Mortality and Morbidity Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Low-Level PM2.5, BC, NO2, and O3: An Analysis of European Cohorts in the ELAPSE Project

Research Report 208 presents a study by Bert Brunekreef at the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, the Netherlands, and colleagues examining associations between exposures to relatively low levels of air pollution below the current EU standards and several health outcomes among participants in 22 European cohorts. 

In the report, available for downloading below, the investigators describe the development of new exposure models for all of Europe for four pollutants: fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and ozone (O₃), as well as PM_2.5 particle composition. 

The study was funded through HEI’s program Assessing Health Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Low Levels of Ambient Air Pollution (Request for Applications 14-3) which was designed to inform ongoing decisions on setting the levels of ambient air quality standards on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Two North American studies were also funded by this program, examining low levels of ambient air pollution in the United States and Canada. Initial results were published in 2019 and Phase 2 results are under review.