How does sulfur dioxide affect children?
Children who live in or near heavily industrialized areas where sulfur dioxide occurs may experience difficulty breathing, changes in the ability to breathe deeply, and burning of the nose and throat It is not known whether children are more vulnerable to these effects than adults. However, children may be exposed to more sulfur dioxide than adults because they breathe more air for their body weight than adults do. Long-term studies surveying large numbers of children indicate that children who have breathed sulfur dioxide pollution may develop more breathing problems as they get older, may make more emergency room visits for treatment of wheezing fits, and may get more respiratory illnesses than other children. Children with asthma may be especially sensitive even to low concentrations of sulfur dioxide, but it is not known whether asthmatic children are more sensitive than asthmatic adults.
