Also, where a child lives -- for example, near factories or highways -- greatly influences how much they're exposed to these toxins, reports a team from Washington State University in Spokane. Prior studies on the issue have tended to focus on just a few toxic elements of polluted air, but Amiri said her team harnessed the power of AI to look at a broad spectrum of toxins breathed in by kids in various Spokane neighborhoods. Children were analyzed.
Samples were taken by the Environmental Protection Agency at neighborhoods surrounding 10 elementary schools in the Spokane area. Symptoms in children: 1,1,1 trichloroethane, 2-nitropropane and 2, 4, 6 trichlorophenol. All three are found in materials people use every day. For example, 1,1,1 trichloroethane is a solvent now used by industry, but which used to be found in household cleaners and glues, the team said. The second chemical is an additive to paints and other finishes, and the third is an anti-septic and anti-mildew agent that was banned in the 1980s but might still be lingering in the environmen