User:Sersalsastark/Pollution in California

Health Effects
Studies have proven there are several negative health outcomes associated with breathing polluted air. Studies have found that some pollutants have damaging effects on humans, especially during pregnancy. More specifically, results from several epidemiological studies suggest that exposure of pregnant women to air pollution results in higher risks of low birth weight in term-born infants. The California Birth Defects Monitoring program measured the amount of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter <10 μm in aerodynamic diameter and found that continued exposure to carbon monoxide led to increased cardiac ventricular septal defects, aortic artery and valve defects, pulmonary artery and valve anomalies, and an increase in conotruncal defects. Studies done on humans exposed to pollutants, one of them being polychlorinated biphenyls, which causes decreased birth size, increased sexual development, and altered levels of hormones related to gland regulation. Long-term exposure to particulate air pollution is associated with mortality from heart disease and stroke. Affected populations can develop a higher risk for lung cancer by breathing polluted air. Many studies examine the effect of children's health. Some of the findings show that children's lung function growth is adversely affected by air pollution, high levels of air pollution is associated with increased number of asthma cases or asthma exacerbations in children, and school absences from acute respiratory illnesses resulted following rises in ozone levels in student communities. Additionally, numerous problems have been found by the CA Department of Health Services in classrooms at several hundred schools throughout California such as inadequate ventilation, poor thermal comfort, high formaldehyde levels, and toxic residues in floor dust.