A team of researchers from UC Berkeley, Switzerland, and Spain, have found that exposure to exhaust fumes thickens arteries and could increase the chances of cardiovascular disease.

The study looked at people in the Los Angeles area who live within 100 meters of a highway. It found that their arteries thickened by 5.5 micrometers – one-twentieth the thickness of a human hair – per year, more than twice the average.

“For the first time, we have shown that air pollution contributes to the early formation of heart disease, known as atherosclerosis, which is connected to nearly half the deaths in Western societies and to a growing proportion of deaths in the rapidly industrializing nations of Asia and Latin America,” said study co-author Michael Jerrett, UC Berkeley associate professor of environmental health sciences. “The implications are that by controlling air pollution from traffic, we may see much larger benefits to public health than we thought previously.”

Even more reason to bring the age of roaring internal-combustion engines to a close. Which is a bummer, because I happen to really like the roar of a Chevy V8 with a lumpy cam. Oh well, bring on the age of humming electric cars!

Link to UC Berkeley article