LAT: LAX Expansion Will Raise Cancer Risk, Study Finds

[question everything]

LAX Expansion Will Raise Cancer Risk, Study Finds
By Jennifer Oldham
Times Staff Writer

August 1, 2005

Moving the southernmost runway at Los Angeles International Airport 55 feet for safety reasons will expose nearby residents to increased cancer risk and noise over an eight-month period during construction, according to an environmental impact report to be released today.

Closing the runway during the work will force officials to redistribute flights among LAX's three other runways, requiring aircraft to taxi greater distances and idle longer — increasing harmful emissions, according to the 1,370-page study.

Changing landing and takeoff patterns will also subject residents in Los Angeles, Inglewood and Westchester to more noise, classroom disturbances and sleep disruptions, concluded the report, completed by an architectural and engineering firm for the city's airport agency.

Traffic generated by construction isn't expected to markedly affect communities, the study said, because trucks will operate during off-peak hours and be directed away from residential streets to freeways.

More..

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/state/la-me-runway1aug01,1,7085016.story?coll=la-news-state