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Modeling dispersion of traffic-related pollutants in the NEXUS health study
Citation:
Snyder, M., S. Arunachalam, V. Isakov, K. Talgo, A. Valencia, B. Naess, D. Heist, S. Batterman, AND L. Berry Vaughn. Modeling dispersion of traffic-related pollutants in the NEXUS health study. Presented at 2013 CMAS Annual Conference, Chapel Hill, NC, October 28 - 30, 2013.
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) Atmospheric Modeling and Analysis Division (AMAD) conducts research in support of EPA mission to protect human health and the environment. AMAD research program is engaged in developing and evaluating predictive atmospheric models on all spatial and temporal scales for forecasting the air quality and for assessing changes in air quality and air pollutant exposures, as affected by changes in ecosystem management and regulatory decisions. AMAD is responsible for providing a sound scientific and technical basis for regulatory policies based on air quality models to improve ambient air quality. The models developed by AMAD are being used by EPA, NOAA, and the air pollution community in understanding and forecasting not only the magnitude of the air pollution problem, but also in developing emission control policies and regulations for air quality improvements
Description:
Dispersion modeling tools have traditionally provided critical information for air quality management decisions, but have been used recently to provide exposure estimates to support health studies. However, these models can be challenging to implement, particularly in near-road studies, due to the detailed input requirements necessary to estimate traffic-related emissions. Local-scale dispersion modeling is being applied in the Near-road Exposures to Urban air pollutant Study (NEXUS) as one method to estimate the exposure of asthmatic children living in Detroit, MI to traffic-generated pollutants. The study design includes determining if children with asthma living near major roadways with high traffic have greater health impacts associated with air pollutants than those living farther away, particularly for those living near roadways with high diesel traffic. A major feature of the NEXUS study is an evaluation of different exposure metrics of traffic-related pollutants of varying complexity to determine their utility in examining associations with observed health effects.