Health Risks (Near Highways)

Living Near Highways May Be Especially Dangerous
Being in heavy traffic, or living near a road may be even more dangerous than being in other places in a community. Several studies have found that the vehicle emissions coming directly from those highways may be higher than in the community as a whole, increasing the risk of harm to people who live or work near busy roads.

Children and teenagers are among the most vulnerable—though not the only ones at risk. A new European study found infants and young children exposed to air pollution from traffic faced a greater risk of wheezing.95 In Southern California, a 2007 study found that air pollution may limit the capacity of the lungs in ten- to eighteen-year-olds who live within about one-third of a mile of a freeway. Changes such as that can reduce their capacity to breathe for the rest of their lives and increase their risk of developing serious lung diseases. Other recent research found that children who live near freeways had a higher risk of being diagnosed with asthma.96, 97 However, children are not the only ones at risk. Studies have found increased risk of premature death from living near a major highway or an urban road.98 Another study found an increase in risk of heart attacks from being in traffic, whether driving or taking public transportation.99

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