Welcome to "Asthma Town"

Perhaps not exactly what the Huntington Park Chamber of Commerce wants to hear. The AP's Noaki Schwartz reports on newest L.A. tour package -- a "Toxic Tour" through some of the regions more polluted areas:

Every day, buses packed with tourists trundle along the Hollywood Walk of Fame and through Beverly Hills to gawk at celebrities and gasp at the size of their mansions. A lesser-known tour through the industrial back streets of the county also leaves participants gasping - for another reason. "On your left is a smokestack," guide Jesus Torres points out as he leads the "Toxic Tour" through neighborhoods in the shadows of oil refineries, factories and slaughterhouses. The excursions staged by the watchdog group Communities for a Better Environment are gaining popularity among policy makers, lawyers and students who want a firsthand look at poor, minority areas affected by a disproportionate amount of pollution. Instead of heading to Tinseltown or celebrity crime scenes, the buses visit areas that have been the site of environmental nightmares. Among its stops are "Asthma Town" in Huntington Park and an elementary school that was plagued by miscarriages among workers. Riders also get to breathe in the warm, sticky stench of slaughtered pigs mixed with the stink of diesel fuel, paint and other chemicals.

The tour also hits South Gate, Wilmington, Bell Gardens and the port complex. But don't dispair L.A. Even San Francisco had a Toxic Tour.