A report issued by the nonprofit Health Effects Institute analyzed 700 peer-reviewed studies conducted around the world on varying aspects of motor vehicle emissions and health. It found strong evidence that exposure to traffic helped cause variations in heart rate and other heart ailments that result in deaths. But among the many studies that evaluated death from heart problems, some did not separate stress and noise from air pollution as a cause. The study found that the biggest effects occurred among people who lived within 300 to 500 meters — about two-tenths to three-tenths of a mile — from highways and major roads. That applies to 30 percent to 45 percent of the population of North America, the authors said. The institute, based in Boston, is jointly financed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the auto industry. To read the full report, please visit: http://pubs.healtheffects.org/getfile.php?u=553