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We estimate the effect of short-term air pollution exposure (PM2.5 and ozone) on several categories of crime, with a particular emphasis on aggressive behavior. To identify this relationship, we combine detailed daily data on crime, air pollution, and weather for an eight-year period across the United States. Our primary identification strategy employs extremely high dimensional fixed effects and we perform a series of robustness checks to address confounding variation between temperature and air pollution. We find a robust positive effect of increased air pollution on violent crimes, and specifically assaults, but no relationship between increases in air pollution and property crimes. The effects are present in and out of the home, at levels well below Ambient Air Pollution Standards, and PM2.5 effects are strongest at lower temperatures. The results suggest that a 10% reduction in daily PM2.5 and ozone could save $1.4 billion in crime costs per year, a previously overlooked cost associated with pollution.

Published Nov 1, 2019

Burkhardt, J., Bayham, J., Wilson, A., Carter, E., Berman, J. D., O’Dell, K., Ford, B., Fischer, E. V., & Pierce, J. R. (2019). The effect of pollution on crime: Evidence from data on particulate matter and ozone. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 98, 102267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2019.102267

Background
New evidence suggests that particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) is associated with late-onset dementia (LOD). However, epidemiological studies for the entire population are lacking.

Methods
We analyzed approximately 94 million follow-up records from fee-for-service Medicare records for 13 million Medicare beneficiaries residing in the southeastern United States (U.S.) from 2000 to 2013. We used spatially and temporally continuous PM2.5 exposure data. To account for time-varying PM2.5 levels, we applied an Andersen-Gill counting process proportional hazard model; we stratified our analyses by subtype of dementia and level of urbanization of residence.

Results
During a median follow-up of 6 years, 1,409,599 hospitalizations with dementia occurred. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of hospitalization with dementia was 1.049 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.048 to 1.051) per 1 μg/m3 increase in annual PM2.5. The hazard ratio for vascular dementia was higher (HR, 1.086; 95% CI, 1.082 to 1.090). In large, the magnitude of the effect grew as the level of urbanization increased (HR, 1.036; 95% CI, 1.031 to 1.041 in rural areas versus HR, 1.052; 95% CI, 1.050 to 1.054 in metropolitan areas).

Conclusions
Long-term exposure to higher PM2.5 was associated with increased hospitalizations with dementia.

Published Nov 1, 2019

Lee, M., Schwartz, J., Wang, Y., Dominici, F., & Zanobetti, A. (2019). Long-term effect of fine particulate matter on hospitalization with dementia. Environmental Pollution, 254, 112926. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENVPOL.2019.07.094

Federal agencies in the current United States (US) administration have sought to relax energy policies (EPs). These actions are expected to increase emissions of both greenhouse gases and conventional air pollutants, which are known to react in the atmosphere to form ozone, a pollutant harmful to humans. We applied an integrated modeling framework to show that compared with a scenario with continued EPs and a stationary climate, a relaxation of EPs coupled with warming will significantly increase the number of US counties with ozone concentrations above the current health-based standard by 2050, potentially increasing control costs up to several billion dollars. We showed that a warmer climate will increase the ozone production efficiency. The interaction of conventional air pollutant emissions with climate feedbacks should be considered and integrated when addressing the air-quality cobenefits and disbenefits of EPs.

Published Oct 25, 2019

Shen, H., Chen, Y., Li, Y., Russell, A. G., Hu, Y., Henneman, L. R. F., Odman, M. T., Shih, J.-S., Burtraw, D., Shao, S., Yu, H., Qin, M., Chen, Z., Lawal, A. S., Pavur, G. K., Brown, M. A., & Driscoll, C. T. (2019). Relaxing Energy Policies Coupled with Climate Change Will Significantly Undermine Efforts to Attain US Ozone Standards. One Earth, 1(2), 229–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2019.09.006

There is strong evidence that short-run fluctuations in air pollution negatively impact infant health and contemporaneous adult health, but there is less evidence on the causal link between long-term exposure to air pollution and increased adult mortality. This project estimates the impact of long-term exposure to air pollution on mortality by leveraging quasi-random variation in pollution levels generated by wind patterns near major highways. I combine geocoded data on the residence of every decedent in Los Angeles over three years, high-frequency wind data, and Census short form data. Using these data, I estimate the effect of downwind exposure to highway-generated pollutants on the age-specific mortality rate by using orientation to the nearest major highway as an instrument for pollution exposure. I find that doubling the percentage of time spent downwind of a highway increases mortality among individuals 75 or older by 3.8%–6.5%. These estimates are robust and imply significant loss of life years.

Published Oct 23, 2019

Anderson, M. L. (2019). As the Wind Blows: The Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution on Mortality. Journal of the European Economic Association, 0(0), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvz051

On September 9, 2018, Hurricane Irma swept across south Florida, leaving a path of destruction across the entire state. Miami-Dade County, at the southern tip of the state, avoided a direct hit. However, the storm left the county and its dozens of municipalities with gigantic mounds of storm debris. As the weeks went by, the piles festered and frustration with the pace of the clean-up mounted. Two dump sites in particular drew the attention of media and community activists: a park ringed by single family homes in Liberty City, a black community in the heart of Miami; and historic Virginia Key, the only beach open to black citizens under Jim Crow segregation. This research examines three narratives -- media coverage, official explanations from local governments, and reactions on social media -- as a way to investigate how the dumping of storm debris in black spaces was justified, interrogated, and contested in the aftermath of one of the worst hurricanes to strike Miami-Dade County in over a decade. Climate change models predict the increasing frequency of super storms like Irma, and discussions of how coastal cities respond in terms of infrastructure and resiliency are growing. This investigation looks at two components of this response that have not been as widely considered: what are the institutional and citizen responses in the aftermath of these storms, and how will issues of race and historic geographic marginalization be either acknowledged or ignored as the problems associated with climate change grow ever more acute and pressing.

Published Oct 14, 2019

Shumow, M. (2019). “Why is it Here, of All Places?”: Debris Cleanup, Black Space, and Narratives of Marginalized Geographies in Post-Irma Miami-Dade. In Climate Change, Media & Culture: Critical Issues in Global Environmental Communication (pp. 13–32). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78769-967-020191004

We use population-level data of all Flordia children born between 1994 and 2002 to examine the long-term effect f prenatal exposure to environmental toxicants from a Superfund (toxic waste) site. We compare siblings who faced different toxic exposures during gestation because of Superfund site cleanup (or, in other specifications, because of a family move). Children exposed to toxic waste while gestating have substantially worse cognitive and behavioral outcoes thatn do their unaffected siblings. These results are much larger than what would have been predicted were the effects Superfund site exposure operating solely through standard measrues of birth outcomes.

Published Oct 3, 2019

Persico, C., Figlio, D., & Roth, J. (2019). The Developmental Consequences of Superfund Sites. Journal of Labor Economics. https://doi.org/10.1086/706807

Background:
Acute exposure to ambient particulate matter <2.5μ⁢m in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) has been associated with adult psychiatric exacerbations but has not been studied in children. Objectives: Our objectives were to estimate the association between acute exposures to ambient PM2.5 and psychiatric emergency department (ED) utilization and to determine if it is modified by community deprivation. Methods: We used a time-stratified case-crossover design to analyze all pediatric, psychiatric ED encounters at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 2011 to 2015 (𝑛=13,176). Conditional logistic regression models adjusted for temperature, humidity, and holiday effects were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for a psychiatric ED visit 0–3 d after ambient PM2.5 exposures, estimated at residential addresses using a spatiotemporal model. Results: A 10⁢-μ⁢g/m3 increase in PM2.5 was associated with a significant increase in any psychiatric ED utilization 1 [OR=1.07 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.12)] and 2 [OR=1.05 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.10)] d later. When stratified by visit reason, associations were significant for ED visits related to adjustment disorder {e.g., 1-d lag [OR=1.24 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.52)] and suicidality 1-d lag [OR=1.44 (95% CI: 1.03, 2.02)]}. There were significant differences according to community deprivation, with some lags showing stronger associations among children in high versus low deprivation areas for ED visits for anxiety {1-d lag [OR=1.39 (95% CI: 0.96, 2.01) vs. 0.85 (95% CI: 0.62, 1.17)] and suicidality same day [OR=1.98 (95% CI: 1.22, 3.23) vs. 0.93 (95% CI: 0.60, 1.45)]}. In contrast, for some lags, associations with ED visits for adjustment disorder were weaker for children in high-deprivation areas {1-d lag [OR=1.00 (95% CI: 0.76, 1.33) vs. 1.50 (95% CI: 1.16, 1.93)]}. Discussion: These findings warrant additional research to confirm the associations in other populations.

Published Sep 25, 2019

Brokamp, C., Strawn, J. R., Beck, A. F., & Ryan, P. (2019). Pediatric Psychiatric Emergency Department Utilization and Fine Particulate Matter: A Case-Crossover Study. Environmental Health Perspectives, 127(9). https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4815

In 2013, Allen Harim Foods purchased the former site of a Vlasic Pickle plant in Millsboro, Delaware, and proposed to convert the site into a poultry processing plant that would process approximately two million birds weekly. This generated concerns about the proposed plant’s potential to impact health and quality of life among residents. We conducted a rapid health impact assessment (HIA) of the proposed plant to assess baseline environmental health issues in the host community and projected impacts. The scoping and baseline assessment revealed social, economic, and health disparities in the region. We also determined that residents in the area were already underserved and overburdened with pollution from multiple environmental hazards near the proposed plant including two sites contaminated with hazardous wastes, a power plant, and another poultry processing plant. The projected size and amount of poultry to be processed at the plant would likely cause increased levels of air, soil and water pollution, additional odor issues, and increased traffic and related pollution and safety issues. The information generated from the HIA formed the basis of a campaign to raise awareness about potential problems associated with the new facility and to foster more engagement of impacted residents in local decision-making about the proposed plant. In the end, the HIA helped concerned residents oppose the new poultry processing plant. This case study provides an example of how HIAs can be used as a tool to educate residents, raise awareness about environmental justice issues, and enhance meaningful engagement in local environmental decision-making processes.

Published Sep 16, 2019

Baskin-Graves, L., Mullen, H., Aber, A., Sinisterra, J., Ayub, K., Amaya-Fuentes, R., & Wilson, S. (2019). Rapid health impact assessment of a proposed poultry processing plant in Millsboro, Delaware. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(18). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183429

We examined the association between average annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone and first hospital admissions of Medicare participants for stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, myocardial infarction (MI), lung cancer, and heart failure (HF). Annual average PM2.5 and ozone levels were estimated using high-resolution spatio-temporal models. We fit a marginal structural Cox proportional hazards model, using stabilized inverse probability weights (IPWs) to account for the competing risk of death and confounding. Analyses were then repeated after restricting to exposure levels below the current U.S. standards. The results showed that PM2.5 was significantly associated with an increased hazard of admissions for all studied outcomes; the highest observed being a 6.1% (95% CI: 5.9%–6.2%) increase in the hazard of admissions with pneumonia for each μg/m3 increase in particulate levels. Ozone was also significantly associated with an increase in the risk of first hospital admissions of all outcomes. The hazard of pneumonia increased by 3.0% (95% CI: 2.9%–3.1%) for each ppb increase in the ozone level. Our results reveal a need to regulate long-term ozone exposure, and that associations persist below current PM2.5 standards.

Published Sep 1, 2019

Danesh Yazdi, M., Wang, Y., Di, Q., Zanobetti, A., & Schwartz, J. (2019). Long-term exposure to PM2.5 and ozone and hospital admissions of Medicare participants in the Southeast USA. Environment International, 130, 104879. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENVINT.2019.05.073

Although growing evidence links air pollution to stroke incidence, less is known about the effect of air pollution on atrial fibrillation (AF), an important risk factor for stroke. OBJECTIVES: We assessed the associations between air pollution and incidence of AF and stroke. We also sought to characterize the shape of pollutant–disease relationships. METHODS: The population-based cohort comprised 5,071,956 Ontario residents, age 35–85 y and without the diagnoses of both outcomes on 1 April 2001 and was followed up until 31 March 2015. AF and stroke cases were ascertained using health administrative databases with validated algorithms. Based on annual residential postal codes, we assigned 5-y running average concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2:5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) from satellite-derived data, a land-use regression model, and a fusion-based method, respectively, as well as redox-weighted averages of NO2 and O3 (Ox) for each year. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we estimated the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of AF and stroke with each of these pollutants, adjusting for individual and neighborhood-level variables. We used newly developed nonlinear risk models to characterize the shape of pollutant–disease relationships. RESULTS: Between 2001 and 2015, we identified 313,157 incident cases of AF and 122,545 cases of stroke. Interquartile range increments of PM2:5, NO2, O3, and Ox were associated with increases in the incidence of AF [HRs (95% CIs): 1.03 (1.01, 1.04), 1.02 (1.01, 1.03), 1.01 (1.00, 1.02), and 1.01 (1.01, 1.02), respectively] and the incidence of stroke [HRs (95% CIs): 1.05 (1.03, 1.07), 1.04 (1.01, 1.06), 1.05 (1.03, 1.06), and 1.05 (1.04, 1.06), respectively]. Associations of similar magnitude were found in various sensitivity analyses. Furthermore, we found a near-linear association for stroke with PM2:5, whereas Ox-stroke, PM2:5-, and Ox-AF relationships exhibited sublinear shapes. CONCLUSIONS: Air pollution was associated with stroke and AF onset, even at very low concentrations. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4883.

Published Aug 26, 2019

Shin, S., Burnett, R. T., Kwong, J. C., Hystad, P., Van Donkelaar, A., Brook, J. R., Goldberg, M. S., Tu, K., Copes, R., Martin, R. V., Liu, Y., Kopp, A., & Chen, H. (2019). Ambient air pollution and the risk of atrial fibrillation and stroke: A population based cohort study. Environmental Health Perspectives, 127(8), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4883