TalkZone Talk Channel

October 09, 2021

In-Car Pollution & Breast Cancer Over-Treatment

Bookmark and Share

Pollution from motor vehicle traffic doesn\'t just happen in the atmosphere. It can also happen to the air inside your car. An expert shares research into the potential health effects of in-car pollution. Then, many women are not aware that a breast cancer screening may result in over diagnosis, followed by overtreatment. How can you make an informed decision?

Episode Segments

Traffic Pollution

Traffic pollution research has traditionally been conducted with outdoor roadside sensors.
Roby Greenwald, PhD, Assistant Professor from the School of Public Health, Georgia State University led a study with sensors mounted inside the passenger compartments of cars, and found that interior pollution levels were twice as high as previously thought. He talked about the various forms of pollution he found and their potential health effects.

Breast Cancer overdiagnosis

Rebekah H. Nagler, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Minnesota led a study that found that most American women aren\'t aware of the risks of overdiagnosis and overtreatment in regards to breast cancer screening. She discussed the challenges of educating women about these risks so they can make informed decisions about mammograms and breast cancer screening.

Women & Car Repair Quotes

Meghan Busse, PhD, Associate Professor of Management and Strategy at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University was the co-author of a study that found women frequently are quoted higher prices for car repairs than men. The research also found that consumers (of any gender) who do their homework about the cost of repairs usually pay less. She offered advice on how to avoid being ripped off

Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Roby Greenwald

Roby Greenwald is an assistant professor in the Division of Environmental Health at the School of Public Health where he joined the faculty in fall 2014.



His primary research interests are measuring the ways in which air pollution influences human health, and much of his work involves the development of unique sampling systems for assessing exposure to air pollution in special microenvironments such as inside vehicles while commuting.



From 2009-2014, He was on the research faculty of the Department of Environmental Health at Emory University. From 2005 to 2008, He was a post-doctoral fellow in Emory’s Department of Pediatrics and worked on a project investigating the influence of air pollution exposure on pediatric asthma patients. From 1999-2005, He was a PhD student at Georgia Tech and worked on two projects: development of an instrument to measure water-insoluble aerosols in real-time and computer modeling of the influence of atmospheric particulate matter on crop production.



Prior to graduate school, He taught beekeeping as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin, West Africa (1995-1998) and studied civil engineering at Clemson University (1990-1994).

Friday • March 20

CST 9:11 | EST 10:11 | MST 8:11 | PST 7:11 | GMT 6:11

Click to Listen Live