Another in a series of new studies that links traffic pollution to increased illness has been published by the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and concludes that such pollution is responsible for more asthma and more medical costs than previously believed. Conducted in Long Beach and Riverside California, the study "...found that total additional asthma-specific costs due to traffic-related pollution is about $18 million per year in that area, almost half of which is due to new asthma cases caused by pollution. People who live in cities with high traffic-related air pollution bear a higher burden of these costs than those who live in less polluted areas."  One episode of Bronchitis cost an average of $972 to treat and annual costs reached up to $4000 annually, or a full seven percent of the median income in the area. Sylvia Brandt, one of the study's researchers noted that, “Traditional risk assessment methods for air pollution have underestimated both the overall burden of asthma and the cost of the disease associated with air pollution. Our findings suggest the cost has been substantially underestimated and steps must be taken to reduce the burden of traffic-related pollution.”   Read More