A Breath of Air: What Pollution is Doing to Our Children

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"A Breath of Air: What Pollution is Doing to Our Children"

Co-produced by the USC/UCLA Children's Center and the California Air Resources Board, 2002

Length: 6:49

File: Windows Media File
(57.4 MB, 640x480, 6:49)

This segment presents information about how the Children's Health Study is conducted. The scientists chose to study children and teens in 12 communities in a 200-mile radius of downtown Los Angeles. The most polluted are located just east of L.A. Members of the study team visit each school, where each child has an annual lung function test (demonstrated in this segment) which shows how fast their lungs are growing. The researchers also wanted to see how air pollution might be related to how often a child stays home from school. Researcher James Gauderman says these pollutants may be setting up chronic inflammation of the lungs, restructuring the lung tissue and impairing the child's lung capacity. The study has found that children who grow up in the areas with the highest levels of air pollution are at risk for decreased lung function, more frequent respiratory illness, increased school absences and developing asthma.

Available by free download or DVD from http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/health/school/chs-vpform.htm

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A Breath of Air: What Pollution is Doing to Our Children

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