BUFFALO, N.Y. (Nov. 17, 2004) – A new pollution study conducted by the University at Buffalo says residents who live near major border crossings have more to worry about than just traffic and noise.

The study, focused at the Peace Bridge linking Buffalo, N.Y. and Fort Erie, Ont., concludes that people living near busy crossings and other areas near heavy truck traffic concentration are more likely to develop asthma. According to the author Dr. Jamson Lwebuga-Mukasa, the study has implications for all heavily traveled border crossings, the Associated Press reports.

The study, published in the November issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, set out to define asthma risk factors in Buffalo neighborhoods. Location near the Peace Bridge ranked high on the list.

A previous study co-authored by Lwebuga-Mukasa and published in the American Journal of Public Health found that people living within a third of a mile of the bridge are four times more likely to suffer from asthma than those who live more than 1 1/4 miles away. The bridge handles about 6,000 trucks per day.

The earlier study was based on hospitalization data, while the current study involved a door-to-door survey of nearly 2,000 households.

Lwebuga-Mukasa commented that the situation may be worse at the Detroit-Windsor Ambassador Bridge, which handles about 10,000 daily trucks carrying more than $400 billion in goods a year between the U.S. and Canada.

He urged decision-makers to account for health costs when considering trans-border transportation policy, suggesting that trucks should be diverted to less densely populated areas whenever possible.

Last year, a study titled “The Economic Impact of Adequate Border-Crossing Infrastructure” said the Ambassador Bridge system — including the bridge itself, access roads, toll plazas and government checkpoints — is now at 92 per cent capacity, and according to author Dr. Michael H. Belzer, “…significantly exceeds capacity during many hours of the average work day.”

— with files from Associated Press