SACRAMENTO – The California Environmental Protection Agency's Air Resources Board (ARB) announced today the six communities chosen for study as required by the Children�s Environmental Health Protection Program.  The law creating this program, written by Senator Martha Escutia, was passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Gray Davis.

    ARB Chairman Dr. Alan Lloyd said, "This program will help us better understand the impact of air pollution on children's health and development."

    Under the law, the ARB, in conjunction with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, will review air quality standards to determine whether they adequately protect children.  ARB will also expand its existing monitoring program in six communities around the state and to conduct special monitoring to better assess children's exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollutants.  The six areas chosen exemplify the diversity of weather, geography and air pollution sources present in California where emissions from diesel exhaust, automobiles, neighborhood sources, refineries and marine sources can affect air quality.  The following are the six communities chosen:
 

• Boyle Heights and Wilmington in the Los Angeles area
• Fruitvale in Oakland
• Barrio Logan in San Diego
• The Crockett area in Contra Costa County
• The city of Fresno

    The Fresno project will take advantage of the ongoing monitoring associated with the Fresno Asthmatic Children's Environment Study (FACES).  The FACES program is tracking over 400 asthmatic children to determine the impact of air pollution on the disease.