Posted: 11/14/2008
NCPA Expert: California Air Pollution Study is Flawed
Schwartz Says Fullerton Studies Omitted Data
A new study by researchers at California State University-Fullerton vastly exaggerates harm from today's historically low air pollution levels, according to an adjunct scholar with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA).
The Fullerton study also claims air pollution at current levels causes increased school absences, missed work and lost income.
"The Fullerton report excludes studies that don't find any harm from air pollution and exaggerates the health effects reported in other studies," said Joel Schwartz, an adjunct scholar with the NCPA. "This cherry-picking and exaggeration creates a false appearance that harm from air pollution is far greater and more certain than suggested by the weight of the actual scientific evidence. The health effects air pollution at today's levels are at worst only a tiny fraction of what the Fullerton report claims."
"Rather than a valid analysis of the costs of air pollution, the Fullerton report promotes unwarranted fear under the guise of science," he added.
The National Center for Policy Analysis is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose goal is to solve public policy problems by developing and promoting innovative, market-driven solutions.