Humboldt Avenue goes toxic

CA law prevents the siting of a school within 500 feet of a freeway because of the danger from pollution.

In the largest and longest study of its kind, USC researchers have found that children living within 500 feet of busy highways have significant impairments in the development of their lungs that can lead to respiratory problems for the rest of their lives.

The 13-year study of more than 3,600 children in 12 Central and Southern California communities found that the damage from living within 500 yards of a freeway is about the same as that from living in communities with the highest pollution levels.

However major roads like El Camino and Woodside were found in a Sacramento study to be just as toxic which impacts schools along these routes.

This UC Davis study on air pollution found that notwithstanding lower traffic volumes, "heavily traveled secondary highways" are just as toxic as freeways laden with diesel trucks or major rail yards.

Last week the Air Resource Board said on the effects of diesel that "diesel emissions from trucks, machinery and other sources elevate the risk of premature death, cancer, asthma and other chronic diseases for more than 3 million people living in West Oakland and the surrounding region, according to the most detailed study yet on the issue."

The analysis by the California Air Resources Board, released Wednesday night, shows that the greatest health dangers related to toxic air emissions stems from diesel trucks traversing the freeways and other roadways around West Oakland and the Port of Oakland.

The two-year public health inquiry covered a large swath of the Bay Area - an area of 3,800 square miles that is home to 3.1 million people. The residents had an elevated risk of cancer - nearly 1,200 additional cancers per million people due to long-term exposure to diesel particulate matter than people living elsewhere, the study reported in preliminary findings.

As CCAG continues to maintain capacity, neighborhood streets can become toxic. Traffic planners route increased volume onto neighborhood streets. This unfortunately is what happened to Humboldt Avenue in San Mateo.

Citizens are unable to reconcile the toxicity of their actions as this quote verifies- “I think we have acknowledged that a number of concessions have been made,” said Commissioner Alex Feinman. “We won’t please everyone."