Pollution alters brain function

An interesting news item here about the effects of pollution (in this case, traffic) on the brain. A study showed that, after about 30 minutes in a room polluted by traffic fumes, the brains of those in the the room displayed a stress response on an EEG, which is indicative of a change in the way information is being processed in the brain cortex.

As the article says, it is difficult to have trials with humans about the effects of pollution because of the ethical situation involved but it mentions a study of dogs in Mexico which found those who lived in highly-polluted Mexico City had brain lesions similar to those seen in Alzheimer's patients, while those who lived in much less-polluted rural areas showed a much lower rate of damage to the brain.

Remember, the Liatris planning application has not yet been withdrawn and we have yet to see what is on offer from the two competing supermarkets. The question of how you raise the Seaton Regeneration site by 2-3 metres has still not been answered so the problem of up to 100 lorries a day (plus construction traffic) on Seaton's few main roads has not been solved and how much traffic will increase on those roads in the future.

It will be interesting to see how others approach the problem. Of course - they won't have to live here before, during or after construction.