Developing policy to address near roadway pollution health hazards (50m Lecture)

Particulate air pollution is estimated to cause about 3.2 million deaths annually worldwide. Field research has shown that pollutants are elevated next to major traffic sources, including ultrafine particles (UFP), black carbon, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and others. Studies also show that proximity to major roadways and highways is associated with risk of cardiovascular, pulmonary and other health outcomes. However, noise, SES and other possible risk factors have not been entirely ruled out yet. While federal regulations exist for fine particulate matter, near roadway exposures are largely unregulated. California has limited siting of new schools next to freeways and San Francisco requires enhanced ventilation in buildings near local pollution sources in some circumstances. But there are currently no well-established approaches to regulating near roadway pollution. Beyond regulation, it might be possible to design urban sites and buildings in ways that would be protective. However, LEED certification provides little incentive to include high end filtration in the ventilation systems of housing located near heavy traffic. Nor do building codes

or zoning requirements to our knowledge, although these vary considerably from place to place. While health impact assessments and environmental impact reviews have the potential to introduce protective measures, they rarely do so with regard to local traffic pollution. One problem is the use of fine PM as a metric for near roadway exposures when this marker is elevated only slightly next to roads. In this session I will review the evidence for a need to address “hot spots” of traffic pollution and the challenges for regulating and responding to it. I will report on the ideas emerging from a project that I direct (funded by the Kresge Foundation) that seeks to influence policy and practice in the Boston area. In the City of Somerville, just north of Boston, we are developing municipal policies that are protective of pollution from the highway running through the city. In Boston Chinatown we are seeking to influence the design and construction of near highway housing to insure that it is protective.