News flash: pollution is bad. And women living in highly polluted areas
are 76 percent more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke,
according to a rigorous study published in the New England Journal of Medicine
yesterday. “The magnitude of the findings are substantially higher than
what’s been seen in prior research on long-term effects of air
pollution,” says report director Joel Kaufman. Researchers monitored
the health of 65,893 post-menopausal women for up to nine years, as
well as the soot levels near their homes in 36 cities. (Be aware,
ladies in L.A., Atlanta, and NYC; stay where you are, honeys in
Honolulu and Tucson.) “[A]ir pollution isn’t just an environmentalist’s
issue, or a matter of decreased visibility,” says Kaufman. “It’s
impacting our health right now.” Cardiovascular disease is the leading
cause of death in the U.S. The study was financed in part by the U.S.
EPA, which sets the (currently rather lenient) standard for allowable
particulate pollution. Hint, hint.

straight to the source:
The Press-Enterprise, David Danelski, 31 Jan 2007