Katie Beck
According to research involving traffic emissions, the University at Buffalo found that residents who live nearby the U.S- Canada border are more susceptible to asthma due to border travel.
The most recent UB study shows that residents of neighborhoods within one-third of a mile of the Peace Bridge are four times more likely to suffer from asthma than people who live further away, due to the traffic.
"Transportation decisions need to include health considerations," said Jamson Lwebuga-Mukasa, M.D., associate professor of medicine in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Lwebuga-Makasa is also the director of UB’s Center for Asthma and Environmental Exposure.
The possibility of expanding the Peace Bridge has been discussed for the past couple of years and most people fear and increase in asthma related problems for people in the West Side community.
Ralph Hernandez, board of education member for the West District, expressed his
concern: “The most severe problem we have in the West side is asthma related symptoms by a majority of the population.”
According to the UB study, citizens who reside near Niagara Street, and Interstate 190, which connect to the Peace Bridge, carry truck traffic. Truck traffic creates diesel emission, increasing the odds of residents suffering from asthma.
After gathering information between 1996 and 2000 from Millard Fillmore
Hospital, UB researchers found that:
*3,700 patients who came to the hospital on an in-patient or out-patient basis because of asthma, which was thought to be related to air pollution in the West Side
* However, the study does not take into account other possible factors for the prevalence of asthma, such as exposure to indoor pollutants, age of housing and occupational exposures the researchers added.
Lwebuga-Mukasa feels that if the research community can find ways to alleviate truck-related pollutants, it will benefit not only the West Side but also help other communities struggling with the same problems. The UB researchers are looking on working with scientists from Columbia University and the Harvard School of Public Health in an effort to find ways to change this issue.
Contact Katie Beck at beckka87@mail.buffalostate.edu
|
Picture courtesy of 