Vehicle exhaust pollution affects school scores

According to a new study, if a child’s home is near to a high traffic of cars, buses and trucks, the vehicle exhaust emissions could hamper the school scores.

The study found that 4th and 5th graders in US who are exposed to toxic air pollutants at home are more likely to have lower average school scores.

The researchers used the US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Air Toxics Assessment to estimate children’s exposure to toxic air pollutants, such as diesel exhaust and analysed the academic performance and socio-demographic data for 1,895 4th and 5th grade children living in Texas.

‘Some evidence suggests that this association might exist because of illnesses, such as respiratory infections or asthma,’ study’s coauthor Sara E Grineski said.

‘The other hypothesis is that chronic exposure to air toxics can negatively affect children’s neurological and brain development,’ Grineski said.

Written by: Dr. Ajay Sati.