Born Under a Bad Sky
Cancerous Air
By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR

This is what it has come to: the air in LA is so toxic that a child born in the city of angels will inhale more cancer-causing pollutants in the first two weeks of life than the EPA (not known for understating risks) considers safe for a lifetime.

This risk never goes away. It comes with the first breaths a child takes. Being born in urban California now means that life expectancy is reduced, chances of getting cancer are elevated. All this before you’ve inflicted any damage on yourself through smoking, drinking booze, eating fast food, or watching CNN.

The situation is spelled out in a report released by the National Environmental Trust titled “Toxic Beginnings.” The report pins much of the blame for this situation on so-called TACs, or Toxic Air Contaminants. These are poisons spewed into the atmosphere from cars, trucks, heavy equipment, and factories. Studies by the EPA and other agencies link TAC-exposure to cancer, birth defects, and other illnesses, such as asthma.

The National Environmental Trust report examined air quality and exposure to TACs in California’s five most populous basins: Los Angeles, the San Joaquin Valley, the Sacramento Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area, and San Diego.

Link to con.