Special Reports

Periodically HEI analyzes and interprets the scientific issues pertaining to a specific environmental problem. The results of these analyses are published in HEI Special Reports, which are prepared by expert panels appointed by the HEI Board of Directors and assisted by HEI scientific staff. The reports are then peer reviewed independently by outside experts in the area of knowledge being covered by the report. HEI Special Reports have been used widely by the scientific community and by government officials in deliberations regarding public policy. Read more about HEI’s processes for Special Reports.

Special Report 23
Health Effects Institute
2022

This comprehensive scientific review examines the evidence for associations between several adverse health effects and traffic-related air pollution (TRAP). The review, the largest of its type to date, was conducted by a panel of 13 renowned experts who evaluated 353 published scientific reports on traffic pollution and related health effects between 1980 and 2019.

Special Report 22
Yan Zhang
Junlan Feng
Cong Liu
Junri Zhao
Weichun Ma
Cheng Huang
Jingyu An
Yin Shen
Qingyan Fu
Shuxiao Wang
Dian Ding
Wangqi Ge
Freda Fung
Kethural Manokaran
Allison P. Patton
Katherine Walker
Haidong Kan
2019

Special Report 22 describes a study led by a team of investigators from Fudan and Tsinghua Universities, other Chinese research institutions, and HEI scientists Allison Patton and Katherine Walker, as part of HEI’s Global Health Program. The report provides an analysis of emissions from shipping and related activities and their impacts on air quality and health in the Yangtze River Delta and Shanghai.

Special Report 21
GBD MAPS Working Group
2018

Special Report 21, Burden of Disease Attributable to Major Air Pollution Sources in India, provides the first comprehensive analysis of the levels of fine particulate matter air pollution in India by source and their impact on health. Household burning emissions (contributing to outdoor air) and coal combustion are the single largest sources of air pollution-related health impact. Emissions from agricultural burning, anthropogenic dusts, transport, other diesel, and brick kilns also contribute significantly.

Special Report 20
GBD MAPS Working Group
2016

Special Report 20, Burden of Disease Attributable to Coal-Burning and Other Major Sources of Air Pollution in China, provides the first comprehensive assessment of the current and predicted burdens of disease attributable to coal-burning and other major sources of particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) in China at the national and provincial levels. It is the result of the Global Burden of Disease – Major Air Pollution Sources (GDB MAPS) project, an international collaboration of Tsinghua University, the Health Effects Institute, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), and the University of British Columbia. The analyses show that coal combustion is the single largest source of air pollution-related health impact, contributing to some 366,000 premature deaths in China in 2013, with industry and household combustion as major contributors as well. The report also indicates that health burdens could grow substantially by 2030 if no further action is taken. 燃煤和其他主要大气污染源所致的中国疾病负担 (Special Report 20 in Chinese)

 

专题报告20
GBD MAPS 工作组
2016

专题报告20,燃煤和其他主要大气污染源所致的中国疾病负担。报告从国家与省级层面,对中国燃煤及其他主要空气污染源释放的细颗粒物(PM2.5)所造成当前及未来疾病负担进行了第一次综合评估。此项报告由清华大学、健康影响研究所、健康指标和评估研究所(IHME)与不列颠哥伦比亚大学联合发布,是全球疾病负担-主要空气污染源(GDB MAPS)这一国际合作项目的研究结果。分析表明,燃煤是造成空气污染、影响健康的最大元凶。2013年,仅燃煤一项在中国就导致约36.6万人过早死亡,其中以工业与民用燃煤影响最为重大。报告还指出,如不采取进一步行动,到2030年健康负担将会大幅增加。Burden of Disease Attributable to Coal-Burning and Other Air Pollution Sources in China (in English)

Special Report 19
HEI Diesel Epidemiology Panel
2015

Special Report 19 contains the intensive review and analysis of the newest studies of mine and truck workers exposed to older diesel engine exhaust conducted by an Expert Panel appointed by the HEI Board of Directors. In its report, HEI's Diesel Epidemiology Panel concluded that the studies are well prepared and are useful for applying the data to calculate the cancer risk due to exposure to diesel exhaust.

Special Report 18
Health Effects Institute
2010

This comprehensive literature review to come out of HEI's Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA) program builds on an initial assessment conducted in 2004 and describes the current scope of the Asian literature on the health effects of outdoor air pollution, enumerating and classifying more than 400 studies. In addition, the report includes a systematic and quantitative assessment of 82 time-series studies of daily mortality and hospital admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory disease.

Special Report 17
Health Effects Institute
2010

A Special Report of the Institute's Panel on the Health Effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution. This report is the most comprehensive and systematic review to date of the scientific literature on emissions, exposure, and health effects from traffic-related air pollution. It includes conclusions about the populations exposed around major roads, the associations between exposure to air pollution from traffic and human health, and important remaining data gaps. Compared with the initial pre-print version released in May 2009, this final version has undergone data verification and editorial changes; however, the overall conclusions did not change.

Special Report 16
Health Effects Institute
2007
Topics: 

A Special Report of the Institute's Air Toxics Review Panel. Special Report 16 summarizes the health effects of exposure to the 21 mobile-source air toxics (MSATs) defined by the 2001 EPA mobile-source rulemaking and critically analyzes the literature for a subset of seven MSATs (acetaldehyde, acrolein, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, naphthalene, and polycyclic organic matter). The report also assesses and summarizes research gaps and unresolved questions, as understood in the context of the current regulatory agenda. The report focuses on MSATs for which mobile sources are a sizable source of human exposure and for which existing data suggest that health effects might be observed at concentrations approaching those found in ambient air. For each MSAT, the following questions are addressed: (1) To what extent are mobile sources a significant source of exposure to this MSAT? (2) Does this MSAT affect human health? (3) Does this MSAT affect human health at environmental conditions?

Special Report 15
Health Effects Institute
2004

A Special Report by the HEI International Scientific Oversight Committee of HEI Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA) Program (a program of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities). This first publication to come from HEI's PAPA Program was undertaken to help inform the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities. This special report has identified and summarized more than 135 studies of air pollution and health conducted across Asia. In addition, it critically reviews for the first time a key subset of these studies: 28 studies of daily mortality. The report is a valuable resource for policy makers in Asia and beyond.