Tag Archives: Epidemiologic Studies

Measurements and Modeling of Ultrafine Particulate Matter in California

Posted on by

Photo source: Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division

Toxicological studies have consistently found that ultrafine particles are potentially harmful. Yet only recent epidemiological studies have been able to link ultrafine particles to negative public health effects. The difficulty in finding effects in epidemiological studies may be in part because of the population exposure metrics used in previous studies. In the December 2 SOCAAR Seminar Dr. Michael J. Kleeman, a professor at UC Davis’ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, presented 15 years of research on the measurements and modeling of ultrafine particular matter in California. Continue reading →

Investigating the Role of Transportation Models in Epidemiologic Studies of Traffic Related Air Pollution and Health Effects

Posted on by

It’s widely known that traffic related air pollution is associated with long-term health effects like cancers, cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses. But there’s more that could be learned about the short-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution.  In the first SOCAAR Seminar for 2015-16, Marianne Hatzopoulou, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto discussed the application of transportation and emission models to investigate air pollution in the city of Montreal. The main research questions presented were: i) How can we improve measures of exposure? ii) What is the role of integrated transportation-dispersion models? Can transportation models replace atmospheric dispersion modelling? Continue reading →