Research Hub

Human exposure to elevated air pollution has many negative health outcomes. Communicating elevated air pollution concentrations with an air quality (health) index is one an approach to reduce population exposure. The indices translate a cocktail of air pollutants to a single value that can be understood by the general public. People can use the index to avoid activities that will elevate their exposure. Most indices report the health risk for an entire city or large area as a single value. Research into air pollution spatial variability shows that major variations can occur within cities and neighborhoods, so air quality index information, while valuable, may mislead citizens when they estimate their own risk. This chapter describes the development of a neighborhood level, real time, internet enabled air pollution map that can be used by citizens to become aware of their localized air quality health risks and then take appropriate actions.

Published Jun 29, 2018

Adams, M., Corr, D., & Requia, W. (2018). Mapping air pollution health risk: An application of Canada’s AQHI. In The Practice of Spatial Analysis: Essays in memory of Professor Pavlos Kanaroglou (pp. 359–372). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89806-3_17

Rationale: Whereas associations between air pollution and respiratory morbidity for adults 65 years and older are well documented in the United States, the evidence for people under 65 is less extensive. To address this gap, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program collected respiratory emergency department (ED) data from 17 states. Objectives: To estimate age-specific acute effects of ozone and fine particulate matter (particulate matter ≤2.5 mm in aerodynamic diameter [PM 2.5 ]) on respiratory ED visits. Methods: We conducted time-series analyses in 894 counties by linking daily respiratory ED visits with estimated ozone and PM 2.5 concentrations during the week before the date of the visit. Overall effect estimates were obtained with a Bayesian hierarchical model to combine county estimates for each pollutant by age group (children, 0-18; adults, 19-64; adults≥65, and all ages) and by outcome group (acute respiratory infection, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, and all respiratory ED visits). Measurements and Main Results: Rate ratios (95% credible interval) per 10-μg/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 and all respiratory ED visits were 1.024 (1.018-1.029) among children, 1.008 (1.004-1.012) among adults younger than 65 years, and 1.002 (0.996-1.007) among adults 65 and older. Per 20-ppb increase in ozone, rate ratios were 1.017 (1.011-1.023) among children, 1.051 (1.046-1.056) among adults younger than 65, and 1.033 (1.026-1.040) among adults 65 and older. Associations variedinmagnitude by age group for eachoutcome group. Conclusions: These results address a gap in the evidence used to ensure adequate public health protection under national air pollution policies.

Published Jun 22, 2018

Strosnider, H. M., Chang, H. H., Darrow, L. A., Liu, Y., Vaidyanathan, A., & Strickland, M. J. (2019). Age-Specific Associations of Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter with Respiratory Emergency Department Visits in the United States. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 199(7), 882–890. https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.201806-1147OC

Air pollution generated in urban areas is a global public health burden since half of the world's population live in either cities, megacities or periurban areas. Its direct effects include initiating and exacerbating disease, with indirect effects on health mediated via climate change putting the basic needs of water, air and food at risk.

Published May 24, 2018

Liu, N. M., & Grigg, J. (2018). Diesel, children and respiratory disease. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2017-000210

Using detailed education data between 1996-2012 from the state of Florida, we examine whether pollution from local Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) sites affects student achievement and high stakes accountability school rankings. Using event study and difference-indifferences designs, we compare students attending schools within one mile of a TRI site that opens or closes to students attending schools between one and two miles away. We find that being exposed to air pollution is associated with 0.024 of standard deviation lower test scores, increased likelihood of suspension from school, and increased likelihood that a school's overall high stakes accountability ranking will drop.

Published May 20, 2018

Persico, C., & Venator, J. (2018). The Effects of Local Industrial Pollution on Students and Schools. http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2019/08/02/jhr.56.2.0518-9511R2.abstract

Outlining the characteristics of “wicked” and “super-wicked” problems, climate change is considered as a global super-wicked problem that is primarily about the future. Being global- and future-oriented makes climate change something we have to learn to live with but cannot expect to solve. Because the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS) is a multidisciplinary society that yokes the natural and social sciences with values, it is in a position to explore strategies for living with climate change—exemplified by the articles in this section. Finally, asking “who/what is in charge,” it is suggested that in a dynamically interrelated and evolving world no one is. It is important to distinguish between good that is already created and the creative interactions that give rise to new good. In order to live with climate change, our primary orientation should be to live with the creativity that has created and continues to create our life on Planet Earth—since we are not able to know what the future holds.

Published May 15, 2018

Peters, K. E. (2018). Living With the Wicked Problem of Climate Change. Zygon, 53(2), 427–442. https://doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12400

Background: Some studies have linked long-term exposure to traffic related air pollutants (TRAP) with adverse cardiovascular health outcomes; however, previous studies have not linked highly variable concentrations of TRAP measured at street-level within neighborhoods to cardiovascular health outcomes. Methods: Long-term pollutant concentrations for nitrogen dioxide [NO2], nitric oxide [NO], and black carbon [BC] were obtained by street-level mobile monitoring on 30 m road segments and linked to residential addresses of 41,869 adults living in Oakland during 2010 to 2015. We fit Cox proportional hazard models to estimate the relationship between air pollution exposures and time to first cardiovascular event. Secondary analyses examined effect modification by diabetes and age. Results: Long-term pollutant concentrations [mean, (standard deviation; SD)] for NO2, NO and BC were 9.9 ppb (SD 3.8), 4.9 ppb (SD 3.8), and 0.36 μg/m3 (0.17) respectively. A one SD increase in NO2, NO and BC, was associated with a change in risk of a cardiovascular event of 3% (95% confidence interval [CI] -6% to 12%), 3% (95% CI -5% to 12%), and - 1% (95% CI -8% to 7%), respectively. Among the elderly (≥65 yrs), we found an increased risk of a cardiovascular event of 12% for NO2 (95% CI: 2%, 24%), 12% for NO (95% CI: 3%, 22%), and 7% for BC (95% CI: -3%, 17%) per one SD increase. We found no effect modification by diabetes. Conclusions: Street-level differences in long-term exposure to TRAP were associated with higher risk of cardiovascular events among the elderly, indicating that within-neighborhood differences in TRAP are important to cardiovascular health. Associations among the general population were consistent with results found in previous studies, though not statistically significant.

Published May 15, 2018

Alexeeff, S. E., Roy, A., Shan, J., Liu, X., Messier, K., Apte, J. S., Portier, C., Sidney, S., & Van Den Eeden, S. K. (2018). High-resolution mapping of traffic related air pollution with Google street view cars and incidence of cardiovascular events within neighborhoods in Oakland, CA. Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source, 17(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-018-0382-1

This article addresses the problem of “eco-anxiety” by integrating results from numerous fields of inquiry. Although climate change may cause direct psychological and existential impacts, vast numbers of people already experience indirect impacts in the form of depression, socio-ethical paralysis, and loss of well-being. This is not always evident, because people have developed psychological and social defenses in response, including “socially constructed silence.” I argue that this situation causes the need to frame climate change narratives as emphasizing hope in the midst of tragedy. Framing the situation simply as a threat or a possibility does not work. Religious communities and the use of methods which include spirituality have an important role in enabling people to process their deep emotions and existential questions. I draw also from my experiences from Finland in enabling cooperation between natural scientists and theologians in order to address climate issues.

Published May 15, 2018

Pihkala, P. (2018). ECO-ANXIETY, TRAGEDY, AND HOPE: PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. Zygon, 53(2), 545–569. https://doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12407

Background
Few studies have explored the relationship between air pollution and fertility. We used a natural experiment in California when coal and oil power plants retired to estimate associations with nearby fertility rates.

Methods
We used a difference-in-differences negative binomial model on the incident rate ratio scale to analyze the change in annual fertility rates among California mothers living within 0-5 km and 5-10 km of 8 retired power plants between 2001 and 2011. The difference-in-differences method isolates the portion of the pre- versus post-retirement contrast in the 0-5 km and 5-10 km bins, respectively, that is due to retirement rather than secular trends. We controlled for secular trends with mothers living 10-20 km away. Adjusted models included fixed effects for power plant, proportion Hispanic, Black, high school educated, and aged > 30 years mothers, and neighborhood poverty and educational attainment.

Results
Analyses included 58,909 live births. In adjusted models, we estimated that after power plant retirement annual fertility rates per 1000 women aged 15–44 years increased by 8 births within 5 km and 2 births within 5-10 km of power plants, corresponding to incident rate ratios of 1.2 (95% CI: 1.1–1.4) and 1.1 (95% CI: 1.0–1.2), respectively. We implemented a negative exposure control by randomly selecting power plants that did not retire and repeating our analysis with those locations using the retirement dates from original 8 power plants. There was no association, suggesting that statewide temporal trends may not account for results.

Conclusions
Fertility rates among nearby populations appeared to increase after coal and oil power plant retirements. Our study design limited the possibility that our findings resulted from temporal trends or changes in population composition. These results require confirmation in other populations, given known methodological limitations of ecologic study designs.

Published May 2, 2018

Casey, J. A., Gemmill, A., Karasek, D., Ogburn, E. L., Goin, D. E., & Morello-Frosch, R. (2018). Increase in fertility following coal and oil power plant retirements in California. Environmental Health 2018 17:1, 17(1), 44-. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12940-018-0388-8

In utero exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) has been linked to child lung function. Overlapping evidence suggests that child sex and exposure timing may modify effects and associations may be mediated through glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) methylation.

Prenatal PM2.5 exposure in late pregnancy was associated with impaired early childhood lung function and hypermethylation of GSTPI in DNA isolated from nasal epithelial cells. There was a trend towards higher GSTP1 percent methylation being associated with reduced FEV1. All findings were most evident among boys.

Published Apr 27, 2018

Lee, A.G., Le Grand, B., Hsu, HH.L. et al. Prenatal fine particulate exposure associated with reduced childhood lung function and nasal epithelia GSTP1 hypermethylation: Sex-specific effects. Respir Res 19, 76 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-018-0774-3

INTRODUCTION
The United States and Western Europe have seen great
improvements in air quality, presumably in response to
various regulations curtailing emissions from the broad
range of sources that have contributed to local, regional,
and global pollution. Such regulations, and the ensuing
controls, however, have not come without costs, which are
estimated at tens of billions of dollars per year. These costs
motivate accountability-related questions such as, to what
extent do regulations lead to emissions changes? More
important, to what degree have the regulations provided
the expected human health benefits?
Here, the impacts of specific regulations on both electricity generating unit (EGU*) and on-road mobile sources
are examined through the classical accountability process
laid out in the 2003 Health Effects Institute report linking
regulations to emissions to air quality to health effects, with
a focus on the 1999–2013 period. This analysis centers on
regulatory actions in the southeastern United States and
their effects on health outcomes in the 5-county Atlanta
metropolitan area. The regulations examined are largely
driven by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (C). This
work investigates regulatory actions and controls promulgated on EGUs: the Acid Rain Program (ARP), the NOx
Budget Trading Program (NBP), and the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) — and mobile sources: Tier 2 Gasoline
Vehicle Standards and the 2007 Heavy Duty Diesel Rule

Published Apr 1, 2018