The Health Effects Institute
"A Partnership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Industry"

HEI Workshop:
Research to Investigate the Characteristics and
Sources of PM Associated with Toxicity

August 10 and 11, 2004
Baltimore, Maryland

HEI is developing plans to systematically address the question of which characteristics and sources of particulate matter (PM) may be responsible for toxic effects. HEI’s approach anticipates a set of epidemiologic and toxicologic studies at multiple sites where PM characteristics or components vary across space and over time.

One of the key steps in the planning process is to decide what epidemiologic and toxicologic approaches might be used and what can be addressed, based on the available data. In August 2004 in Baltimore, MD, HEI held a workshop “Research to Investigate the Characteristics and Sources of PM Associated with Toxicity” to address these topics. Representatives of government, industry, and the scientific community with expertise in the regulatory process, epidemiologic and toxicologic study design, exposure assessment, and pollutant source identification participated. The major themes of the workshop were:

• the importance to the regulatory process of identifying characteristics of PM associated with toxicity;
• the information available in relevant air pollutant and health databases that will facilitate multi-site health effects studies; and
• the kinds of multi-site epidemiologic and/or controlled exposure studies that would be most appropriate.

To focus discussion at the workshop, HEI asked experts in the areas of air pollutant and health databases and the design of epidemiologic and controlled exposure studies to write background papers that were distributed to participants before the meeting. At the meeting, the authors of these papers summarized their papers and discussed the implications for the design of future multisite studies. After each of these presentations, discussants presented their views on the topics.

We are now posting the agenda and presentations from the workshop. The background papers are available on request from HEI (see contact information below). HEI will follow up the recommendations for future multisite studies that emerged from the workshop by issuing an RFA early in 2005.

For more information about the workshop, contact Geoffrey Sunshine (+1 617-886-9330 ext 303; gsunshine@healtheffects.org); for more information on HEI’s PM program, contact Jane Warren (+1 617-886-9330 ext 301, jwarren@healtheffects.org).

HEI Air Quality Database NEW This database, prepared by a group led by Christian Seigneur and Betty Pun, Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER), focuses on levels of pollutants at and near sites in the EPA's PM2.5 Chemical Speciation Trends Network (STN) and State, Local and Tribal air monitoring stations (SLAMS). The database includes information on PM2.5 mass; sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium ion levels; elemental and organic carbon; and several metals. Levels of pollutant gases (SO2, O3, NOx, and CO) from monitoring sites at or near the STN sites as well as information on the size of the population around the site, local emissions sources and meteorology are also included. A report detailing how these data were collected (Creation of an Air Pollutant Database for Health Effects Studies: Phase I Report – Collection of PM Speciation and Related Data) is now available. Please click here to download the report ( 1.5 MB, posted July 22 2005). The Air Quality Database is available at AER’s website (http://hei.aer.com). Questions about accessing the information in the database should be addressed to Dr. Betty Pun, AER (bpun@aer.com; +1-925-244-7125). The database is made available to investigators applying to RFA 05-1 and to other investigators interested in using the information for studies on air quality and health. Currently, the database contains information covering the years 2000-2004 and it is anticipated that the information will be updated regularly over the next 2-3 years.

WORKSHOP AGENDA AND PRESENTATIONS 

Click on the speaker names to see their presentations. All files are PowerPoint converted to secure PDF (up to 750 KB). Please note that you need Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher to view these files. For a free copy please click here.
Session 1 Introduction: Importance to the regulatory process of identifying characteristics of PM associated with toxicity
Chair:	Bob O’Keefe, Health Effects Institute (HEI)
Presenters:	John Bachmann, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
	Jon Samet, Johns Hopkins University and HEI Research Committee: NRC PM research priorities
Session 2 What information is available in relevant databases that will facilitate multi-site health effects studies?
Chair:	Ken Demerjian, State University New York at Albany and HEI Research Committee
Air pollutant data
Presenter:	Betty Pun, Atmospheric & Environmental Research (HEI pollutant database Request for Proposals awardee). Click here to access the report by Drs. Seigneur and Pun on the HEI Air Quality Database ( 1.5 MB). NEW
Discussants:	Ken Demerjian: Unanswered questions about the pollutant data
	Phil Hopke, Clarkson University: Using the database pollutant information to identify sources
Health data
Presenters:	David Mannino, University of Kentucky (author of Health Database I background paper 210 KB )
	Tim Wyant, Decipher Inc. (author of Health Database II background paper 720 KB)
Discussant:	Ira Tager, University of California, Berkeley and HEI Research Committee
	Ken Demerjian and Ira Tager: Summary of key issues from morning sessions: (1) regulatory issues; (2) components/air quality, (3) sources, (4) health data.
Session 3 What kinds of multi-site studies can we design?
Epidemiologic design issues relevant to multi-site studies
Chair:	Jon Samet
Presenter:	Lianne Sheppard, University of Washington (author of Epidemiology Design background paper 190 KB)
Discussants:	Arden Pope, Brigham Young University
	Ron Wyzga, Electric Power Research Institute
	Petros Koutrakis, Harvard School of Public Health
	Francesco Forastiere, Rome E Health Authority, Italy, provided written comments.
Multiple site toxicologic studies
Chairs:	Mark Utell, University of Rochester Clinical Center and HEI Research Committee, and Rogene Henderson, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and HEI Research Committee
Presenter:	Rich Schlesinger, Pace University (author of Toxicology background paper 240 KB)
Discussants:	Thomas Sandström, Umeå University Hospital, Sweden
	Robert Devlin, US EPA
	Joe Mauderly, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute
	Helmut Greim, Technical University of Munich, Germany and HEI Research Committee