Completed Research Projects
Summaries of completed projects with links to final products.
Atmospheric Concentrations and Exposures
- PM Panel Studies - exposure studies in Baltimore, Maryland and Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina to determine the relationships between actual personal exposures and ambient concentrations of PM and gaseous co-pollutants (e.g., O3, CO, and NO2). Details of PM Panel Studies
- Small Engines Research - a recent focus of ORD’s mobile source research program has been emissions from small non-road spark ignition engines. To accomplish this research a small engine dynamometer was used to measure emissions from sources such as lawn mowers, chain saws, leaf blowers, and string trimmers. Details of Small Engines Research
- PM Supersites - In 1997, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM2.5 (particulate matter in air with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less). States in areas exceeding the federal particulate matter (PM) NAAQS are required to develop State Implementation Plans (SIPs) that describe their approaches to reducing PM concentrations to a level below the NAAQS standards. At the time of promulgation of the 1997 PM NAAQS, there was significant uncertainty regarding the sources, atmospheric changes, measurement methods, and the health effects of PM 2.5. To help address this uncertainty, the EPA initiated the PM Supersites Program. Details of PM Supersites
Human Exposures
- Agricultural Health Study/Pesticide Exposure Study (AHS) - The National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) jointly performed a prospective epidemiological study of health in the agricultural community. This study investigated whether cancer and other diseases are associated with usage and exposure to pesticides, lifestyle factors, and other agricultural exposures. Details of the Agricultural Health Study/Pesticide Exposure Study (AHS)
- CTEPP - few studies have been conducted that examine the ways in which people might encounter chemicals in real-world, everyday situations, such as when using common pesticides (“bug spray”), cleaners, and other household products. This lack of understanding is particularly true for young children, who may be at increased risk of exposure—compared to adults or older children— because they often put things in their mouths and crawl on the ground. A recent EPA study, known as CTEPP, is a major step forward in filling that knowledge gap. Details of CTEPP
- SHEDS-Wood - Concerns have been raised regarding the safety of young children who may contact arsenic and chromium residues while playing on and around Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA)-treated wood playground structures and decks. Although CCA registrants voluntarily canceled the production of treated wood for residential use effective December 31, 2003, the potential for exposure from existing treated wood structures and surrounding soil still poses CAA exposure concerns. HEASD scientists developed and applied the probabilistic Stochastic Human Exposure and Dose Simulation model for wood preservatives (SHEDS-Wood) to estimate children’s absorbed dose of the arsenic and chromium components of CCA. Details of SHEDS-Wood