

• Residential Proximity to Freeways and Autism in the CHARGE Study
• Effect of Exposure to Traffic on Lung Development from 10 to 18 Years of Age:  A Cohort Study
• Traffic, Susceptibility, and Childhood Asthma
• Predictors of Intra-Community Variation in Air Quality

Illustrations of GIS-derived traffic density metrics and associated health effects:

• Prospective Analysis of Traffic Exposure as a Risk Factor for Incident Coronary Heart Disease:  The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study
• Exposure to Traffic:  Lung Function and Health Status in Adults with Asthma

Illustration of near-road NO₂ measurements and explanatory factors:

• Childhood Asthma and Exposure to Traffic and Nitrogen Dioxide

Illustrations of port-related traffic and air quality impacts:

• Exposure of PM_2.5 and EC from Diesel and Gasoline Vehicles in Communities Near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California
• Mitigating Diesel Truck Impacts in Environmental Justice Communities:  Transportation Planning and Air Quality in Barrio Logan, San Diego, California

Illustration of near-road CALINE4 dispersion modeling analysis:

• Childhood Incident Asthma and Traffic-Related Air Pollution at Home and School

Illustration of near-road air pollution mitigation:

• Filtration Effectiveness of HVAC Systems at Near-Roadway Schools