A Brain Beating from Traffic Fumes

A Brain Beating from Traffic Fumes

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• Jun 18, 2008 at 2:27 AM
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Dutch Researchers can now reveal that breathing in traffic fumes could lead to serious long-term brain damage. They have shown on scans that breathing in tiny particles contained in diesel emissions actually change and alter the way in which the brain functions. So scientist are warning city-centre dwellers and urbanites that frequent exposure to traffic pollution and fumes may be risk of serious damage as the nanoparticles travel up the nostrel and lodge themselves in the brain.

"We can only speculate what these effects may mean for the chronic exposure to air pollution encountered in busy cities where the levels of such soot particles can be very high," said lead researcher Paul Borm from Zuyd University.

"It is conceivable that the long-term effects of exposure to traffic nanoparticles may interfere with normal brain function and information processing."

So how did the scientist work this out then? well they took 10 volunteers and placed them in a room for one hour filled with some exhaust fumes from a diesel engine and then their brain-waves were monitored with an electroencephalograph (EEG). Obviously they needed the people to stay alive and so the fumes were similar to levels one might find on a busy road or high street. After, say about 30 minutes the brain waves displayed a stress response, indicating changes in information processing in the brain cortex.

But the results seem to cast more doubt over nanoparticles found in traffic fumes, which have already been linked with increased rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disease

David Power