Publications

The 2018 Annual Report, Promoting Dialogue, Building Trust, describes how HEI provides a balanced forum where diverse stakeholders find common ground to discuss HEI’s high quality, impartial, and relevant science informing public policy on air quality and public health. The report highlights HEI’s latest achievements and initiatives.

In this issue of Update, read about HEI’s recent testimony on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” rule; a recap of the 2018 Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois; a new HEI Communication assessing the evidence on health effects from household air pollution; progress in the new Energy Research Program; and more.

This issue of Update highlights the report of a major new HEI study, Impacts of Regulations on Air Quality and Emergency Department Visits in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, 1999–2013, led by Armistead (Ted) Russell of the Georgia Institute of Technology; the public release of data from HEI’s major ozone study, the Multicenter Ozone Study in oldEr Subjects (MOSES); a new HEI panel conducting a literature review on the health effects of traffic-related air pollution; the publication of State of Global Air 2018; appointment of two new members to the Institute’s Board of Directors; a new chair of the HEI Research Committee; and more.

Research Report 195 describes a study led by Ted Russell at the Georgia Institute of Technology as part of HEI’s Accountability Research Program. Dr. Russell and colleagues examined the extent to which regulations targeting power plants and mobile sources in the Atlanta area were effective in improving air quality and ultimately reducing cardiorespiratory emergency department visits.

HEI’s Research Report 194 describes a study led by Benjamin Barratt of King’s College London, United Kingdom, that developed a dynamic three-dimensional land-use regression model for Hong Kong and used it to estimate exposure to traffic-related air pollution.

Special Report 21, Burden of Disease Attributable to Major Air Pollution Sources in India, provides the first comprehensive analysis of the levels of fine particulate matter air pollution in India by source and their impact on health. Household burning emissions (contributing to outdoor air) and coal combustion are the single largest sources of air pollution-related health impact. Emissions from agricultural burning, anthropogenic dusts, transport, other diesel, and brick kilns also contribute significantly.

Research Report 193 describes a novel study by Jiu-Chiuan Chen and colleagues examining possible associations between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and changes in the brains of older women in the United States. The study focused on brain volumes and neurocognitive outcomes, specifically mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Dr. Chen used neuroimaging and cognitive outcome data from women enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study and estimated their exposure to ambient PM_2.5 and to diesel PM.

HEI Research Report 192 describes a multicenter study by John Balmes at the University of California–San Francisco, Phil Bromberg at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, and Mark Frampton at the University of Rochester, New York. The study was designed to test whether ozone has short-term cardiovascular effects at present-day ambient levels. It evaluated respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes in 87 healthy participants (60 years old on average) who were exposed to 0, 70, or 120 ppb ozone for 3 hours while exercising moderately.

Research Report 191 describes a study by Allison Fryer and colleagues that addressed how exposure to ozone affects the immune and physiological responses in guinea pigs. In her study, Dr. Fryer focused on eosinophils, white blood cells that play an important role in inflammation, allergies, and allergic asthma, and can modify the airway response to ozone inhalation. This study tested a novel hypothesis: that allergic guinea pigs react differently to ozone than normal animals because of newly formed eosinophils that migrate from bone marrow to the lungs.

Research Report 190 describes a study by Frank Gilliland and colleagues that was funded under HEI’s Accountability research program. The investigators collected air quality data and lung function and respiratory symptoms in three cohorts of children who participated in the Children’s Health Study in Southern California. During the 20-year study period, nearly 20 major policy actions were implemented to reduce pollution from transportation and other sources. Gilliland and colleagues evaluated whether the improved air quality was associated with improved lung function and respiratory symptoms in these children.

HEI Research Report 189 describes a study by Dr. Zhengmin Qian conducted in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province in China. Wuhan experiences temperature extremes and generally has higher air pollution levels than those seen in the United States and Europe. Dr. Qian examined whether increased exposures to air pollutants (particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone) during vulnerable pregnancy periods were associated with increased rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, or intrauterine growth retardation, using both a cohort and nested case-control design.

专题报告20，燃煤和其他主要大气污染源所致的中国疾病负担。报告从国家与省级层面，对中国燃煤及其他主要空气污染源释放的细颗粒物（PM_2.5）所造成当前及未来疾病负担进行了第一次综合评估。此项报告由清华大学、健康影响研究所、健康指标和评估研究所（IHME）与不列颠哥伦比亚大学联合发布，是全球疾病负担-主要空气污染源（GDB MAPS）这一国际合作项目的研究结果。分析表明，燃煤是造成空气污染、影响健康的最大元凶。2013年，仅燃煤一项在中国就导致约36.6万人过早死亡，其中以工业与民用燃煤影响最为重大。报告还指出，如不采取进一步行动，到2030年健康负担将会大幅增加。Burden of Disease Attributable to Coal-Burning and Other Air Pollution Sources in China (in English)

This edition of Update reports on HEI's presentation of GBD MAPS results at a major Chinese air pollution meeting; HEI's Annual Conference in Denver in May; two new HEI research reports on the effects of air pollution on birth and pregnancy outcomes; a meeting of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies at which HEI shared research results with diverse experts and regulators; and HEI's participation at a EPA Clean Air Act Advisory Committee meeting in June.

HEI Research Report 187 was funded as part of HEI’s Accountability research program, aimed at understanding whether actions to improve air quality have resulted in improved health outcomes. Corwin M. Zigler and his colleagues used existing and newly developed statistical methods to assess whether an intervention was causally related to changes in pollutant levels or health outcomes, and applied their methods in two well-developed case studies: effects of air quality interventions to reduce PM₁₀ concentrations in nonattainment areas and the impact of installation of scrubber technologies on emissions from coal-fired power plants.

This report is Part 3 of HEI Research Report 183, Development of Statistical Methods for Multipollutant Research. It describes a study to develop and apply statistical methods to analyze the effects of multipollutant exposures on health, expanding beyond the two-pollutant approaches used in many studies to date. HEI funded three innovative studies in recent years to improve the tools for analyzing complex multipollutant exposures. In this last report from these studies, John Molitor and colleagues describe a Bayesian framework to identify spatial clusters of air pollution exposures — and other covariates such as socioeconomic status — and estimated pregnancy outcomes associated with those clusters, using a data set for Los Angeles county. 

The 2015 Annual Report – Vision 2020 - describes HEI’s partnership with scientists, government, industry, and the environmental community to provide high-quality, impartial, and relevant science to inform public policy decisions about air quality and public health. The report highlights the vision underlying HEI’s Strategic Plan 2015-2020 and outlines HEI’s contributions in the past year to important questions.

This Executive Summary of the Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study (ACES) summarizes the main findings of emissions and health testing of new-technology heavy-duty diesel engines capable of meeting US 2007/2010 and EURO VI/6 diesel emissions standards. The results demonstrated the dramatic improvements in emissions and the absence of any significant health effects (especially cancer). ACES was the most comprehensive examination done to date of engines meeting the US 2007 and 2010 on-road standards.

This newsletter reports on the approval of new HEI studies to examine potential health effects of low-level pollution; the completion of a review of diesel exhaust studies (Special Report 19) by an HEI-appointed panel; and WHO's plans to update global air quality guidelines. In addition, it announces the publication of an HEI report taking a closer look at exposure to PM_2.5 and its composition and a report evaluating rapid heart rhythm changes after exposure to PM. HEI also announces the recipient of the 2015 Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award and the appointment of three new HEI Research Committee members.

This issue reports on the publication of an Executive Summary highlighting ACES new-technology diesel results, which describes significant improvements in new diesel engines; a conference showcasing HEI science and emerging research opportunities; interest worldwide in ACES findings; how HEI staff are communicating results; the status of the oil and gas research agenda being drafted by HEI; and the status of the MOSES testing of ozone study subjects.

Contents: HEI's Strategic Plan for 2015–2020 Now Under Way;  Greenbaum Chairs NRC Review of U.S. Climate, Health Assessment; O'Keefe Closes Out Successful Run on Key Air Advisory Committee; Communicating Results - HEI Science Highlighted at EPA Workshops HEI in the News - Wide Audience for ACES Findings; Novel Statistical Methods for Studying Pollutant Mixtures; Journal Spotlights NPACT Studies; Eyes on the Future - HEI Sponsors Meet with Research Committee to Discuss the Path Forward;  Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award Announced

Contents: Major Report on Newest Diesel Engines - No Evidence of Lung Cancer in Rats after Lifetime Exposure to New-Technology Diesel Exhaust; Sign Up Now for HEI's Annual Conference 2015 in Philadelphia in May; Nominations for Committee Membership Invited; Progress on Strategic Research Plan for Oil and Gas; Better Air Quality Meeting in Sri Lanka

This report is a study focused on lung tissue repair processes after inflammation and injury resulting from exposure to particulate matter (PM) from combustion sources. Dr. Thomas H. Barker of Georgia Institute of Technology, a recipient of HEI's Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award, and his colleagues tested the hypotheses that alveolar epithelial cells grown on substrates of increasing stiffness would transition to mesenchymal cells — an early step along the pathway to fibrosis — and that the addition of fine PM would enhance these effects.

Contents: Conference Eyes Future of Air Pollution Research, Policy; Leading Health Expert to Chair Review Committee; Workshop on Unconventional Oil and Gas Development; Developing New Models for Ultrafine Particles and Air Toxics Exposures; Sharing Insight from NPACT Setting Research Priorities (Research Planning Meeting); HEI in the News; HEI Strategic Plan 2015-2020 Taking Shape

This report describes a study to identify factors that influence exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and VOC mixtures. Dr. Stuart Batterman at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor and colleagues used the extensive data that HEI posted on the Web from the Relationships of Indoor, Outdoor, and Personal Air (RIOPA) study (HEI Research Report 130 Parts I and II), and data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), to characterize exposure distributions for 15 VOCs, with an emphasis on high concentrations. Factors examined included geographic location, weather, characteristics of participants' homes, and specific activities, such as pumping gas.