Databases

To facilitate high quality research, HEI has supported the development of several databases with air quality and health data that could be used by research teams for their projects, whether funded by HEI or other funding sources. As part of its policy on data access and transparency, researchers were provided with access to data and in some cases, software to analyze the data, for example with the database for the National Mortality and Morbidity of Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS) (see HEI Communication 12 and the NMMAPS study). In other cases, data were made available to investigators in association with a specific Request for Applications, for example to provide access to the rich dataset of the Relationship of Indoor, Outdoor, and Personal Air (RIOPA) study for further analysis, and access to speciation data on fine particulate matter composition for the National Particle Component Toxicity (NPACT) initiative. Recently, HEI has made available data from the Multicenter Ozone Study in oldEr Subjects (MOSES), see below.

HEI Air Quality database. This database was funded by HEI and prepared and maintained by Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER). It contained information on levels of PM_2.5 components and gases from the EPA’s Chemical Speciation Network (CSN), as well as meteorological, population and other relevant data. It was made available in association with Request for Applications 05-1 and to other investigators interested in using the information for studies on air quality and health. See also the NPACT reports by Lippmann and Vedal. The database is no longer updated. The final version can be downloaded here.

RIOPA database. This database was funded by HEI and prepared and maintained by Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER). It contained information collected in the Relationships of Indoor, Outdoor, and Personal Air (RIOPA) study that was cofunded by HEI and the National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (NUATRC) and conducted in three cities with different air pollution source profiles: Los Angeles, California; Houston, Texas; and Elizabeth, New Jersey. The database was made available in association with Request for Applications 08-1. See also the RIOPA-related reports by Weisel, Turpin, Batterman, and Ryan. The database can be downloaded here.

MOSES database. HEI has made data and specimens available from the Multicenter Ozone Study in oldEr Subjects. See Making MOSES Data and Specimens Available for more information. The database and supporting materials reside at https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/MOSES. 

Tunnel study database. HEI has made data available from the study Real-World Vehicle Emissions Characterization for the Shing Mun Tunnel in Hong Kong and Fort McHenry Tunnel in the United States. The database and supporting materials reside at https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/tunnels2019. 

Data underlying the low-exposure epidemiology studies. All three low-exposure epidemiology study teams funded under RFA 14-3 plan to make available the data underlying their research. Data underlying the Phase 1 report by Dominici and colleagues (Research Report 200, Assessing Adverse Health Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Low Levels of Ambient Air Pollution: Phase 1) are available at this time. For access to the exposure data, see https://osf.io/2cg6v/. Health data can be obtained from Medicare. For the statistical code, see https://github.com/NSAPH/airpred. 

Exposure estimates for the study by Brauer and colleagues (Research Report 203, Mortality–Air Pollution Associations in Low-Exposure Environments (MAPLE): Phase 1) are available at http://fizz.phys.dal.ca/~atmos/martin/?page_id=140#V4.NA.01. Additional data will be made available after the final (Phase 2) report has been published.