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State of the Air: 2008
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| Focusing on Children’s Health
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The State of the Air: 2008 report reveals that air pollution is especially dangerous to children because:
• Children’s lungs are still growing. Just like the rest of their bodies, children’s lungs will generally continue to grow long after they are born. The body’s defenses that help adults fight off infections are still developing in young bodies. That means children are less able to filter out air contaminants and pollution.
• Children don’t behave like adults. Kids are outside for longer periods of time than adults and are usually more active when outdoors, which means they inhale more polluted outdoor air than adults typically do
The American Lung Association State of the Air: 2008 report warns that air pollution can:
• Trigger Asthma Attacks. Exposure to particle and ozone pollution worsens asthma in children and adults.
• Increase respiratory infections. Air pollution increases risk of upper and lower respiratory infections.
• Prevent children’s lungs from developing fully. Children who grow up in heavily polluted areas face an increased risk of having underdeveloped lungs that may never recover to their full capacity, which affects how well children will breathe throughout their lives.
• Increase school absences. Studies show that high levels of ozone are linked to increased school absences for children due to respiratory illnesses.
To protect your child’s health, the American Lung Association recommends:
• Be aware of quality of the air your family breathes year-round. Check your daily air-quality levels and air-pollution forecasts. This information is usually available in local radio and TV weather reports, printed in newspapers, and online at www.epa.gov/airnow/.
• Keep an eye on your child's breathing. On high air pollution days if your child has difficulty breathing, coughs regularly, or experiences shortness of breath, call your pediatrician.
• On bad air days, adjust the location and amount of your child’s outdoor activity. Limit the amount of time your child spends outdoors in vigorous play if the air quality is unhealthy, and keep all your children’s outdoor activities as far away as possible from busy roadways and other sources of pollution.
• Encourage your child’s school to reduce school bus emissions. While school buses are a safe way for children to get to school, most buses use heavily polluting diesel engines; newer fuels and engines are cleaner. According to research, children riding in a school bus may be exposed to four times more diesel exhaust than if they were riding in a car. Many school systems are adopting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Campaign to clean up dirty bus emissions. A first step is to prohibit buses from idling next to school buildings to protect students from exhaust fumes.
For more information on how you can protect your family and clean up the air in your community, go to www.lungusa.org.
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