ABSTRACT
Acknowledgment .......................................................................................................................... 252
References .................................................................................................................................... 253
Respiratory allergies and infections are the most common form of illness in the United States and
Europe, and together they account for more missed school and work days than any other types of
disease (Akazawa, Sindelar, and Paltiel 2003; CDC 2004). From the well-documented air pollution
episodes in London, England, and Donora, Pennsylvania (Holland et al. 1979) to the most recent
time series analyses of multiple cities in the U.S. (Dominici et al. 2006), it is clear that elevated
levels of airborne particles are associated with increased morbidity and mortality to respiratory
infections, and increased hospital admissions for asthma (Koren 1995; Vigotti 1999).
