"Lung Illnesses More Likely Near Logan Airport"

"Children who live in neighborhoods bordering Logan International Airport are as much as four times more likely to wheeze, experience shortness of breath, and exhibit other signs of undiagnosed asthma compared with children who live farther away, according to a long-awaited state report released Wednesday night.

The study, commissioned by the Legislature 14 years ago and only now finished, also found that adults who have lived near the airport for three or more years — in parts of East Boston, South Boston, Chelsea, and Winthrop — are nearly twice as likely to experience chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than those living in communities with less exposure to air pollution from planes taking off and landing.

But the $1.8 million study by the state Department of Public Health, which was delayed after going years without funding and after five revisions to its complicated statistical models, found that those living close to the airport had no higher rates of heart disease or hearing loss."

David Abel and Zachary T. Sampson report for the Boston Globe May 29, 2014.