Cancer linked to auto traffic
By DANIELE HAMAMDJIAN Special to the Daily Press
INTERSTATE 10 — Traffic in Los Angeles may have become more harmful than health officials had anticipated.
That’s according to a report released by local health experts and the Sierra Club, which links air pollution from traffic congestion to an increase in asthma, heart attacks and cancer cases.
“The famous Santa Monica Freeway carries hundreds of thousands of vehicles... this becomes a cancer corridor,” said Brett Hulsey, a Sierra Club spokesman, on Wednesday.
More than half of all Americans — or 137 million, according to the Environmental Protection Agency — live in places where the air is unhealthy to breathe. The report summarizes 27 peer-reviewed, scientific studies that document health hazards caused by pollution from busy roadways, such as the Ventura and Long Beach freeways. Health experts are asking local officials to seek rail transit solutions to accommodate the state’s growth.
Hulsey said he hoped the report will make a difference with politicians because of all the scientific research involved in the study.
“Hopefully, the Bush administration will take this seriously,” Hulsey said.
“Hopefully, the Bush administration will take this seriously.” — – BRETT HULSEY Sierra Club spokesman
The administration plans to cut federal funding by 30 percent for cleaner transportation choices, such as train and buses, according to the report. The group has called on the administration to study and reduce health risks from existing and future highway expansion on nearby neighborhoods, schools and children.
“Cars are getting cleaner but the problem is that there are more of them,” Hulsey said. Part of the solution calls for the installation of clean air monitors between neighborhoods and freeways, he added. There are 35 air monitoring stations in Los Angeles County and nearby areas, according to city officials. The closest air monitoring station to Santa Monica is located north of LAX.
“Southern California especially has really taken the lead in dealing with these issues,” Hulsey said, adding cleaner buses and more accessible trains are a few of the initiatives taken by the state. In Santa Monica, many of the Big Blue Bus buses are powered with natural gas. State and local officials are pushing for a multi-million light rail system to run from Los Angeles to Santa Monica.
The report also highlights the case of Marie Malahai, a San Pedro resident and former champion skier. She and her 8-year-old son, Matan, live near the truck-choked Harbor Freeway, and both suffer from chronic bronchitis and acute asthma. Her son often requires hospitalization.
“Thousands of people in Southern California are suffering from traffic-related health effects,” Malahai said in the report. “This is an issue that needs attention, both for health reasons and the economic impact on families and insurers.”
According to a study conducted by Dr. Howard Wachtel from the University of Colorado, research shows that children living near highways are eight times more likely to develop leukemia and six times more likely to develop all types of cancer.
“Our studies suggest that children who live near busy roads are more likely to get leukemia and other forms of cancer,” said Convincing Southern Californians to get out of their cars and opt for public transportation will most likely be a gargantuan task for state officials. However, results in other cities have been promising.
In a study done by the American Medical Association, making public transportation more accessible, along with other traffic control measures during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics reduced acute asthma attacks by up to 44 percent in children, ozone concentration by 28 percent, and morning peak traffic by 22.5 percent, according to the study. The association also links soot of fine particulate matter to lung cancer, cardiopulmonary disease and other causes of death.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 29, 2004. Read the original PDF.