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More Readers Find HEI’s Quality Science a Click Away

2016
New user statistics for HEI’s Web site show that people downloaded HEI publications on air pollution and health more than 170,000 times in 2015, and that they have been consulting these publications at an increasing rate. From 2011 to 2015, downloads of HEI Special Reports, Research Reports, Perspectives, and other materials published by the institute increased by nearly 58 percent (see Figure 1). 
 
These downloads have included a wide range of HEI reports published over the past three decades, although several have been especially popular in recent years. As shown in Figure 2, Special Report 17, Traffic-Related Air Pollution: A Critical Review of the Literature on Emissions, Exposure, and Health Effects (2010), is the clear number one, as it has been in the past four years (see, for example, HEI Update, Spring 2014, page 3). It is followed closely by Perspectives 3, Understanding the Health Effects of Ambient Ultrafine Particles (2013). 
 
Also making the top 10 list again are Special Report 18, Outdoor Air Pollution and Health in the Developing Countries of Asia: A Comprehensive Review (2010), and an older Special Report, Revised Analyses of Time-Series Studies of Air Pollution and Health (2003).
 
In addition, six Research Reports are on the current top 10 chart that have also been popular downloads in past years:
  • 107, Emissions from Diesel and Gasoline Engines Measured in Highway Tunnels (Part 1: Alan Gertler et al.; Part 2: Daniel Grosjean and Eric Grosjean, 2002). This report has attracted renewed interest, apparently owing to the ongoing debate regarding emissions control devices for passenger vehicles.
  • 123, Time-Series Analysis of Air Pollution and Mortality: A Statistical Review (Francesca Dominici et al., 2004)
  • 163, The London Low Emission Zone Baseline Study (Frank Kelly et al., 2011)
  • 138, Health Effects of Real-World Exposure to Diesel Exhaust in Persons with Asthma (Junfeng Zhang et al., 2009)
  • 140, Extended Follow-Up and Spatial Analysis of the American Cancer Society Study Linking Particulate Air Pollution and Mortality (Daniel Krewski et al., 2009)
  • 155, The Impact of the Congestion Charging Scheme on Air Quality in London (Frank Kelly et al., 2011) 
bar graph of the 10 most popular downloaded HEI reports
 
With the publication of additional important reports in recent years (e.g., the HEI National Particle Component Toxicity [NPACT] initiative, the Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study [ACES] testing of new-technology diesel engines, and the newest data on the Global Burden of Disease), HEI looks forward to continuing to track how many people are accessing and using our work — and to identify ways to increase their use.
 
All HEI publications can be downloaded free of charge. Our site contains a complete archive of all HEI reports, dating back to 1985.