Ongoing Research

This project was funded in response to RFA 2005-01: Proximity to Vehicular Traffic, Exposures to Air Toxics and Non Cancer Health Effects, released in January of 2005. A three year contract was signed with University of Massachusetts at Lowell on September 1, 2006.

The objective of the proposed research is to examine how traffic related air toxics are associated with changes in respiratory symptoms and exhaled nitric oxide, a marker of airway inflammation, in children. The project uses a repeated measures design to study sibling pairs where the older sibling is asthmatic and the younger sibling is at high risk of developing asthma. To examine the role of traffic, a gradient of exposures will be achieved by selecting sibling pairs whose geocoded locations represent a range of traffic proximity/traffic volume categories. Sibling pairs will be identified and recruited using a large Central Massachusetts group practice / HMO, the Fallon Clinic. For each child in the sibling pair, the field team will conduct 2 home visits (one in the heating season and one in the non-heating season) to collect health (exhaled NO and symptom questionnaire) and exposure data (personal exposures to volatile air toxics (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein). In addition, exposures to criteria air pollutants will be collected from 2 Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) centralized monitoring sites to control for confounding. Exposure-response analysis will use generalized estimating equations and mixed models to examine associations between exhaled nitric oxide, symptoms and subject location relative to roadways categorized by traffic patterns as well as by various exposure metrics for the air toxics, while controlling for potential confounders.

The project will be conducted in collaboration with the Fallon Community Health Plan (FCHP) the largest HMO located in Central Massachusetts. The Fallon Clinic Research Department (FCRD) has a unique search engine for epidemiologic and clinical studies in the FCHP member population, the "Milton Mart whch will be used to design and run the data queries to identify eligible sibling pairs.

The Short and Long-Term Respiratory Effects of Exposure to PAHs from Traffic in a Cohort of Asthmatic Children

This project was funded under the RFA 2005-01: Proximity to Vehicular Traffic, Exposures to Air Toxics and Non Cancer Health Effects, which was released in January of 2005. A three year contract was signed September 2006 with the University of Berkeley for this projectThe investigators plan to study the relationship between exposure to vehicular polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the short and long term respiratory effects on children who have well-characterized asthma. This research will complement an on-going study of 302 children with asthma, ages 6-11 at intake, in Fresno, CA, who are already recruited and for whom voluminous health and exposure data are available (the Fresno Asthmatic Children’s Environment Study-FACES). The investigators will test the following hypothesis:

Acute exposure to PAHs leads to acute increases in symptoms, increased medication use, and lung function declines. These adverse reactions to acute PAH exposures, when recurrent over 3-5 years, have the cumulative effects of more severe asthma and reduced lung function growth.

The investigators plan innovative approaches both to develop the exposure metrics and to conduct the epidemiologic analyses. The innovative exposure metric itself has two parts: first, the development of the underlying dataset of PAHs measured in two media, ambient air and pine needles, and secondly, the development of a model. FACES has been collecting data for 5 years under the sponsorship of the California Air Resources Board, and an R01 NIH proposal to extend the program for another 4.5 year.

Critical Review of Health Impacts of Metals in Ambient Air PM

A review of the contribution of air-toxic metals in ambient fine particles to the human health effects associated with particulate air pollution. This project is jointly funded by the NUATRC and the Nickel Producers Environmental Research Association (NiPERA).

Houston Exposure to Air Toxics Study (HEATS)

This is a collaborative effort among EPA Region 6, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the NUATRC, the City of Houston, Texas Environmental Research Consortium (TERC), Harris County, and the East Harris County Chemical Manufacturer’s Association (EHCMA). The two-year study will investigate the correlation between outdoor, indoor, and personal exposure to specific air toxics and compare exposure and self-reported health data from a population living in a defined neighborhood impacted by industrial sources to a matched population living in an area minimally impacted by industrial sources. HEATS will provide data on source contribution ratios, averaging time comparisons, and amount and duration of exposure. The results will show whether, and to what degree, actual personal exposure differs from ambient results collected at fixed-monitoring sites. Linking personal exposure data for air toxics to ambient air monitoring data will allow resources to be more effectively targeted in specific geographical or societal areas of concern. Specifically, the study will provide information that TCEQ and EPA can use to determine the relative contribution of point, mobile and area source emissions to actual exposure, develop strategies to reduce population risks, design health effects studies that incorporate ambient and personal exposure information, evaluate the performance of currently used exposure models and develop air toxics exposure and concentration models.

The study will also have a parallel communication, outreach and education plan, as recommended by the NUATRC SAP. This plan will help ensure that the study aims, processes and goals are adequately communicated to the study participants and greater community, which will help ensure good data quality. It will also ensure that the study results are communicated fully to the regulatory community, local leaders and the community, which will help maximize the utility of the study.

The UT Investigators are collaborating with Investigators from Research Triangle Institute, in RTP NC and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.