Arizona has a unique opportunity to make an investment that can prevent thousands of Arizonans from dying prematurely. The Alliance for Disease Prevention was formed to make sure that happens. By engaging the citizens of Arizona in a public outcry for disease prevention programs, we can help ensure that all Arizonans will have the chance to live a long and productive life. In the course of the past two decades, despite unfettered growth, we have made substantial progress in cleaning up our invisible pollutants - especially lead, carbon monoxide, and ozone. Despite all of our success in improving the air, our visible pollutants remain.
Particulates continue to harm our population, especially children with asthma.
Although children's airways are small, their metabolic needs for oxygen per unit mass are great. They breathe more rapidly and inhale more pollutant per pound than adults do. If a child is exposed to particulates during the early years of life, the risk of long term damage to the lungs increases. That report stated that particulates contribute to approximately 1000 premature deaths per year and countless hospital admissions and other health care costs, many of them in medically underserved areas. A number of adverse short-term effects have been associated with exposures to fine particulates, including decrease in lung function, increased cough, labored breathing, chest tightness, and susceptibility to infection.