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Air Pollution and Health: Bridging the Gap from Sources to Health Outcomes

Contact

http://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_comments.cfm

Citation:

SOLOMON, P. A. Air Pollution and Health: Bridging the Gap from Sources to Health Outcomes. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Research Triangle Park, NC, 119(4):A 156 - A 157, (2011).

Impact/Purpose:

The National Exposure Research Laboratory′s (NERL) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA′s mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD′s research program supports Goal 1 (Clean Air) and Goal 4 (Healthy People) of EPA′s strategic plan. More specifically, our division conducts research to characterize the movement of pollutants from the source to contact with humans. Our multidisciplinary research program produces Methods, Measurements, and Models to identify relationships between and characterize processes that link source emissions, environmental concentrations, human exposures, and target-tissue dose. The impact of these tools is improved regulatory programs and policies for EPA.

Description:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six principal air pollutants (“criteria” pollutants): carbon monoxide (CO), lead (Pb), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM) in two size ranges [< 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and < 10 μm (PM10)], ozone (O3), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) (U.S. EPA 2010b). Although associations have been identified between these pollutants and adverse health effects, considerable uncertainty remains regarding a) methods and approaches to understanding relationships between air pollution and health effects; b) which components (gas and/or aerosol) and sources are most toxic; c) the mechanisms of actions of the pollutants and causal relationships; d) effect of con¬founding factors, and e) which populations are susceptible {U.S. EPA 2006a (Pb), 2006b (O3), 2008a [NOx Integrated Science Assessment (ISA)], 2008b (SOx ISA), 2009 (PM), 2010 (CO)}. This holds true especially for PM, because it is composed of many components with significant spatial and temporal variation (U.S. EPA 2009). Air pollution and health research continues to reduce these uncertainties across the source-to-health effects paradigm as described by the National Research Council (NRC) Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter, volumes I–IV, (NRC 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004) and the U.S. EPA (2006a, 2006b, 2008a, 2008b, 2009, 2010a).

Record Details:

Record Type:DOCUMENT( JOURNAL/ PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL)
Product Published Date:04/01/2011
Record Last Revised:04/07/2011
OMB Category:Other
Record ID: 233764