Do “ultrafine particles” from combustion engines harm our health, especially for people living close to highways? Early research is already suggesting the answer is yes. STEP is proud to be participating in a local study of this issue, run by the Tufts Community Research Center. The CAFEH (Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health) study, among the first of its kind in the country, will measure ultrafine pollutants and collect and map heart disease data from residents – in Somerville and in Chinatown. Keep an eye on the CAFEH website.
Boston Globe: “Road hazard? Tufts researchers study health risks highways may pose in neighborhoods”
“Since we see associations with asthma and cardiovascular disease with people living near highways, you have to ask what’s causing that,” said Doug Brugge, director of the Tufts Community Research Center and the scientist leading the study, which will begin this summer. “There is a lot of smoke suggesting that there is a fire.”
If you want to learn a whole lot more about this issue. a good place to start is the EPA Particulate Matter site.
