新奇事件簿 道路交通污染威胁儿童健康（在线收听）

Road pollution is a serious danger to children’s health. That’s the worrying conclusion of the longest and largest study ever undertaken into the effects of traffic fumes on child development. Researchers from the University of Southern California spent 13 years studying children who lived within 500 meters of busy highways. They found that most of the 3,600 children in the study had significantly weakened lungs. Researchers said this meant the children could have breathing problems for the rest of their lives. The main author of the study W. James Gauderman said: "Someone suffering a pollution-related deficit in lung function as a child will probably have less than healthy lungs all of his or her life.” He added: "If you live in a high-pollution area and live near a busy road, you get a doubling of the damage.”

道路交通污染威胁儿童健康。研究人员就交通污染对儿童肺组织发育进行了研究，此项研究也是该领域研究时间最长，规模最大的一项研究，研究结果令人担忧。来自南加州大学的研究人员对生活在距公路500米范围内的儿童进行了调查，研究历时13年。在3600名研究对象中，他们发现多数儿童的肺功能较弱。据研究人员所说，他们未来很有可能患有呼吸性疾病。主研究员詹姆斯·关德曼教授表示：“如果是因为环境污染，儿童的肺发育缺陷，那么他们未来的肺健康也会受到影响。”他还补充道：“如果你住在高污染地区，靠近繁忙街道，那么肺病风险加倍。”

Gauderman and his team conducted their research on youngsters who lived near busy roads. Once a year, the team measured the children's lung power. It checked how much air the children could release in one breath and how quickly it could be released. The team found that by their 18th birthday, children who lived within 500 meters of a highway exhaled three per cent less air compared with children who lived one-and-a-half kilometers away. Further, the highway children’s lung power was seven per cent weaker in the rate at which they could exhale. Gauderman said that: "Even if you are in a relatively low regional pollution area, living near a road produces lung problems." About a third of the children moved away from busy roads during the study but stayed near the same community. Their lungs developed more healthily.

关德曼教授和他的团队对居住在繁忙街道的儿童进行了研究。并对儿童的肺功能进行了检测，每年一次。检查项目包括肺活量，吐气速度。研究人员发现截止到18岁，与生活在1.5公里以外的儿童相比，生活在500米范围内的儿童肺活量水平要低3%。此外，对于生活在公路旁的儿童，吐气速率也会减弱7%。关德曼教授表示：“即使你生活在污染相对理想的环境中，靠近公路也会让你的肺部产生问题。”在研究过程中，约三分之一的儿童搬离了闹区，但依然居住在该社区。他们的肺组织发育得到了显著提高。