Bronx residents have been living in polluted air, according to the results of a New York University (NYU) study.

The five-year study had students from four south Bronx schools carry around back packs that monitored the air quality. The children were required to keep logs to document their activities, asthma symptoms and any medicine they took. Researchers at NYU?s Wagner School then compared the children?s breathing patterns with Department of Transportation numbers of traffic congestion.

According to Bronx Congressman Jose Serrano, the study shows there is a relationship between childhood asthma and the transportation pattern. The study found that the major type of air pollutant associated with the asthma symptoms is elemental carbon found in diesel exhaust. The Community Development Corporation will now review the findings and ask state agencies for help.