Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter I. Immediate Priorities and a Long-Range Research Portfolio (1998) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-14
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Airborne particulate matter is a generic term for a broad class of materials of varying chemical composition and sizes that are transported in the air as discrete solid particles or liquici droplets. Ambient (outdoors particles originate from diverse natural processes and human activities, such as forest fires, wind erosion, agricultural practices, fossil fuel combustion, industrial manufacturing, anti construction of buildings and roads.
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Congress also directed the EPA administrator to arrange for this independent study by the National Research Council (NRC3 to identitr the most important research priorities relevant to setting NAAQS for particulate matter, to develop a conceptual plan for particulate-matter research, anti, over the next 5 years, to monitor and evaluate research progress towarci improved understancling of the relationship between particulate matter and its effects on public health. In response to the request from Congress, the Committee on Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter was established in
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consists of 20 experts, chosen by the NRC, in epidemiology, medicine, pulmonary physiology, toxicology, public health, exposure assessment, atmospheric chemistry and transport, air quality modeling, air monitoring techniques, biostatistics, risk assessment, research management, and regulators policy. Its members come from universities and other organizations and perform this public service without financial compensation through the NRC.
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Sources include motor vehicles; fossil-fuelec! electric power plants; industrial facilities; agricultural practices, consumer products; other human sources; and natural processes, such as forest fires or winci erosion.
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· Investigate quantitative relationships between particulatematter concentrations measured at stationary outdoor monitoring sites and the actual breathing-zone exposures of individuals to particulate matter and gaseous copollutants, taking ambient outdoor and indoor pollutant sources and human time-activity patterns into account, especially for potentially susceptible subpopulations.
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· Investigate the deposition patterns and fate of particles in the respiratory tract of individuals potentially susceptible to particulate matter. · Investigate through toxicological anti epidemiological studies the interactions between particulate matter and gaseous copollutants in producing harmful short-term and longterm exposures and resulting adverse health effects.
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By that time, critical information wouIci be expected regarding the most biologically important components anti characteristics of particulate matter, the toxicological mechanisms through which they act, and howwell the data from ambient air monitors represent the actual exposure of people to particulate matter, especially for the most potentially susceptible inclivicluals. Later in the plan, the portfolio emphasizes epiciemiological studies that will use the results of the earlier research activities to identifier potentially susceptible human subpopulations, assess the effects of particulate-matter exposures on such subpopulations, and provide surveillance ofthe public-health consequences of implementing
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Although the committee concludes at this early stage of its 5-year study that EPA's current and planned research activities generally appear to be reasonable and potentially useful, the committee disagrees with the early timing anti funding of some elements of EPA's research plans, based on the briefings and documentation thus far provided by EPA staff. Most notably, the committee concludes that EPA should immediately clevote more intramural as well as extramural resources to investigating the relationships between fixect-site outdoor monitoring data anti actual human exposures to ambient particulate matter, and to identifying the most biologically important constituents and characteristics of particulate matter through toxicological studies.
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The committee is concerned about the scientific value of the data to be collected in these efforts if such monitoring is fully planned and implemented before some of the immediate research priorities are addressed and data gaps are filled. Moreover, as a secondary but critical goal, such a monitoring program should also be ciesigned to support relevant health-effects, exposure, and atmospheric-modeling research efforts, or else the costs of some important research will increase greatly because of the need for additional monitoring.
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Included in the EPA monitoring program are plans for several "super" monitoring sites where more extensive monitoring efforts will take place. At these sites, ambient-concentration data will be collected!
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It discusses the need for a comprehensive, continually updated, on-line inventor~roffederal and nonfederal particulate-matter research activities; periodic reassessments of the focus, effectiveness, and accountability of ongoing research activities; a clear strategy for integrating extramural contributions with EPA's intramural research activities; and sustained funding for particulate-matter research. The committee is encouraged by the leadership shown by Congress when it provided Fiscal ~ 998 funds for particulate-matter research well above the amounts requested by EPA, and recommends support of the highest-priority particulate-matter research at roughly similar levels for the next decade and beyond.
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Examples of such additional research are the completion of worthwhile projects already under way, research that meets various technical information requirements of regulatory program offices, and the aciministrative and infrastructure costs of creating and operating the particulate-matter research centers mandated by Congress. These were not included in the committee's cost estimates.
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scientific foundation can help ensure that all of these other investments will yield a sound return. An inadequate scientific foundation will lead to continued uncertainty, contentious debates, anti potentially unwise regulatory efforts that fail to minimize the risks of particulate matter to public health.
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