Secondhand smoke, roadway air pollution linked to childhood obesity

Researchers have drawn a link between adolescent exposure to tobacco smoke and road pollution to higher incidence of childhood obesity. The study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, was led by researchers from Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California.

Children who lived close to highway or roadway pollution and were exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke were more likely to see an increase in weight gain during adolescence.

“Vehicle miles traveled, exposure to some components of the near-roadway air pollutant mixture, and near roadway residential development have increased across the United States over the last several decades corresponding to the epidemic of childhood obesity,” lead author of the study Dr. Rob McConnell said in a press release. “The potential for near-roadway air pollution to be among several factors contributing to the epidemic of obesity merits further investigation.”

Researchers analyzed 3,000 children who had been exposed to tobacco smoke and measured the effects of air pollution from busy roads or highways. The study followed the children from the age of 10 in 1992 until they turned 18 years old.

The University of Southern California is the first to link childhood obesity to both air pollution and exposure to tobacco.

Hyundai, Kia fined largest penalty ever assessed under Clean Air Act

On Monday, the Obama administration announced a settlement of more than $300 million with South Korean automakers Kia and Hyundai for violating the Clean Air Act. The automakers understated greenhouse-gas emission for nearly 1.2 million of their cars and trucks.

The fine is the largest enforcement action of its kind under the Clean Air Act to date.

Under the terms of the settlement, Kia and Hyundai will forfeit 4.75 million greenhouse-gas credits, estimated to be worth more than $200 million. Car companies earn the credits for manufacturing vehicles that emit less greenhouse-gas pollution than the law requires.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy spoke in a news conference on the matter alongside Attorney General Eric Holder.

““Businesses that play by the rules shouldn’t have to compete with those breaking the law,” said McCarthy. “This settlement upholds the integrity of the nation’s fuel economy and greenhouse-gas programs and supports all Americans who want to save fuel costs and reduce their environmental impact.”

New wearable device offers personal insight into air quality

A team of students at University of California Berkeley has developed a small, wearable device to measure air pollutants. The device, called Clarity, uses sensors to detect particulate matter 2.5, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen dioxide and ammonia.

Clarity can be attached to a variety of objects including backpacks, bicycles or belt loops to measure air quality of the home or office. The device then sends real-time alerts to a smartphone app on the user’s phone that tracks pollution levels and sends notifications of the safest times to be outdoors or engage in strenuous physical activities.

Clarity’s marketing efforts are currently targeted at parents, athletes and people with respiratory sensitivity in China.

The group is hopeful that widespread use of the device will lead to data collection that can offer new insight into air quality levels that may prompt government action.

“With enough Clarity devices, our data can generate a precise model of air flow through cities. This can lead to better decisions in urban planning,” said Clarity founder Hannah Hagen. “For example, understanding where pollution hot spots are and how street characteristics like building height affect pollution levels. It can also help with day-to-day management of air pollution by helping make decisions like when to divert traffic on certain streets or shut down factories to avoid a pollution peak.”

Cardinal Ethanol settles in clean air violation

Cardinal Ethanol has paid a $9,600 settlement following a complaint that it violated its Clean Air Act operating permit.

According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the company did not take reasonable steps to restore an air pollution scrubber's operation to normal operation in a practical time frame during planned shutdowns in 2011-13.

The complaint also accuses the company of failing to record visible emissions of bag house exhaust in December 2012.

Cardinal Ethanol produced 110 million gallons of ethanol in fiscal year 2013.

Until the incident, Cardinal Ethanol had been the only biofuels plant in East Central Indiana that had not paid a civil penalty for alleged air or water violations. Those violations typically occur during planned shutdowns for maintenance or start-ups.