Do present levels of air pollution outdoors affect respiratory health?
A sensitive lung function test does not show difference due to air pollution between lifetime residents in a rural area and those in a small industrial town in Connecticut. Also, there is no evidence that higher air pollutant concentrations elsewhere have any marked effects on the lungs. Severe pollution is dangerous and must be avoided, but at present, air pollution control outdoors does not deserve priority as a means of preventing chronic lung diseases.
