Building California Freeways Near Schools Contributes to Unhealthy Conditions

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Jenny Oropeza
California State Senator

Since Day One of the modern environmental movement that began in the 1960s, California has shown national leadership. We passed landmark Clean Air and Water acts, with bipartisan support, and quick federal adoption of Golden State initiatives set the standard for 50 states — and many countries worldwide.

Among several pro-environment bills passed last year, Assembly Bill 32 became internationally famous for committing California to lead the fight for more energy-efficient buildings and reduced greenhouse-gas pollution.

The next logical step: Ensuring future generations of California’s schoolchildren are protected from air pollution and life-threatening respiratory diseases from nearby freeways. Senate Bill 1507 seeks this goal by barring new construction or expansion of freeways within 500 feet of a school.

With help from the Legislature’s 27-member Latino Caucus and others, the public is becoming increasingly aware of the serious health risks to students and employees when a school is located near direct sources of air pollution.

Consider two alarming facts:

A recent state study of Los Angeles area freeways measured fuel particulates near freeways at up to 25 times greater than less congested areas.

A 2005 study by the California Environmental Protection Agency found health risks were greatest within 300 feet of freeways, with a 70-percent reduction in pollution levels beyond 500 feet.

Clearly, freeway pollution hurts ones’ health, exacerbating asthma and impairing learning ability among children. Adding to this airborne toxicity threat is that cars and trucks emit at least 40 toxic contaminants. These pollutants are shown to be concentrated within 500 feet of freeways and busy roadways and can cause irreversible health problems, such as asthma and other lung diseases. These also slow cognitive and developmental growth.

The reasons children are at greater risk are disarmingly simple:

• Compared to most adults, children breathe faster and run around more, increasing their exposure.
• Children often breathe through their mouths, bypassing the filtering effect of the nose, allowing direct inhalation of more pollutants.
• Their immune systems and organs are still developing.

We must provide greater protections to our most vulnerable and defenseless — our children. That is why I authored SB 1507. Although my bill provides exceptions to accommodate safety projects and commuter lanes, the overall goal is ensuring highway developments will not further worsen air quality near schools.