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The Health Effects Institute


HEI Annual Conference 2006

Celebrating 25 Years of Trusted Science
for Better Air Quality Decisions

San Francisco, California
April 9–11, 2006
Palace Hotel
 


Annual Conference Program Book (PDF, 440 KB)
Poster List       Attendees list

Final Program
 

Presentations available
Please click on the links in the program below to download presentations (6 slides per page for easy printing). All files are secure PDF and are less than 2 MB unless indicated otherwise.

 

Sunday, April 9

   
1:00 pm     Science and Standard Setting

Chairs: Alan Lloyd, California Environmental Protection Agency, and Robert Maynard, Department of Health, London
How are health effects studies interpreted by different local, national, and regional regulatory organizations (such as the California Air Resources Board, US Environmental Protection Agency, European Union, International Agency for Research on Cancer, and World Health Organization)? How are the resulting standards and guidelines used to (1) estimate and communicate risk, and (2) improve air quality and protect human health? These questions are discussed with a focus on particulate matter (PM) standards.

1:00 pm The use of ambient air standards: a global overview – Robert Maynard
1:30 pm Issues of reporting standards vs. concentration response functions Kirk Smith, University of California, Berkeley, and HEI International Scientific Oversight Committee
2:00 pm Using epidemiological evidence and air quality data to inform air pollution guidelines Sverre Vedal, University of Washington and HEI Review Committee. The views presented by Dr. Vedal in this presentation should not be taken to represent the views of CASAC.
2:30 pm Break
  Setting and using ambient air standards to improve air quality around the world
2:50 pm Asia – Supat Wangwongwatana, Thailand Pollution Control Department (4.8 MB)
3:05 pm Europe – Michal Krzyzanowski, WHO European Centre for Environment and Health (2.4 MB)
3:20 pm United States – Lydia Wegman, US Environmental Protection Agency
3:35 pm Discussion
3:50 pm Concluding Remarks – Alan Lloyd
   
4:00 pm Poster Session 1
Posters highlight ongoing HEI research on particulate matter, gaseous pollutants, diesel exhaust, and air toxics; these studies are complemented with research supported by other organizations.
   
6:15 pm Opening Reception, Dinner, and Celebration:
  25 Years of Trusted Science for Better Air Quality Decisions
 

Monday, April 10                                                       Back to top

 
8:10 am Hot Topics: Breaking News
Chairs: Mark Utell, University of Rochester Medical Center and Chair, HEI Research Committee; and Daniel Tosteson, Harvard Medical School and Chair, HEI Review Committee
New HEI programs and projects are highlighted, as are emerging technologies that may affect future vehicular emissions.
8:10 am Introduction – Chairs
8:20 am Preview of special report on Mobile-Source Air Toxics – Tom Kensler, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
9:00 am Upcoming HEI reports – Sverre Vedal
9:25 am New HEI research programs: accountability, PM, testing of advanced diesel engines (ACES) – Jane Warren, HEI
9:50 am Emerging technologies
  • Engine and after-treatment technologies to reduce diesel emissions – Wayne Eckerle, Cummins Inc. (2.6 MB)
  • California diesel retrofit program for vehicles – Annette Hebert, California Air Resources Board
10:30 am Break
 
10:50 am Poster Session 2
Posters highlight ongoing HEI research on particulate matter, gaseous pollutants, diesel exhaust, and air toxics; these studies are complemented with research supported by other organizations.
 
1:00 pm Lunch
   
2:00 pm Transboundary Migration of Air Pollution
Chairs: Kenneth Demerjian, SUNY Albany and HEI Research Committee; and Michael Brauer, University of British Columbia and HEI International Scientific Oversight Committee
Atmospheric pollutants recognize no borders or boundaries. Thus, pollution from one region or country may influence the levels of pollution and affect health in other areas. This session will examine global and regional atmospheric pollution, and the nature of long-range pollutant transport that spans cities, states, countries, and continents. Recent advances in spatial modeling and impact analysis, as they apply to micro and macro scale distances, will be described. Case studies that showcase research on transboundary areas will be presented.
2:00 pm Introduction Kenneth Demerjian
2:10 pm Spatial movement of pollution Dan Jaffe, University of Washington
2:40 pm Source and receptor models to understand air pollution transport – Jeffrey Brook, Environment Canada
3:10 pm Health implications of long-range transport of air pollutants Denise Mauzerall, Princeton University
3:45 pm Break
4:10 pm Transboundary studies
Amanda Wheeler, Health Canada
  John Spengler, Harvard School of Public Health
  Fernando Holguin, Emory University and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
5:15 pm Concluding remarks – Michael Brauer
5:30 pm Adjourn
 
Evening free
 
 

Tuesday, April 11                                                       Back to top

 
New Research on the Health Effects of Air Pollutants: Part 1 
8:00 am PM and Gaseous Pollutants
Chairs: Mark Utell, and Ross Anderson, University of London and HEI Review Committee
Different perspectives will be presented on the possible roles of gaseous pollutants that have emerged from recent studies of the health effects of air pollutants. Among the topics to be discussed are the results of studies and analyses that suggest that ozone's effects are independent from those of PM; a review of current knowledge about the effects of sulfur dioxide; and the atmospheric chemistry of nitrogen dioxide and contrasting views on its role as an air pollutant.
8:00 am Introduction: Possible pathways of injury by air pollutants – Mark Utell
8:15 am Ozone: Short-term effects on mortality – Michelle Bell, Yale University
8:45 am Ozone: Long-term exposure and lung function
A study in young adults – Ira Tager, University of California, Berkeley
The Southern Califonia children's health study – John Peters, University of Southern California
9:25 am Discussion
9:45 am Break
10:15 am Update on sulfur dioxide: its health effects and its role as a surrogate exposure index for other toxicants – Morton Lippmann, New York University
10:45 am Nitrogen dioxide: a surrogate of traffic or a pollutant in its own right? A brief review of evidence Frank Kelly, University of London
11:15 am Nitrogen dioxide: sources, air quality, and chemistry in the atmosphere Kenneth Demerjian
11:45 am Concluding remarks – Ross Anderson
   
12:00 noon Lunch
 
New Research on the Health Effects of Air Pollutants: Part 2  
1:00 pm PM Components
Chair: Rogene Henderson, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute
Recent systematic efforts by HEI and others aim to examine and compare the toxicity of different PM components and characteristics. Speakers will discuss the diverse mechanisms and outcomes that have been associated with exposures to chemical components and physical characteristics of particles in epidemiologic and experimental studies. The session concludes with a perspective on how to integrate infromation on the effects of gaseous pollutants and PM into a common framework.
1:00 pm Cardiovascular effects of componentsMark Frampton, University of Rochester Medical Center
1:30 pm Effects of metals – Dan Costa, US Environmental Protection Agency
2:00 pm Effects of coarse particlesMichael Lipsett, California Department of Health Services
2:30 pm Integrating the effects of pollutant gases and PM componentsMary Ross, US Environmental Protection Agency
   
3:00 pm Conference adjourns