Can air pollution impact on autism? Elizabeth Tracey reports

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A new study points to chemicals called PFAS in possibly underpinning autism development. Autism expert Heather Volk at Johns Hopkins says another environmental pollutant with a much more established record is the very minute particles found in the air called PM 2.5.

Volk: Even if the air quality has gotten better over the last 10 years or so consistent associations with autism risk have been found both in US and other countries with PM 2.5 levels. This literature on autism and the corresponding brain development and also complemented by a separate literature that shows associations air pollution and PM 2.5 and cognitive decline, it raises questions around if something that might just be bad for brains that exist within our environment. We really have environmental targets to consider that might have real impact on people's lives both children or aging adults.     :33

Volk notes these particles are inhaled deeply into the lungs where they remain, causing the body to react to them. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.