Cancer Study Cites Hazards of Indoor Air for N.Y., L.A. Teens

[Celebration]

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-me-teenair22jun22,0,5751258.story

Teenagers in Los Angeles and New York City face a substantial — and strikingly similar — cancer risk from breathing the air, largely because of toxic chemicals inside their homes and schools, a new scientific study shows.

For the research, 87 high school students, including 41 from Jefferson High School in South Los Angeles, wore backpacks equipped with air monitors that measured what each was exposed to throughout the day.

ADVERTISEMENTAlthough outdoor air in both cities is heavily polluted, indoor air was responsible for 40% to 50% of the teenagers' cancer risk from the compounds measured.

The New York and Los Angeles teenagers were the only groups looked at in the study. They were exposed to virtually the same average concentrations of nearly all of the 19 carcinogens examined, according to the research by a Massachusetts consulting firm, Columbia University, UC Davis and the Harvard School of Public Health.