Proximity of licensed child care facilities to near-roadway vehicle pollution

D. Houston, P. Ong, J. Wu and A. Winer

American Journal of Public Health, 2006, vol. 96, issue 9, 1611-1617

Abstract: Objectives. We assessed child care facilities' proximity to heavily traveled roadways in an attempt to estimate the extent of potential exposure of young children to vehicle-related pollution in this understudied microenvironment. Methods. We examined approximately 24000 licensed child care facilities in California located within 200 m of heavily traveled roadways. Results. Approximately 57 000 of the available slots in California child care centers (7% of the overall capacity) are in facilities located within 200 m (650 ft) of roadways averaging 50000 or more vehicles per day, and another 172000 (21%) are in facilities located within 200 m of roadways averaging 25000 to 49000 vehicles per day. Facilities providing care to infants or preschool-aged children and facilities located in disadvantaged areas were more often situated in medium- or high-traffic areas. Conclusions. Additional research is needed to further clarify the significance of the child care microenvironment in terms of potential childhood exposures to vehicle-related pollutants. Design strategies, notification standards, and distance-based siting restrictions should be considered in the facility licensing process and in land use and transportation planning.

Date: 2006
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2005.077727

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2005.077727_3

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.077727

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().