By Crystal Bozek
Staff writer
February 20, 2008 06:33 am A new state health study links the high rates of childhood asthma in this area to traffic, but did not find a connection between the respiratory disease and the gases from local trash incinerators — as previously suspected. The Department of Public Health's Pediatric Asthma study also found that childhood asthma cases in six Merrimack Valley communities are significantly greater compared to other cities and towns across the state. The statistics suggest that children with asthma are significantly more likely to live in close proximity to a higher volume of traffic than children without asthma. The DPH now plans to work with area communities to plan future school and housing developments more than 200 meters — slightly longer than two football fields — away from high traffic areas. The results released yesterday come after years of research by the DPH. "We want to be thinking more about smart growth," said Suzanne Condon, Director of the DPH bureau of environmental health. Condon unveiled the study findings yesterday morning to local officials, including Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan's Health Task Force. Leaders talked about ways they could keep children away from high traffic areas, both now and in the future, to prevent asthma. "You can't move but there are things you can do that would prevent the trigger of an asthma attack," Condon said. The study was started in 1999 to look at what's fueling high childhood asthma rates here, and whether environmental irritants such as trash incinerators and vehicle fumes were partly to blame. The investigators looked at Andover, Lawrence, North Andover, Methuen, Dracut and Haverhill. They found 3,472 cases of asthma in 37,000 students surveyed at both public and private schools. Environmentalists have long wondered whether asthma is linked to the trash incinerators in the area. At its height, the Merrimack Valley had five incinerators within a 4-mile radius. Now, only two remain in operation — one in Haverhill that burns 1,650 tons of trash a day, and one in North Andover that burns about 1,500 tons every day. Incinerators emit gaseous chemicals called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and particulate matter — tiny pieces of grit in dust produced during combustion. Investigators found that incinerators did not appear to be major contributors of these VOCs and particulate matter. They also discovered that the prevalence of asthma was not associated with the VOC air pollution levels from the incinerators. The areas estimated to receive the highest levels of VOC and particulate pollutants were usually the areas with the lowest asthma prevalence, according to the study. The study tracked the health records of the 37,000 school children in the participating communities to determine how many have been diagnosed with asthma and where they live. The addresses of the asthmatic students were plotted on a map to find potential clusters of pediatric asthma cases and their proximity to environmental risk sites. The rates here were compared to asthma in 15 other Massachusetts communities like Chelsea, Somerville and Wakefield. There has been a statewide annual surveillance of asthma since 2003. There is also a movement to reduce emissions from on-road vehicles. The study also showed that asthma was more prevalent in males than in females in the studied areas. The prevalence was also higher in public schools than in private schools. The DPH's Bureau of Environmental Health conducted the study. Investigators say it has its limitations. The study did not factor in mold or second-hand cigarette smoke, which both contribute to asthma. Staff reporter Jill Harmacinski contributed to this story.
What the Department of Public Health asthma study says r Linked childhood asthma rates to high traffic areas r Could not connect high rate of asthma cases with gases from incinerators r Found this area to have more asthma cases than other communities statewide
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