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4.1 – Air Quality Draft Environmental Impact Report February 2021 14800 W. Schulte Road Logistics Center 4.1-5 breathing rate for their body weight and their typically greater outdoor exposure duration. Several studies have shown that long-term NO2 exposure during childhood, the period of rapid lung growth, can lead to smaller lungs at maturity in children compared to lower levels of exposure. In addition, children with asthma have a greater degree of airway responsiveness compared with adult asthmatics. In adults, the greatest risk is to people who have chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (CARB 2019b). Carbon Monoxide. Carbon monoxide is harmful because it binds to hemoglobin in the blood, reducing the ability of blood to carry oxygen. This interferes with oxygen delivery to the body’s organs. The most common effects of CO exp osure are fatigue, headaches, confusion and reduced mental alertness, and light -headedness and dizziness due to inadequate oxygen delivery to the brain. For people with cardiovascular disease, short - term CO exposure can further reduce their body’s already compromised ability to respond to the increased oxygen demands of exercise, exertion, or stress. Inadequate oxygen delivery to the heart muscle leads to chest pain and decreased exercise tolerance. Unborn babies whose mothers experience high levels of CO e xposure during pregnancy are at risk of adverse developmental effects. Unborn babies, infants, older adults , and people with anemia or with a history of heart or respiratory disease are most likely to experience health effects with exposure to elevated lev els of CO (CARB 2019c). Sulfur Dioxide. SO2 is an irritant gas that attacks the throat and lungs and can cause acute respiratory symptoms and diminished ventilator function in children. When combined with particulate matter (PM), SO 2 can injure lung tissue and reduce visibility and the level of sunlight. SO2 can worsen asthma resulting in increased symptoms, increased medication usage, and emergency room visits. Controlled human exposure and epidemiological studies show that children and adults with asthma are more likely to experience adverse responses with SO2 exposure compared with the non-asthmatic population. Effects at levels near the 1-hour standard are those of asthma exacerbation, including bronchoconstriction accompanied by symptoms of respiratory irritation such as wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness, especially during physical activity. Also, exposure at elevated levels of SO2 (above 1 parts per million [ppm]) results in increased incidence of pulmonary symptoms and disease, decreased pulmonary function, and increased risk of mortality. Older adults and people with cardiovascular disease or chronic lung disease (such as bronchitis or emphysema) are most likely to experience these adverse effects (CARB 2019d). SO2 is of concern because it is a direct respiratory irritant and because it contributes to the formation of sulfate and sulfuric acid in PM (NRC 2005). People with asthma are of particular concern because they have increased baseline airflow resistance and because their SO2-induced increase in resistance is greater than in healthy people and it increases with the severity of their asthma (NRC 2005). SO2 is thought to induce airway constriction via neural reflexes involving irritant receptors in the airways (NRC 2005). Particulate Matter. A number of adverse health effects have been associated with exposure to PM2.5 and PM10. For PM2.5, short-term exposures (up to 24-hour duration) have been associated with premature mortality, increased hospital admissions for heart or lung causes, acute and chronic bronchitis, asthma attacks, emergency room visits, respiratory symptoms, and restricted activity days. These adverse health effects have been reported primarily in infants, children, and older adults with preexisting heart or lung diseases. In addition, of all of the common air pollutants, PM2.5 is associated with the greatest proportion of adverse health effects related to air pollution, both in the United States and world-wide based on the World Health Organization’s Global Burden of Disease Project (WHO 2018). Short-term exposures to PM10 have been associated primarily with worsening of respiratory diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, leading to hospitalization and emergency departme nt visits (CARB 2017).