Is ozone pollution harming unborn children?

The Wasatch Front is notorious for poor air quality, with episodes of high ozone in summer and high particulate in winter, and there is a wealth of research citing negative health effects. But how might air pollution affect the cognitive development of unborn children? Sara Grineski, ESS faculty, sought to answer this question by analyzing ozone exposure during pregnancy and linking it to data on children with intellectual disabilities. The study found a strong link between ozone exposure in pregnant mothers and increases in the development of intellectual disabilities in children.

“The body of evidence suggests that it is important that we never take our foot off the gas in terms of working to reduce the levels of air pollution that Utahns are breathing,” said research leader Sara Grineski, a professor of sociology. “We don’t want to neglect these issues related to ozone and cognitive health moving forward. Our findings here for Utah suggest a troubling association. This is just one study in a sea of papers documenting the harmful effects of air pollution on health.”

The study, titled "Prenatal ozone exposure and risk of intellectual disability," was published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. It was also featured in an article by @theU and the Salt Lake Tribune. 

read @theu article