Res. No. 273                     

Resolution calling upon the appropriate Committee of the Council to conduct an oversight hearing on the ways in which the City of New York is protecting children and fetuses from air pollution.

By Council Members Perkins, Barron, Fidler, Foster, Gerson, Gonzalez, Sanders and Vann

Whereas, In 1998, researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health - Center for Children’s Environmental Health began a study, which is ongoing, entitled “Environmental Health in a Cohort of Minority Women and Infants”, that follows children from before birth until their fifth birthday and possibly beyond; and

Whereas, In an article released by Columbia University’s Center for Children’s Environmental Health, entitled “Molecular Evidence of an Interaction Between Prenatal Environmental Exposures on Birth Outcomes in a Multiethnic Population”, which discusses the Columbia University ongoing study and is published in the April 2004 issue of the Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives (JEHP, Volume 112, Number 5, April 2004), it was noted that “[t]he impact of environmental toxicants on children’s health is increasingly being recognized as significant” (JEHP, Volume 112, Number 5, April 2004, p. 626); and

Whereas, According to Columbia University’s Center for Children’s Environmental Health, “combined exposure to environmental pollutants at levels currently encountered in New York City adversely affect fetal development” (JEHP, Volume 112, Number 5, April 2004, p. 626); and

Whereas, The Columbia University article also noted that “[h]uman and experimental studies indicate that the fetus and infant are more sensitive than adults to many environmental toxicants, including environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)” (JEHP, Volume 112, Number 5, April 2004, p. 626); and

Whereas, The Columbia University article further noted that “[u]rban, minority populations represent high-risk groups for adverse birth outcome” and “[t]hese same populations are likely to be more heavily exposed to ambient air pollution and ETS” (JEHP, Volume 112, Number 5, April 2004, p. 626); and

Whereas, According to the Columbia University article “only limited information is available on the extent and impact of prenatal exposure to these environmental contaminants on fetal growth and development” (JEHP, Volume 112, Number 5, April 2004, p. 626); and

Whereas, The Columbia University study “evaluated the effects of prenatal exposure to common urban pollutants” and “tested the hypothesis that prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants along and/or in combination is negatively associated with birth weight, length, and head circumference, after controlling for the effects of known physical, biologic, and toxic determinants of fetal growth” (JEHP, Volume 112, Number 5, April 2004, p. 626); and

Whereas, The Columbia University study “provides new molecular epidemiologic evidence that exposure to common environmental pollutants (PAH and ETS) at levels currently encountered in New York City can act in combination to adversely affect fetal development” (JEHP, Volume 112, Number 5, April 2004, p. 629); now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the appropriate Committee of the Council to conduct an oversight hearing on the ways in which the City of New York is protecting children and fetuses from air pollution.

RC  3-16-04

LS # 300