STUDYING HOUSTON’S ROADSIDE AIR QUALITY 
Another source of Houston’s pollution has got the attention of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: tailpipes. Starting in January, the agency will place a pair of monitors within 160 ft. of 2 our most heavily used roads — including the Southwest Fwy. near the Westpark Tollway — to record the amount of nitrogen dioxide leaked into the air. Apparently, the stuff can be pretty nasty, writes the Houston Chronicle’s Matthew Tresaugue: “The Environmental Protection Agency said studies have measured concentrations of the gas to be as much as 100 times greater near major roadways than away from them. Scientists, meanwhile, have linked the pollutant to asthma and other lung ailments, especially among children and the elderly.” The results of these monitors, adds Tresaugue, might lead the city to make decisions about preventing schools and residences from being built in and around affected areas. [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot] Photo: AA Roads
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So, engaging in the study with methods that have been called into question. Gotcha. I am having trouble following the money trail to see who stands to benefit from this pointless action.
@Mother Hydra
“Car driving” = “Pointless action”?
I always wondered if the air around 5 lane freeways was polluted. I hope they study wastewater next because I always wondered if it was actually dirty. It seems a terrible waste to just flush it every time.
“The Environmental Protection Agency said studies have measured concentrations of the gas to be as much as 100 times greater near major roadways than away from them.”
SMH.
Wait,
So years of this freeway existing with heavy traffic, and now this is a problem?
Seems like normal pointless EPA intrusiveness to pay a researcher to do a study.
Warning: Study reveals that studies are done to make money, not inform. And you have to scare people with the results so you get MORE money to do more studies!
Wouldn’t you all like to know exactly how close you would have to live near a large freeway to have your lifespan decrease or your chance of cancer increase. This could provide valuable information to a lot of people. I am a fan of quantifiable data and not anecdote.
As an asthmatic who cares deeply about decent air and can literally feel pollution in my lungs when it’s bad, please ignore simpletons like kjb and mother hydra. I love Houston, and I’d like to be able to breathe in it. There’s nothing liberal or conservative about wanting to breathe.
@kjb434 Asbestos was used for years and years in buildings before its effects on human health became known. Did these fatal health effects only become a problem once we found out about it? If we simply plugged our eyes and ears and ignored the studies on asbestos’ health impacts (or simply not conduct them), would that keep us safe from them?
Warning: Not studying and learning about what causes public health problems doesn’t make those problems magically go away.