ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 30, 1993                   TAG: 9304300020
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA                                LENGTH: Medium

164 MILLION LIVE IN POLLUTED AREAS

About 164 million Americans are at risk for respiratory and other problems from excessive air pollution where they live, health officials said Thursday.

The American Lung Association found that 66 percent of the U.S. population lived in the 534 counties and cities that violated federal clean air standards for ozone, carbon monoxide, lead and three other pollutants in 1991.

Ozone causes lung tissue to become inflamed, impeding breathing; carbon monoxide impedes the blood's ability to carry oxygen to the heart and causes chest pain; and prolonged exposure to lead can cause retardation and organ damage.

At highest risk were the 31 million children and 19 million elderly Americans living in those areas, whose lungs are particularly sensitive to pollution, the survey found.

"People who are in the highest-risk groups should not exercise outdoors on days when pollution levels are elevated," said Mary White of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published the Lung Association survey Thursday.

Air pollution can reduce the lungs' ability to pump oxygen through the body, particularly in children under 13, the elderly and people with chronic lung or heart diseases, said Dr. Lee B. Reischman, president of the Lung Association.

"It actually hurts to breathe," he said. "It's mostly temporary. But prolonged exposure . . . is not good, although the jury's still out on how much damage it causes."

"We're not saying people ought to lock themselves in their homes," said Ron White, director of environmental health for the Lung Association.

"They should just be aware that there are days some people, like those with asthma, should be very careful about going outside and . . . even healthy people shouldn't engage in vigorous exercise."

In 1988, the Lung Association counted 487 pollution-violating communities where 146 million people, or 60.5 percent of the nation's population, lived. Thursday's report found 47 more pollution violators and 18 million more Americans at risk in 1991, the latest data available. 


 by CNB