[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 69 (Thursday, May 22, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H3172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 AIR QUALITY IMPROVING, BUT COCKROACHES, MITES, AND MOLDS A REAL CAUSE 
                              FOR CONCERN

  (Mr. KNOLLENBERG asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, it is safe for our children to go 
outside and play again. The EPA's PM-2.5 ozone standards are being 
questioned again by experts.
  In Newsweek's cover story on asthma, Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills of UVA's 
Asthma Disease Center says it is biologically, and I am quoting, ``it 
is biologically abnormal behavior'' for American kids to spend so much 
inactive time in front of TVs and computers.
  With air quality improving, many are beginning to question the 
correlation between fine particulates and asthma cases. Instead, the 
real culprit, the real asthma culprit, might be hiding right inside our 
homes. Cockroaches, dust mites, molds, and animal dander may be the 
real cause for concern.
  A recent study featured in the New England Journal of Medicine 
examined 476 asthmatic kids and found that cockroach allergies emerged 
as a key to increased asthma attacks. They no longer need to be scared 
of lions and tigers and bears, but watch out for roaches, mites and 
mold.
  So America, open up the doors and windows, and send the children out 
to play with a deep breath of fresh air.

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