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24,000 Deaths A Year In Calif. Caused By Pollution

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May 22, 2008 8:52 am US/Pacific

24,000 Deaths A Year In Calif. Caused By Pollution

LOS ANGELES

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: The report concludes that pollution particles are 70 percent more dangerous than previously thought.
AP

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As many as 24,000 deaths a year in California are linked to chronic exposure to fine particulate pollution, according to a study being released Thursday.

The number is triple the previous estimate of 8,200.

"Our report concludes these particles are 70 percent more dangerous than previously thought, based on several major studies that have occurred in the last five years," Bart Croes, chief researcher for the California Air Resources Board, told the Los Angeles Times.

The studies, including one by USC tracking 23,000 people, and another by the American Cancer Society monitoring 300,000 people across the United States, have found that heart attacks, strokes and other serious diseases increase exponentially after exposure to metal or dust, The Times reported.

"There's no death certificate that says specifically someone died of air pollution, but cities with higher rates of air pollution have much greater rates of death from cardiovascular diseases," Croes told The Times.

Californians exposed to high levels of fine particulates had their lives cut short by about 10 years, the board staff found, according to The Times.