Air Toxics

This page has a list of publications and news articles related to Air Pollution - Air Toxics. Find more information about our research on Air Pollution.

Newsletter
Health Effects Institute
2014

Contents: Conference Eyes Future of Air Pollution Research, Policy; Leading Health Expert to Chair Review Committee; Workshop on Unconventional Oil and Gas Development; Developing New Models for Ultrafine Particles and Air Toxics Exposures; Sharing Insight from NPACT Setting Research Priorities (Research Planning Meeting); HEI in the News; HEI Strategic Plan 2015-2020 Taking Shape

Research Report 181
Stuart Batterman
Feng-Chiao Su
Shi Li
Bhramar Mukherjee
Chunrong Jia
2014

This report describes a study to identify factors that influence exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and VOC mixtures. Dr. Stuart Batterman at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor and colleagues used the extensive data that HEI posted on the Web from the Relationships of Indoor, Outdoor, and Personal Air (RIOPA) study (HEI Research Report 130 Parts I and II), and data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), to characterize exposure distributions for 15 VOCs, with an emphasis on high concentrations. Factors examined included geographic location, weather, characteristics of participants' homes, and specific activities, such as pumping gas.

Research Report 172
Thomas J Smith
Mary E Davis
Jaime E Hart
Andrew Blicharz
Francine Laden
Eric Garshick
2012
Topics: 

This report describes a study that measured concentrations of selected volatile organic compounds and particulate matter in locations with potentially high levels of air pollution that could make them "hot spots" for human exposure. Dr. Thomas Smith of the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues measured pollutant concentrations at upwind and downwind locations at the perimeter of the terminals, as well as inside truck cabs, at 15 truck terminals.

Research Report 168
Richard D Morgenstern
Winston Harrington
Jhih-Shyang Shih
Michelle L Bell
2012

This report describes a study that analyzed the relationships between reductions in pollutants from power plants and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in the eastern United States between 1999 and 2005. Dr. Richard D. Morgenstern of Resources for the Future and colleagues used a novel data-driven source-receptor model to explore the statistical relationships between source emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides and monitored concentrations of PM2.5. They performed various external comparisons of their models, and compared the reductions to an estimated counterfactual scenario in which no mandated reductions in SO2 occurred.

Newsletter
Health Effects Institute
2012

This update describes a new Diesel Epidemiology Project; a call for Research Proposals: Improving Traffic Exposure Analysis for Health Studies; the Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study nearing completion; a new member of the Research Committee; a visit from Japanese Auto Officials; and two new Research Reports on Potential Air Toxics Hot Spots in Truck Terminals and Cabs and on the Impact of 1990 Hong Kong Limits on Sulfur Content in Fuel. 

Contents: HEI research contributes to international (IARC) review of diesel and gasoline cancer risk; Annual Conference highlights new PM, diesel, and ozone findings, major issues; Air quality outcomes of national limits on power plant emissions; Study tests potential uses of satellite-based PM measurements.

Contents: Greenbaum Testifies on "Producing Credible Science for Decisions"; New HEI Health Effects Study of Modern Diesel Engine Emissions; Health Outcomes and Biomarkers Studies Approved; Multicity Study in Latin America; Air Pollution and Children's Health in Vietnam; HEI in the News; Communication 17: ACES Exposure Atmosphere; Annual Report Now Available; New Global Burden of Disease Estimates; HEI Investigator Wins Haagen-Smit Prize; Workshop on Assessing Exposure to Pollution from Traffic; IARC Review of Diesel and Gasoline Exhaust

Contents: Effects of Exposure to Diesel Exhaust Particles in Persons with Asthma and Allergy; Workshop Brings Experts Together: Atmospheric Chemists and Health Effects Scientists Meet at HEI to Discuss Common Goals; Symposium Sheds Light on Air Toxics Hot Spots; Wood Stove Changeout Program Brings Some Improvements in Health, Air Quality; Three New HEI Studies Launched: Ozone Exposure and Inflammatory Cells / PM Exposure and Heart Rhythm / Impact of Exposure in Early Life; ACES Reaches Important Milestones; New Investigator

Research Report 160
Paul J Lioy
Zhihua (Tina) Fan
Junfeng (Jim) Zhang
Panos Georgopoulos
Sheng-Wei Wang
Pamela Ohman-Strickland
Xiangmei Wu
Xianlei Zhu
Jason Herrington
Xiaogang Tang
Qingyu Meng
Kyung Hwa Jung
Jaymin Kwon
Marta Hernandez
et al
2011

This report describes a study that tested whether an air toxics "hot spot" existed in Camden, NJ. Dr. Lioy and colleagues evaluated ambient and personal exposures of nonsmoking residents to PM2.5, VOCs, aldehydes, and PAHs in two neighborhoods in Camden, NJ, one of which was hypothesized to be a regional air toxics "hot spot." The investigators compared concentrations of air pollutants in the two neighborhoods with each other and then with concentrations at other locations in the United States. They also assessed the effects of seasonality, contributions from mobile sources, and spatial variability.

Research Report 158
John Spengler
Jamson Lwebuga-Mukasa
Jose Vallarino
Steve Melly
Steve Chillrud
Joel Baker
Taeko Minegishi
2011
Topics: 

This report describes a study that tested whether emissions from traffic caused an air toxics "hot spot" in a neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Spengler and colleagues hypothesized that vehicle-related emissions from heavy traffic at the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, one of the nation's busiest border crossings and a potential air pollution hot spot, would result in elevated downwind levels of mobile-source air toxics (MSATs) and other traffic-related pollutants. The investigators measured levels of a large number of MSATs as well as six criteria pollutants using both fixed-site and mobile monitoring in order to examine the relation between traffic at the bridge and the spatial distribution of ambient pollutant concentrations at the bridge and in an adjacent neighborhood.