Chairs: Michael Brauer, University of British Columbia, Canada and HEI Review Committee, and Allen Robinson, Carnegie Mellon University and HEI Research Committee
The HEI Perspectives 3 (released in 2013) concluded that the scientific literature did not support strong conclusions about the independent effects of ambient ultrafine particles (UFPs) on human health. Limitations in study size and design, in measurement of exposure to UFPs, and in the analysis of UFP as an individual pollutant rather than as one component of the traffic pollutant mixture were the reasons behind the report’s conclusions. Recent studies have raised additional questions about the contributions to UFP exposure of nucleation events, airports, and other sources. This session draws lessons from a range of studies on UFPs for designing effective research strategies to evaluate the health effects associated with long-term UFP exposures.