Cleaner Air, Bigger Lungs

Abstract

In the latter half of the 20th century, Los Angeles had, by many measures, higher levels of photochemical air pollutants than any other major city in the United States (Figure 1). To address this problem, the California Air Resources Board and its partners became leaders in quantifying the health effects of air pollutants and in aggressively implementing pollution-control strategies. Even with these actions, air-pollution levels remained high. In 1993, “Health Advisories” were issued on 92 days.1 In that year, the prospective Children's Health Study was launched to examine the effects of air pollution on lung growth in children. Fourth-grade children . . .