Asthma Attacks

As more American children constantly find themselves out of breath, will reaching for a bottle of crisp, clean air become as routine as grabbing a Dasani?

More than 20 million Americans have asthma, a chronic disorder in which an inflammation of the airways causes breathing problems, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. This condition is only made worse by pollution and poor air quality. While the "Princeton bubble," might protect us from news from the outside world, it cannot save us from its air.

"We have several hundred students on campus who [have] or who have had asthma," said Peter Johnsen, director of University Medical Services.

With seasonal changes and airborne allergens, asthma sufferers might find it more difficult to breathe in the Garden State. In comparing her home state of Arizona to New Jersey, Tiffany Andras '07 said, "My breathing has always been most difficult at Princeton."

Johnsen said that the most common triggers for asthmatics on campus are allergens, but he also mentioned that air pollutants in the surrounding urban areas could also trigger an attack.

James Meza '08 says his asthma gets worse when he is exposed to poor quality urban air. "Pollution definitely has an effect on my breathing," he said. "I'm from a suburban area like Princeton, so going to a big city usually brings out symptoms for the first few days."

Some of the toxic chemicals in our air that cause breathing problems are nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide and particulates. These toxins come from global polluters like power plants, industries and vehicles, but they also enter the air locally through oil-burning home heaters and even lawn mowers. New Jersey is in compliance with EPA standards for most pollutants, but ozone, one of the leading causes of asthmatic episodes, continues to be a problem. In 2004, all 21 counties in the state failed to meet national ozone standards.

"Despite 30 years of progress, air pollution laws are inadequate because sources of pollutants are growing," said the "Air Inequality" report by Princeton's Policy Research Institute for the Region last spring.

With the worst air quality in the nation, the tristate region is teetering on the edge of an environmental and health disaster. The University's report said that New York City, Newark and Philadelphia ranked first, second and third out of 95 cities that would have a dramatic increase in deaths if ozone pollution increased only slightly.

According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, most local air toxins are caused by travel — 35 percent of pollutants are from on-road vehicles and 33 percent are from other mobiles like planes, trains and boats.

In studying students' weekly commuting habits, a 2004 report by the Princeton Environmental Oversight Committee estimated that, on average, undergraduates emit three tons of hydrocarbons, 22 tons of carbon monoxide, 1.5 tons of nitrogen oxides and 433 tons of carbon dioxide each academic year. Graduate students, University vehicles and faculty and staff add to those numbers.

"There has been a steady increase since I began working here in August of 2001 in the number of applications for special needs housing for those with asthma and allergies," Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students Maria Flores-Mills said.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

With its new sustainability manager, Shana Weber, the University is examining ways to encourage cleaner transportation practices, thereby improving the lives of students with asthma.

Weber has been directly involved in the University's planning process to make Princeton more environmentally sound. As part of this, at least four new electric vehicles have been purchased, two University shuttles now run on natural gas instead of diesel and all future University vehicles should be hybrids, Weber said.

"Energy conservation is an important part in the puzzle," Weber said.

By changing transportation practices, encouraging carpooling and improving general energy conservation efforts by replacing less efficient lighting, putting occupancy sensors in rooms and maintaining a more efficient heating system to reduce emissions, the University will make a difference in local air quality, she added.

Students with asthma are currently accommodated by the special needs housing department. Upon request, they are placed in the newest available dormitories where they can have control over their own clean, dust-free environment, use air filters and regulate window and heating usage.

This is certainly essential for students like Andras. "If I am in a room without good circulation or in a dusty room," she said, "it is very hard to breathe."