Mothers' Pollution Exposure Linked To IQs Of Minority Children In New York City - Study

Monday, July 20, 2009 - 11:07 in Health & Medicine

It seems people still use the intelligence quotient (IQ) test even though minorities in America claim there is cultural bias that invalidates it as a measure of intelligence. Researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health have gone even further than cultural bias; they say prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can affect a child's IQ, according to their study of black and hispanic women living in New York City. PAHs are chemicals released into the air from the burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco. In urban areas motor vehicles are a major source of PAHs. read more

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