Different carpet materials vary considerably in their ability to remove ozone from indoor environments, as well as in their emissions of aldehydes. Researchers at Portland State University and the University of Arizona tested new carpet samples in a glass chamber and measured ozone removal and emissions of aldehydes, both primary (from the carpet itself) and Read More
Category: Science
Metabolic syndrome and susceptibility to air pollution
Metabolic syndrome increased susceptibility to the cardiovascular effects of exposure to PM2.5 in rodents, in a recent toxicological study. Metabolic syndrome was induced in a group or rats through a high-fructose diet, while control animals were maintained on a normal diet. Both groups were exposed to primary traffic PM2.5 and to photochemically-aged secondary organic aerosol, Read More
Indoor plants and ozone
Houseplants have been previously shown to play a role in removing volatile organic compounds (benzene, formaldehyde, etc.) from indoor air. Houseplants also participate in removal of ozone from indoor environments and they do so more effectively with light, demonstrating a role beyond passive surface reactions. Researchers at the University of Arizona and Portland State University Read More
Climate penalty on PM
Changing meteorology is anticipated to affect average levels of PM2.5 in the US, according to a modeling analysis by researchers at the Harvard ACE Center. Changes in local and synoptic-scale air circulation between 2000 and 2050, in addition to the resulting changes in natural emissions, are expected to result in annual average PM2.5 decreases of Read More
Stress and cardiovascular disease
Stress and heart disease have shown an objective link through biomarkers in a new study in the American Journal of Cardiology supported by the MESA Air project. Researchers at UCLA and the University of Washington examined the association between urinary biomarkers of stress (catecholamines and cortisol) and coronary artery calcium (CAC), a validated measure of Read More
Air pollution, oxidative stress, and CVD
Oxidative stress was found to be associated with short-term exposure to air pollution in a community study reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Although the association has been reported in limited controlled exposure studies, researchers at the Harvard Clean Air Research Center (83479801) observed that exposure to PM2.5, Black carbon (BC), and Read More
Clean energy and health effects of air pollution
Clean energy and fuel sales influenced the association between exposure to PM2.5 and diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure in Canada. In a study of 117 Canadian health regions (excluding the far north) between 2007 and 2014, researchers examined the cross-sectional association between exposure to PM2.5 derived from satellite remote sensing observations, and health endpoints Read More
Vitamin B supplementation and effects of PM2.5
Individual-level prevention of some of the effects of exposure to PM2.5 through nutrient supplementation (vitamin B complex) was demonstrated in a recent study by the Harvard Clean Air Research Center in the Proceedings of the national Academies of Sciences. In a blind, sham- and placebo-controlled crossover intervention trial, ten healthy volunteers received B6, B9, and Read More
Decline in PM emissions
Emissions of PM2.5 in the Northeastern US have declined by 18% between 2002 and 2013, based on an analysis of satellite data, primarily from urban areas. A paper from researchers at the Harvard Clean Air Research center and ACE center that applied the Particle Emission Inventories using Remote sensing (PEIRS) methodology shows spatial (at 1×1 Read More
Noise, air pollution, and cardiometabolic disease
A 2-part review on the association between noise and air pollution and cardio-metabolic disease (part 1, part 2) has been published in the European Heart Journal. The first part of the review focuses on the epidemiological evidence linking noise and air pollution with cardiovascular and metabolic disease. In particular, the evidence for interaction between these Read More