Air Pollution

This page has a list of publications and news articles related to Air Pollution. Find more information about our research on Air Pollution.

Two important new HEI studies underway

November 7, 2018

HEI has funded two new studies under a general request for applications (RFA 17-2) on the health effects of air pollution. Dr. Amir Hakami and colleagues will perform a health impact assessment of decreased emissions of  various pollutants. Dr. Roel Vermeulen and colleagues will conduct a large cohort study investigating long-term air pollution and cause-specific mortality in Asia.

HEI is reviewing initial findings from “low exposure levels” research

November 7, 2018

HEI is reviewing the first results from an HEI study that it expects will be relevant to an ongoing review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the federal standard for allowable concentrations of fine particles in the air. The study is one of three comprehensive studies that HEI is funding to examine the possible health effects from exposure to pollutants at low concentrations.

Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award announced

October 31, 2018

Manabu Shiraiwa, who was recently promoted to associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine, was selected to receive HEI’s 2018 Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award for his proposal “Formation of Reactive Oxygen Species by Organic Aerosols and Transition Metals in Epithelial Lining Fluid.”

Upcoming RFAs on accountability, enhanced exposure assessment, and new investigator award

September 19, 2018

HEI is planning to issue three Requests for Applications (RFAs) in Fall 2018 / Winter 2019. The topics will be accountability research, enhanced exposure assessment for air pollution and health studies, and the Walter A. Rosneblith New Investigator Award. Please check our Funding page for updates.   

Now available: HEI comments on EPA transparency proposal

August 20, 2018

HEI President Dan Greenbaum provided oral testimony on July 17 at a hearing convened by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C., on its proposed “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” rule. His oral comments, and HEI’s longer written comments on the proposed rule, are available below.

HEI publishes report on household air pollution and noncommunicable disease

July 31, 2018

HEI has published Communication 18, a critical assessment of the state of the science examining the linkages between household air pollution formed by the burning of solid fuels and noncommunicable diseases. The report updates previous systematic reviews with the most recent studies. It answers fundamental questions on the scientific basis for estimating health burden and what the evidence suggests about the exposure reductions necessary to achieve improved health outcomes. The Summary for Policy Makers, based on Communication 18, presents the main conclusions about exposures to household air pollution and about its contribution to noncommunicable diseases globally.

Communication 18
HEI Household Air Pollution Working Group
2018

Communication 18 provides a critical assessment of the state of the science examining the linkages between household air pollution formed by the burning of solid fuels and noncommunicable diseases. The report updates previous systematic reviews with the most recent studies. It answers fundamental questions on the scientific basis for estimating health burden and what the evidence suggests about the exposure reductions necessary to achieve improved health outcomes. The Summary for Policy Makers, based on Communication 18, presents the main conclusions about exposures to household air pollution and about its contribution to noncommunicable diseases globally.

Three receive HEI's Student and Postdoc Travel Award

June 25, 2018

This year HEI conferred its first three Student and Postdoc Travel Awards, identifying promising new scientists and bringing them to the HEI Annual Conference to share their work and engage with the range of investigators and stakeholders who gather for the event. A large number of excellent applications were submitted, representing a wide range of environmental health science topics and approaches.

Annual Conference features timely discussions on air pollution and health

June 25, 2018

Some 170 experts from academia, government, industry, and nongovernmental organizations gathered in Chicago, Illinois, in late April and early May for HEI’s 32nd Annual Conference. The three-day meeting featured discussion of the latest research on air pollution and health, perspectives on historical and future environmental health policies, and many informal opportunities for attendees to meet and engage with others sharing similar interests. 

Making the MOSES data and specimens available

May 14, 2018

HEI is making available to the public the database and material of the Multicenter Ozone Study in oldEr Subjects (MOSES). In the interest of scientific transparency and to encourage the broadest possible use of the data and the material, HEI has set up a streamlined process to access the data and the material (subject to the limited quantities available). The MOSES database may be accessed by anyone who is interested. Any qualified researcher from a not-for-profit US research center interested in doing specific analyses can request the samples.