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Leaves "Magnetized" by Air Pollution, Study Finds

from National Geographic News

Tree leaves are "magnetized" by air pollution, and the phenomenon may offer a new and inexpensive technique for quickly identifying air-pollution hot spots, scientists say. The technique, they add, could help city officials plan healthier bike paths, walkways, and running paths.

Vehicle exhaust and other sources of air pollution spew out metallic fragments that then adhere to nearby tree leaves, said study leader Bernie Housen, a geophysicist at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.

Conventional tests for measuring the amounts of these tiny particles are often expensive and time-consuming, Housen said.