A Harvard University study of more than 22,000 women found that those exposed to pollutants like diesel particulates and mercury during pregnancy were twice as likely to have a child with autism.
According to researchers, this is the first large national study to examine links between the prevalence of pollution and the development of the developmental disorder.
The findings are published in the journal of Environmental Health Perspectives.
Areas of high pollution are areas in close proximity to major traffic routes and busy roads (especially those involving trucks), quarries and mines as well as refineries. Diesel Particulates are in the ultrafine particulate range and are capable of not only penetrating the deepest parts of the lungs but entering the bloodstream (Vicki Stone and Ken Donaldson, Biological Sciences, Napier University, September 1998)
This is an area of air pollution that is drastically lacking exposure standards. However we recommend checking exposure levels of ultrafine particulates in cities as well as high pollution areas as there is a solution in terms of an air purifier that incorporates good photocatalytic inverter technology (not just HEPA filters that do not efficiently trap the tiny ultrafine particulates)