What's the health impact of new roads?

Montgomery County soon could require that any road project undergo a study of what influence it will have on the health of residents.

Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg, D-at large, said she planned to introduce a regulation on Tuesday that called for the county health department to study how air pollutants emitted from motor vehicles on new roads would affect people with respiratory problems.

Such "health impact assessments" are used elsewhere in the United States and in other countries. The World Health Organization also supports the studies.

But the lingo is new enough that some road experts did not know about such studies when told about the proposal.

"This is the first we're hearing of this," said David Buck, spokesman for the Maryland State Highway Administration.

He said he didn't understand where the rule would fit into existing reviews, as road projects already face environmental impact studies that look at how road construction and the finished project would affect air quality.

"Our projects are governed by state and federal laws," he said. "No county-passed anything will supersede them."

John Townsend, a spokesman for the AAA Mid-Atlantic auto club, said environmental studies have been used to delay projects so he worried another step could bog down roadwork.

"It's pushing the envelope, but if you do it for wetlands, flora and fauna, do it for babies, too," Townsend said. "As long as you find a way to quantify it."

Trachtenberg said the studies would not force projects to offset the effects of the roadwork, instead serving as a piece of information before the county signed off on major projects.

Under her plan, the county would foot the bill, which Trachtenberg estimates would could cost from $60,000 to $100,000 per road project.

However, she said the studies would not begin for two or three years "because we are mindful of where we are with money." She said she also hoped the county could apply for some grants to fund the studies.

Montgomery County's Health and Human Services Department does not have the staffing to handle the studies, Trachtenberg said, so it would likely need to hire contractors until the county could hire more epidemiologists.

Trachtenberg said she has enough votes lined up for the rule to pass, as her proposal already has four cosponsors. The issue is slated to be discussed in a public hearing Nov. 3.

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