TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - Why Indoor Chemistry Matters SN - DO - 10.17226/26228 PY - 2022 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26228/why-indoor-chemistry-matters PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Math, Chemistry, and Physics KW - Environment and Environmental Studies AB - People spend the vast majority of their time inside their homes and other indoor environments where they are exposed to a wide range of chemicals from building materials, furnishings, occupants, cooking, consumer products, and other sources. Despite research to date, very little is known about how exposures to indoor chemicals across complex chemical phases and pathways affect human health. The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased public awareness of indoor environments and shed light on the many outstanding questions about how best to manage chemicals indoors. This report identifies gaps in current research and understanding of indoor chemistry and new approaches that can be applied to measure, manage, and limit chemical exposures. Why Indoor Chemistry Matters calls for further research about the chemical transformations that can occur indoors, pathways and timing of indoor chemical exposure, and the cumulative and long-term impacts of exposure on human health. Research priorities should consider factors that contribute to measurable environmental health disparities that affect vulnerable populations, such as the age, location, and condition of buildings that can alter exposures to indoor chemicals. ER - TY - BOOK AU - Transportation Research Board AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - Options for Reducing Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft DO - 10.17226/26050 PY - 2021 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26050/options-for-reducing-lead-emissions-from-piston-engine-aircraft PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Transportation and Infrastructure AB - Small gasoline-powered aircraft are the single largest emitter of lead in the United States, as other major emission sources such as automobile gasoline have been previously addressed. A highly toxic substance that can result in an array of negative health effects in humans, lead is added to aviation gasoline to meet the performance and safety requirements of a sizable portion of the country’s gasoline-powered aircraft.Significantly reducing lead emissions from gasoline-powered aircraft will require the leadership and strategic guidance of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and a broad-based and sustained commitment by other government agencies and the nation’s pilots, airport managers, aviation fuel and service suppliers, and aircraft manufacturers, according to a congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.While efforts are underway to develop an unleaded aviation fuel that can be used by the entire gasoline-powered fleet, the uncertainty of success means that other steps should also be taken to begin reducing lead emissions and exposures, notes the report, titled TRB Special Report 336: Options for Reducing Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft.Piston-engine aircraft are critical to performing general aviation (GA) functions like aerial observation, medical airlift, pilot training, and business transport. Other GA functions, such as crop dusting, aerial firefighting, search and rescue, and air taxi service, have particular significance to communities in rural and remote locations.Accompanying the report is a three-page highlight summary that provides a condensed version of the findings. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academy of Engineering AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - Environmental Engineering for the 21st Century: Addressing Grand Challenges SN - DO - 10.17226/25121 PY - 2019 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25121/environmental-engineering-for-the-21st-century-addressing-grand-challenges PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Engineering and Technology KW - Earth Sciences AB - Environmental engineers support the well-being of people and the planet in areas where the two intersect. Over the decades the field has improved countless lives through innovative systems for delivering water, treating waste, and preventing and remediating pollution in air, water, and soil. These achievements are a testament to the multidisciplinary, pragmatic, systems-oriented approach that characterizes environmental engineering. Environmental Engineering for the 21st Century: Addressing Grand Challenges outlines the crucial role for environmental engineers in this period of dramatic growth and change. The report identifies five pressing challenges of the 21st century that environmental engineers are uniquely poised to help advance: sustainably supply food, water, and energy; curb climate change and adapt to its impacts; design a future without pollution and waste; create efficient, healthy, resilient cities; and foster informed decisions and actions. ER - TY - BOOK AU - Transportation Research Board AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - The Role of Transit, Shared Modes, and Public Policy in the New Mobility Landscape DO - 10.17226/26053 PY - 2021 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26053/the-role-of-transit-shared-modes-and-public-policy-in-the-new-mobility-landscape PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Transportation and Infrastructure AB - If combined with public transit and increased in scale, shared modes of transportation, such as ride-hailing, scooter sharing and bike sharing, can enhance mobility, equity, and sustainability in metropolitan areas. Cities, transit agencies, and shared mobility providers should collaborate in goal-setting, experimentation, testing, and implementation. These are among the findings in TRB Special Report 337: The Role of Transit, Shared Modes, and Public Policy in the New Mobility Landscape, from TRB of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report's authors recommend deliberate and strategic measures in order to realize the full and potentially transformative benefits of shared services. These measures include providing travelers with real- or near real-time information on combinations of available price and service offerings, smartphone applications that simplify the process of arranging and paying for the use of multiple transportation modes for a single trip, and more public sector coordination of services across modes and jurisdictions. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - Improving Characterization of Anthropogenic Methane Emissions in the United States SN - DO - 10.17226/24987 PY - 2018 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24987/improving-characterization-of-anthropogenic-methane-emissions-in-the-united-states PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Earth Sciences KW - Environment and Environmental Studies AB - Understanding, quantifying, and tracking atmospheric methane and emissions is essential for addressing concerns and informing decisions that affect the climate, economy, and human health and safety. Atmospheric methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) that contributes to global warming. While carbon dioxide is by far the dominant cause of the rise in global average temperatures, methane also plays a significant role because it absorbs more energy per unit mass than carbon dioxide does, giving it a disproportionately large effect on global radiative forcing. In addition to contributing to climate change, methane also affects human health as a precursor to ozone pollution in the lower atmosphere. Improving Characterization of Anthropogenic Methane Emissions in the United States summarizes the current state of understanding of methane emissions sources and the measurement approaches and evaluates opportunities for methodological and inventory development improvements. This report will inform future research agendas of various U.S. agencies, including NOAA, the EPA, the DOE, NASA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine A2 - Robert Pool A2 - Erin Rusch TI - Principles and Obstacles for Sharing Data from Environmental Health Research: Workshop Summary SN - DO - 10.17226/21703 PY - 2016 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21703/principles-and-obstacles-for-sharing-data-from-environmental-health-research PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Health and Medicine AB - On March 19, 2014, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop on the topic of the sharing of data from environmental health research. Experts in the field of environmental health agree that there are benefits to sharing research data, but questions remain regarding how to effectively make these data available. The sharing of data derived from human subjects—making them both transparent and accessible to others—raises a host of ethical, scientific, and process questions that are not always present in other areas of science, such as physics, geology, or chemistry. The workshop participants explored key concerns, principles, and obstacles to the responsible sharing of data used in support of environmental health research and policy making while focusing on protecting the privacy of human subjects and addressing the concerns of the research community. Principles and Obstacles for Sharing Data from Environmental Health Research summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 11 (2018) SN - DO - 10.17226/25137 PY - 2018 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25137/veterans-and-agent-orange-update-11-2018 PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Health and Medicine AB - From 1962 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed herbicides over Vietnam to strip the thick jungle canopy that could conceal opposition forces, to destroy crops that those forces might depend on, and to clear tall grasses and bushes from the perimeters of US base camps and outlying fire-support bases. Mixtures of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), picloram, and cacodylic acid made up the bulk of the herbicides sprayed. The main chemical mixture sprayed was Agent Orange, a 50:50 mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T. At the time of the spraying, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the most toxic form of dioxin, was an unintended contaminant generated during the production of 2,4,5-T and so was present in Agent Orange and some other formulations sprayed in Vietnam. Because of complaints from returning Vietnam veterans about their own health and that of their children combined with emerging toxicologic evidence of adverse effects of phenoxy herbicides and TCDD, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was asked to perform a comprehensive evaluation of scientific and medical information regarding the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange, other herbicides used in Vietnam, and the various components of those herbicides, including TCDD. Updated evaluations were conducted every two years to review newly available literature and draw conclusions from the overall evidence. Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 11 (2018) examines peer-reviewed scientific reports concerning associations between various health outcomes and exposure to TCDD and other chemicals in the herbicides used in Vietnam that were published between September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2017, and integrates this information with the previously established evidence database. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academy of Sciences TI - The Challenge of Feeding the World Sustainably: Summary of the US-UK Scientific Forum on Sustainable Agriculture DO - 10.17226/26007 PY - 2021 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26007/the-challenge-of-feeding-the-world-sustainably-summary-of-the PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Environment and Environmental Studies KW - Agriculture AB - The need for sustainable agriculture is becoming ever more significant. The world's population is still increasing, requiring more from our agricultural systems. Malnutrition and diet-related illnesses are present in nearly all societies. At the same time, agriculture plays a significant role in some of the biggest environmental challenges that humanity is facing, including the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, deforestation, and the pollution of our soil, water, and air. The need to balance the growing demand for nutritious food with these environmental threats is a complex issue, and ensuring sustainable food systems will require a collaborative effort from many different communities. These issues were addressed during the US-UK Scientific Forum on Sustainable Agriculture held in Washington, DC, on March 5-6, 2020. Organized by the National Academy of Sciences and the United Kingdom's Royal Society, the forum brought together leading scientists, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners in agricultural sciences, food policy, biodiversity, and environmental science (among other specialties). The forum provided an opportunity for members of these research communities to build multidisciplinary and international collaborations that can inform solutions to a broad set of problems. This publication summarizes the presentations of the forum. ER -