California Air Resources Board

Principal Investigator/Author: Beate Ritz

Contractor: University of California, Los Angeles

Sub-contractor: Jason Su

Contract number: 21RD004

Project Status: Active

Relevant CARB programs: Air Toxics Program, Ambient Air Monitoring - Regulatory

Topic areas: Environmental Justice, Air Pollution Exposure, Health Effects of Air Pollution, Health & Air Pollution, Racial Equity, Community Health, Particulate Matter (PM), PM2.5

Research Summary:

The objective of the scientific project is to conduct population-based studies of preterm birth, term low birth weight, and autism spectrum disorder in California, as well as vulnerable periods in late life and estimate effects of air pollutants on neurodegenerative outcomes, including Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, and cognitive decline. The study will use established resources to cover the longest study period (1990-2019) yet and extend a current California Air Resources Board contract to generate daily air pollution surfaces at 30 meters spatial resolution for multiple air pollutants across California. The newly developed daily air pollution surfaces will be used to identify dose response curves for all outcomes, for individual pollutants, as well as simultaneous exposures to multiple pollutants. The study also aims to estimate the economic costs and disease burden associated with air pollution-related health outcomes in California. Finally, the research team will work with community groups and stakeholders to collect input, discuss the approach and study results, and distribute information to community stakeholders.

Keywords: public health; exposure impacts and mitigation; sustainable communities and health; criteria pollutants; ozone, particulate matter (PM); PM2.5; air toxics