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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.

Five new HEI studies to examine intersection of air pollution exposure, COVID-19

February 4, 2021

HEI has launched five studies in the United States, Europe, and Asia to examine potential relationships among air pollution, COVID-19, and human health.

HEI seeks applications for Jane Warren Trainee Conference Award

January 25, 2021

HEI is inviting applications for the Jane Warren Trainee Conference Award for its 2021 Annual Conference.

Three new Rosenblith awardees selected for 2020

January 14, 2021

HEI’s Research Committee has selected three applicants from a field of highly qualified candidates to receive the Institute’s 2020 Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award. The recipients are Heresh Amini, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Copenhagen; Joseph Antonelli, assistant professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Florida; and Raphael Arku, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Save the Date: Virtual 2021 HEI Annual Conference starts April 6

January 12, 2021

The 2021 HEI Annual Conference will be held virtually with a series of seven webinars on Tuesdays in April and May 2021. More details and registration links to come. The series kicks off on April 6th with Climate Change, Air Quality, and Health.

HEI issues request for Rosenblith Award applications

December 21, 2020

HEI has issued RFA 20-2, the Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award. This RFA solicits proposals from promising candidates at the assistant professor level or equivalent for research on air pollution and health.

Brussels workshop report published

November 12, 2020

The November 2020 issue of the European Respiratory Journal contains a summary report of a joint scientific meeting of HEI, the World Health Organization, the European Respiratory Society, and the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. The workshop was a key step in evaluating whether to update Europe’s air quality policies.

Join HEI December 2 for webinar on air pollution and COVID-19

November 11, 2020

The Health Effects Institute, the European Respiratory Society, and the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology–Europe are organizing a December 2 webinar to discuss environmental health research needs and policies to inform the European Green Deal in these challenging times.

State of Global Air 2020 reports air pollution's impact on neonatal mortality

October 21, 2020

The newly released State of Global Air 2020 reports on the first comprehensive analysis of air pollution’s global impact on neonatal mortality. The analysis finds that outdoor and household particulate matter pollution contributed to the deaths of nearly 500,000 infants in their first month of life. As in previous years, the 2020 update of the State of Global Air report and accompanying website provides a comprehensive global report card on the levels and trends in air quality and health for every country in the world.

HEI celebrates UN’s first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies

September 3, 2020

Recognizing the need to reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from air, water, and soil pollution, the Members of the United Nations have called for an International Day of Clean Air on September 7, 2020. The day will bring awareness to the UN’s goal of reducing hazardous chemical contamination leading to human health effects by 2030, as well as decreasing the adverse environmental impact of cities. The Health Effects Institute has for the last four decades worked to improve scientific understanding of the nature of air pollution, its sources, and its impacts on human health.

New HEI report examines pollutant effects on lung cells

July 28, 2020

HEI has published Research Report 201, Understanding the Functional Impact of VOC–Ozone Mixtures on the Chemistry of RNA in Epithelial Lung Cells, led by Dr. Lydia Contreras at the University of Texas, Austin.

Research Report 201
Lydia M Contreras
Juan C Gonzalez-Rivera
Kevin C Baldridge
Dongyu S Wang
Jamie CL Chuvalo-Abraham
Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz
2020

Research Report 201 presents a study led by Dr. Lydia Contreras at the University of Texas, Austin, who is a recipient of HEI’s Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award. Dr. Contreras and colleagues evaluated how exposure of lung cells to volatile organic compounds plus ozone affects oxidation of ribonucleic acid, a key component of cells. The study aimed to improve understanding of the biological mechanisms by which air pollutants can cause effects in human health, thereby expanding our knowledge of potential causal links between exposure and health.

HEI seeks quality assurance consultants

July 23, 2020

HEI is seeking qualified contractors to provide quality assurance services for 13 research studies on air pollution and health.

New results from U.S. Medicare study of low-level exposure to air pollution and health

June 26, 2020

A new article published June 26 in the journal Science Advances —  “Evaluating the impact of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter on mortality among the elderly” by Wu and colleagues — reports on results from an HEI-funded study of the health effects of low levels of air pollution in some 68 million Medicare recipients (led by Francesca Dominici of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health).

HEI comments on proposed EPA transparency rule

May 26, 2020

HEI has formally submitted a response to a rule proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science,” that could prevent EPA decisions based on studies where the data are not made available to the public and to other scientists for confirmation.

HEI issues RFA to study air pollution, COVID-19, and health

May 19, 2020

HEI has issued RFA 20-1B, Air Pollution, COVID-19, and Human Health, to study the intersection of air pollution and the coronavirus pandemic. The deadline for Letters of Intent is June 8.

HEI's next webinar May 20: Inequalities of Air Pollution Exposures & Associated Health Effects in the U.S.

April 14, 2020

HEI is pleased to conclude its series of five webinars this spring with a session on May 20 from 12 noon to 2 PM EDT: Webinar 5: Inequalities of Air Pollution Exposures & Associated Health Effects in the U.S.
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Second part of major ozone study published

March 30, 2020

HEI has published the Multicenter Ozone Study in oldEr Subjects (MOSES): Part 2. Effects of Personal and Ambient Concentrations of Ozone and Other Pollutants on Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Function. This second part of Research Report 192 was led by Drs. David Rich and Mark Frampton of the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York.

Research Report 192, Part 2
David Q Rich
Mark W Frampton
John R Balmes
Philip A Bromberg
Mehrdad Arjomandi
Milan J Hazucha
Sally W Thurston
Neil E Alexis
Peter Ganz
Wojciech Zareba
Petros Koutrakis
Kelly Thevenet-Morrison
2020

Research Report 192, Part 2, describes the second part of the Multicenter Ozone Study in oldEr Subjects (MOSES), led by Drs. David Rich and Mark Frampton of the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York. Part 1 of the MOSES study, Effects of Exposure to Low Concentrations of Ozone on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Outcomes, was published in 2017; Part 2 presents additional analyses.

HEI kicks off Webinar series on April 7: Big Data and Accountability

March 27, 2020

HEI is pleased to announce a series of five webinars to be held between April 7th and May 20th. We will kick off the series on April 7th from 10 am - 12 pm EDT with the first webinar: The Big Deal About Big Data, Causal Inference, and Accountability Research. [Read More]

Transforming the 2020 Annual Conference into new interactive Webinars

March 13, 2020

HEI has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Annual Conference. Instead, we are taking this as an opportunity to transform the well-planned conference sessions into active webinars starting in early April. Stay tuned for more information.