Bay Area Air Sickening and Killing Kids

Richmond, CA (image from Flickr, by bionicteaching)

The wonderfully clear and sunny days the San Francisco Bay Area experienced during January and early February were also “spare the air” days because of the high levels of smog—also typical of Bay Area winters (at least lately). This is because the Bay Area is home to several oil refineries in Richmond and West Contra Costa County, as well as numerous other polluting chemical and industrial facilities along the waterfront throughout the area.

There were 11,000 hospital admissions in 2010 for asthma-related disease in California (according to a recent report by Inside Bay Area), but in Alameda Country (which includes Oakland and Berkeley) the rate was nearly twice the state average (20.3 hospitalizations for every 10,000 children)—higher than any other country except Fresno and Imperial Counties, which suffer from severe agricultural pollution. Particularly hard hit have been Oakland, Emeryville (Alameda Country), and Richmond and Pittsburg (Contra Costa County).

Severe asthma is potentially deadly (though this is rare). However, even for the majority of children who do not die from their attacks, there can be long-term or permanent health effects if not treated and controlled, as well as long-term social consequences, as the illness can cause them to fall behind at school due to their absences.

While there is ample evidence that indoor (e.g., tobacco smoke) and outdoor air pollution exacerbate asthma, what is less well understood is why asthma has been on the rise, now affecting nearly 10% of all U.S. children. Particularly hard hit have been African American children, who have seen a 39% increase in their rate of asthma. One hypothesis is that poverty in a contributing factor, since poor people are more likely to live in areas with high levels of air pollution and in substandard housing that is prone to mold—both of which are known to aggravate asthma.

80-90% of the childhood hospitalizations for asthma can be prevented with proper therapy and intervention, according to Dr. Ted Chaconas, who was quoted in the Inside Bay Area article. However, this often does not happen in poor communities, where children may lack health insurance or easy access to medical care, while also being exposed to higher levels of environmental pollutants.

Considering that many of the pollutants that contribute to asthma come from sources that are also spewing high levels of carbon into the atmosphere, the most rational approach to reducing the incidence and severity of asthma is to reduce or abolish as many of these factories as possible. This would not only reduce the number of missed school days, hospitalizations and costs of treatment, but it would help reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and, hopefully, help reverse global warming, which is already responsible for thousands of deaths worldwide due to extreme weather, crop failure, flooding and infiltration of fresh water supplies and the increased spread of infectious disease. Furthermore, particulate air pollution itself is deadly. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is responsible for 1 million preventable deaths each year.

Lead Lurks in Lunch Boxes

Pollution and Activism (by Toban Black)

The Environmental Law foundation (ELF) in Oakland plans to file suit today over lead contamination in dozens of brands of bottled juice, packaged fruit and baby food, according to a report today on the California Report. The foods are commonly fed to children, sent to school with them in their lunchboxes or sold in cafeterias. Children are particularly susceptible to the effects of lead and other toxins because of their smaller bodies and rapidly growing bodies and brains.

Jim Wheaton, President of ELF, said that their tests indicated that dozens of major companies are violating the state’s Prop 65 by selling products containing lead without providing the required warning labels. One reason for this may be that there is no safe level of lead. Therefore, a warning label would likely result in a dramatic drop in sales, which is certainly what should happen.

Lead poisoning can cause cognitive impairment and lead to learning disabilities. Poor children are particularly vulnerable, as they are more likely to have additional environmental exposures from lead based paint, pipes and pollutants that are less common in affluent homes and communities.

While the lead in processed fruit should be of concern to parents, the report is not really news. Our environment is full of dangerous contaminants, some of which are mandated by law. For example, furniture and bedding in California and many other states were required to contain flame retardants which are toxic to humans. A recent study found the children in California have seven times the level of PBDEs in their blood than their counterparts in Mexico.

There are also other sources of food-borne contamination besides the lead found in processed fruits. Canned fruits, juices, tomatoes and beans are all lined with coatings that contain bisphenol A. Fish, particularly large predators like tuna, halibut, shark, spearfish, typically have high levels of mercury that have entered the food chain primarily as pollution from coal plants. Fruits and vegetables that are not produced organically are often sprayed with pesticides and grown in fertilizers that are toxic. Some of these are known human hormone disrupters or mimics and are thought to contribute to decreased sperm count, gynecomastia and premature puberty.

The fact is that there are hundreds of known carcinogens, neurotoxins and hormone disrupters that are commonly used in food production and commercial products and thousands more chemicals that are commonly used by industry that are unregulated and not thoroughly tested. Many of these chemicals make their way into our bodies through our food, air and water. Children take them in through breast milk. They accrue in dust. Pollutants like cigarette smoke can adsorb to our walls and react with chemicals in the air, producing even deadlier toxins that can desorb from the walls and enter people’s bloodstreams.

Concerned parents can probably reduce the toxic load by avoiding packaged processed foods and purchasing more organically produced products. However, people also need to consider the types of cosmetics and toiletries they consume, the types of packaging their goods come in, their electronic devices, indoor ventilation, flooring, siding, driving habits and numerous other lifestyle decisions.