About 17,000 — that’s how many people were ordered to evacuate following a Rockdale County chemical plant fire on Sunday. Hundreds of residents reported symptoms of skin irritation, watery eyes and nausea. And plumes of a smoky chlorine compound mixture still fill the Atlanta-area air.
With many looking for answers on how they can protect their families, the BioLab chemical fire has put air pollution back at the forefront in the Peach State. But Georgia parents should know there’s unrelated pollution in the atmosphere that may be cause for concern, according to a new study.
Can Georgia children breath easy?
U.S. environmental officials consider pollution levels “satisfactory” as long as the air quality index remains below 51. This week, Atlanta hit a high of 67. That placed Georgia’s capital city at “acceptable,” meaning “there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.”
It is not until 151 on the index that an area is considered “unhealthy” for the general public.
However, University of California researchers have now discovered that air pollution levels considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality index are affecting children’s brains, possibly even raising their risks of developing Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s later in life.
Published in the peer-reviewed journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, the scientists analyzed 40 empirical studies of air pollution and brain development outcomes to determine their findings. From gas-burning cars to coal-fueled power plants, everyday pollution adversely affects children’s behavioral, cognitive and motor development. It can also affect their physical health, even leading to low birth weight. But those are just some of the older studies the UC Davis team reviewed.
“In addition, there is accumulating evidence linking air pollution to brain development outcomes in children and adolescents (Herting et al., 2019, Volk et al., 2021, Xie et al., 2023) including indices of brain function (Cotter et al., 2023), structure (Cserbik et al., 2020) and pathological outcomes such as tumors of the central nervous system,” the team’s study review said.
Why is air pollution so dangerous to children?
Air pollution exposure has been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders as well, including autism and ADHD. But why are children so vulnerable to levels of air pollution the EPA considers safe?
“Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, as they have a higher intake of contaminants relative to their body weight compared to adults, spend more time outdoors than adults, and their brains and bodies are still developing,” according to the researchers. “Although more pediatric studies are needed to fully characterize the mechanisms by which air pollution impacts brain development, a number of biological pathways have been implicated thus far.”
Those pathways include children being exposed to pollution in utero through their mother’s inhalation of damaging particulates, the inhalation of pollution after birth and the direct intrusion of ultrafine pollutants into the brain through the nose.
“Autopsy studies also reveal precursors of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases in postmortem brain samples,” they reported.
What can be done to keep children safe?
Corresponding study author and associate professor of psychology Camelia Hostinar told the university that her team observed different brain outcomes in children exposed to higher levels of pollution, but her colleague revealed that many children affected by pollution in the previous studies were well within the EPA’s safe air quality index levels.
“A lot of these studies include children in places with air pollutant levels that are well below limits set by U.S. or European regulations,” study co-first author and UC Davis Ph.D. student Anna Parenteau told the university.
The results prompt the question: What can parents do to keep their children safe from air pollution?
“We listed air purifiers as one of the policy recommendations, and that is something that could be subsidized or provided in schools and other places where children spend a lot of time,” Hostinar said. “These can be quite effective.”
According to UNICEF, the first step in protecting children is to monitor the local air quality. The official “one-stop source for air quality data” in the U.S. is AirNow. By visiting airnow.gov, Americans can search for their city, state or ZIP code’s air quality forecast. An app is also available at airnow.gov/airnow-mobile-app/.
But knowing is only half the battle, and UC Davis’ researchers revealed that the EPA’s index does not necessarily account for how common pollutants affect a child’s brain development. For parents, it’s a tough spot to be in.
“Our report suggests poor air quality is a common issue for families,” Dr. Susan Woolford, U-M Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital pediatrician, told the University of Michigan last year. “Local news and weather reports may help parents gauge their community’s air quality, but many seem unsure about how to protect their child when air quality worsens.”
According to the pediatrician, parents should limit their children’s outdoor activities during days of poor air quality. If they must go outside, the kids should wear KN95 masks.
Windows should be closed during the day and air purifiers can help improve a home’s air quality.
“Being outdoors is generally good for children’s physical and mental health but parents must also consider the risks of exposure to pollution,” Woolford said. “When air quality problems are expected to be temporary, moving activities indoors or planning outdoor events for early in the day when air quality tends to be better may be warranted to prevent high levels of exposure.”
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