California Air Resources Board

Principal Investigator/Author(s): Elizabeth M. Noth, Nina Holland, Stephanie Holm

Contractor: University of California, Berkeley

Contract Number: 22RD005

Relevant CARB Programs: Health & Exposure

Topic Areas: Children's Health

Research Summary:

The main objective of this study is to increase understanding of neurodevelopmental effects in children in association with exposure to air pollutants throughout California, including within racial and ethnic groups. This project will develop models to estimate statewide concentration-response (C-R) functions between exposures to air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, oxides of nitrogen (NOX), 4 ,5, and 6 ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH456), O3, and black carbon (BC)) and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children and resulting economic benefits. In this project, the effects of lifetime exposure to multiple air pollutants on children’s neurodevelopment will be analyzed by assessing cognition, attention, behavior, mood, and standardized test performance at an individual level in relation to multiple air pollutants in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV). Community outreach in conjunction with the Children’s Health and Air Pollution Study (CHAPS) Community Advisory Board (CAB) will also be conducted in the SJV. The findings of these C-R functions will inform CARB’s efforts to expand its analysis of health benefits associated with its current and future programs and regulations. In addition, the results from this project will help CARB, the greater scientific community, the general public, and residents of impacted communities to better understand the public health impacts of air pollution.