Review of Global Near Real Time PM2.5 Estimates and Model Forecasts

IGARSS 2022 - 2022 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium · 2020 · 3 citations

• Computer Science
• Environmental science
• Meteorology

Surface concentrations of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) are increasingly important as a representative measure of air quality. Studies clearly demonstrate short-term and long-term health impacts due to increases in PM2.5 concentrations. Global in-situ surface observations are routinely made using both expensive regulatory grade monitors and low-cost sensors. However, these measurements do not cover all locations of interest around the globe. Since obtaining adequate ground-based monitor coverage would be cost-prohibitive, there is considerable global interest in instruments aboard earth orbiting satellites and numerical chemical transport models as possible solutions to fill data gaps. Current sources of satellite-derived global estimates and model forecasts were identified and reviewed. Initial evaluations of published accuracies of these data suggest challenges remain to using these sources for accurate, reliable monitoring and forecasting. However, satellite derived PM2.5 estimates were reported to be reliable at longer time intervals, such as one year.

The Influences of Sociodemographic Characteristics and Changes in Blood Lead on the Concentration-Response Relationship between Blood Lead Level and Children's Intelligence Quotient

ISEE Conference Abstracts · 2018-09-24

Blood lead levels (BLLs) have decreased over the last several decades but lead exposure remains a risk and the relationship between socioeconomic status, lead, and neurodevelopment is not well-understood. Differences in the distributions of sociodemographic characteristics between children with higher and lower BLLs may account for the nonlinear concentration-response (C-R) relationship observed between BLL and cognitive effects in multiple studies. Specifically, adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics may be an over-adjustment leading to an underestimate of the association at the upper end of the distribution. We analyzed data from the US cohorts examined in the pooled analysis of Lanphear et al. 2005. Like the original analysis, we analyzed relationships of BLL and sociodemographic factors with child IQ using fixed effects multivariable generalized linear regression, and stratified the dataset into children with peak BLLs < 7.5 and ≥ 7.5 µg/dL. Unlike the original analysis we considered the interaction between concurrent BLL and sociodemographic factors and estimated the cumulative impact of BLL and sociodemographic characteristics across the distribution of IQ using quantile regression. The correlation of concurrent BLL with sociodemographic characteristics was generally stronger in the high peak blood lead group, potentially reducing our ability to distinguish the independent effect of blood lead from the effect sociodemographic factors at the upper end of the distribution. The cumulative effect of BLL and sociodemographic factors was largest at the upper end of the IQ distribution in the low peak BLL group suggesting the importance of considering baseline IQ. Overall, this analysis suggests that distribution of sociodemographic factors across the range of BLLs may explain, in part, the attenuation of the C-R relationship at higher BLLs. Disclaimer: Views expressed in abstract are those of authors and do not represent views/policies of the US EPA.

A cross-disciplinary evaluation of evidence for multipollutant effects on cardiovascular disease

Environmental Research · 2017-11-13 · 13 citations

Framework for assessing causality of air pollution-related health effects for reviews of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards

Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology · 2017-05-16 · 37 citations

Associations of Ozone and PM2.5 Concentrations With Parkinson's Disease Among Participants in the Agricultural Health Study

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine · 2015-05-01 · 97 citations

OBJECTIVE: This study describes associations of ozone and fine particulate matter with Parkinson's disease observed among farmers in North Carolina and Iowa. METHODS: We used logistic regression to determine the associations of these pollutants with self-reported, doctor-diagnosed Parkinson's disease. Daily predicted pollutant concentrations were used to derive surrogates of long-term exposure and link them to study participants' geocoded addresses. RESULTS: We observed positive associations of Parkinson's disease with ozone (odds ratio = 1.39; 95% CI: 0.98 to 1.98) and fine particulate matter (odds ratio = 1.34; 95% CI: 0.93 to 1.93) in North Carolina but not in Iowa. CONCLUSIONS: The plausibility of an effect of ambient concentrations of these pollutants on Parkinson's disease risk is supported by experimental data demonstrating damage to dopaminergic neurons at relevant concentrations. Additional studies are needed to address uncertainties related to confounding and to examine temporal aspects of the associations we observed.

Cross-species coherence in effects and modes of action in support of causality determinations in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Integrated Science Assessment for Lead

Toxicology · 2015-01-28 · 12 citations

A Current Assessment of the Health Effects of Lead in Children

ISEE Conference Abstracts · 2014-10-20 · 2 citations

A Current Assessment of the Health Effects of Lead in ChildrenAbstract Number:2012 Ellen Kirrane*, Molini Patel, James Brown, Dennis Kotchmar, Lisa Vinikoor-Imler, Elizabeth Owens, Erin Hines, Jennifer Richmond-Bryant, David Svendsgaard, and Meredith Lassiter Ellen Kirrane* United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] , Molini Patel United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] , James Brown United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] , Dennis Kotchmar United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] , Lisa Vinikoor-Imler United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] , Elizabeth Owens United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] , Erin Hines United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] , Jennifer Richmond-Bryant United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] , David Svendsgaard United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] , and Meredith Lassiter United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] AbstractThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Lead (Pb), an integrative synthesis of the scientific evidence most relevant to the review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Pb. We present select findings from the ISA and summarize the evidence that is most pertinent for pediatricians and children's health professionals. Although emissions to the environment and blood Pb levels in the U.S. have declined over the last several decades, the potential for Pb exposure remains and its effects are observed at increasingly lower blood Pb concentrations. A large body of evidence indicates that cognitive function decrements are associated with multiple lifestages, time periods, and durations of Pb exposure during childhood and into adolescence. Although the independent effects of Pb exposure on cognition in children are well established, research to identify factors that may mitigate these effects is ongoing. Recent epidemiologic and animal studies find that Pb exposure can cause decreased attention and increased impulsivity and hyperactivity. Some neurodevelopmental effects may persist into adulthood. Pb exposure can also cause a delay in pubertal onset and is likely to contribute to the development of asthma and allergy. A small group of studies indicates that early life and/or long-term exposures to Pb beginning in childhood may be associated with diseases later in life. Because blood Pb levels reflect recent exposures and can also be influenced by Pb that is released from bone, there is uncertainty regarding the specific exposure circumstances that underlie the blood Pb levels and associations observed in epidemiologic studies. This uncertainty is lowest for cognitive effects in young children, which are documented to occur at the lowest blood Pb concentrations. The views expressed in this abstract are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the U.S. EPA.

Comments on: Chari, R.; Burke, T.A.; White, R.H.; Fox, M.A. Integrating Susceptibility into Environmental Policy: An Analysis of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Lead. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2012, 9, 1077-1096

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2013-02-08

In their recent article [1], Chari et al. call attention to the important subject of setting National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to provide requisite protection for public health, including the health of sensitive groups, as specified under the Clean Air Act (73 FR 66965) [2]. The authors focus on consideration of susceptibility to inform policy choices, using lead (Pb)-related neurocognitive effects and children from low socioeconomic status (SES) families in the context of alternative Pb standard levels. Our comments focus on the authors' analysis of the scientific evidence and not on policy. We agree with the authors that the health effects evidence for Pb indicates a role (or roles) for SES-related factors in influencing childhood Pb exposure and associated health effects. We disagree, however, with the authors' interpretation of the literature on SES influence on the shape of the concentration-response (C-R) relationship between children's blood Pb and IQ (e.g., steepness of the slope). We further address aspects of the scientific evidence that are important to the consideration of sensitive populations in the context of the Pb NAAQS, and how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considered this evidence in setting the Pb NAAQS in 2008.

P-371

Epidemiology · 2012-08-04

Patel, Molini; Davis, J. Allen; Luben, Thomas; Vinikoor-Imler, Lisa; Langlois, Peter Author Information

S-108

Epidemiology · 2012-08-04 · 2 citations

Kirrane, Ellen F.; Davis, J. Allen; Luben, Thomas J.; Bowman, Christal; Hoppin, Jane A.; Blair, Aaron; Chen, Honglei; Patel, Molini; Sandler, Dale; Tanner, Caroline M.; Vinikoor-Imler, Lisa; Ward, Mary; Kamel, Freya Author Information