LIVING AND DYING IN PARTICULATE AIR POLLUTION

Robert F. Phalen, Ph.D.University of California, IrvineProfessor: Dept. of Medicine,

Faculty: Center for Occupational and Environmental MedicineCo-Director: Air Pollution Health Effects Laboratory

America First Energy Conference | The Heartland InstituteHouston Texas, November 9, 2017

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OUTLINE

1. What is PM?

2. The Death of John Doe

3. PM as an Air Pollutant

4. Remarks

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MY BACKGROUND

• Tulsa – The Former Oil Capital of the World• San Diego State U. of Rochester, Lovelace• U.C. Irvine – The Oil Embargo and ARB• 200 + Particle and Gas Toxicology Studies• International Conferences on PM and Human Health• Committees – NRC, NIH, NIOSH, EPA, IRB, etc.

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WHAT IS PM?

• NAAQS Criteria Pollutant• Particulate Matter (Mass)• Weight Below Either 10 or 2.5 µm Diam. Cutoff• Composition Not Considered• Variable in Space, Time, & Composition • Mixed Natural and Anthropogenic Material• 25% Deposits in Lung

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JOHN DOE

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JOHN DOE’S RISK FACTORS

• Age, overweight, older adult• Cardiovascular disease, diabetic• URT infection• Anxiety, unemployed• Poor physical/mental status• Heat wave inversion, no AC

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THE DAY JOHN DIED

• Truck drove by• Dog chased truck• John chased dog uphill• John collapsed and • Died in ER, MI

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WHAT KILLED JOHN?

• PM 2.5• URT infection cigarettes pollen• Obesity, CVD, and exertion• Diabetes• Anxiety, stress• Low socioeconomic status• etc.

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PREVENTING HIS DEATH?

• Tighten air Quality Standards• Re-route traffic• Improve John’s general health• Reduce cost of air conditioning• Improve John’s socioeconomic status• etc.

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PM AS A METRIC - 1

• Not chemically defined• Not stable in time or place• Mixed man-made and natural pollutants• Doses are miniscule

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PM AS A METRIC - 2

• Several no-effect epi studies• Very expensive to meet regulations • Controls have public health tradeoffs• Controls can have unpredictable

effects on air chemistry

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REMARKS

• PM is a poor metric• PM 2.5 alone didn’t kill John • Do risk analysis on decisions, not a

single pollutant• Consider all consequences of a decision

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References:Enstrom, J.E., (2017), Fine Particulate Matter and Total Mortality in Cancer Prevention Study

Cohort Reanalysis, Dose-Response, 15(1), DOI: 10.1177/1559325817693345.Graham, J.D., and Wiener, J.B., editors, (1995), Risk vs Risk: Tradeoffs in Protecting Health and

the Environment, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.Hiatt, R.A., et. al., Controlled Human Inhalation – Exposure Studies at EPA, National Academies

Press, Washington, DC, 2017.National Research Council of the National Academies, (2009), Science and Decisions: Advancing

Risk Assessment, National Academies Press, Washington, DC.Phalen, R.F., (2002), The Particulate Air Pollution Controversy: A Case Study and Lessons

Learned, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, MA.Phalen, R.F., (2009), Inhalation Studies: Foundations and Techniques, 2nd Edn, Informa, New

York, NY.Phalen, R.F., and Phalen, R.N., (2013), Introduction to Air Pollution Science: A Public Health

Perspective, Jones and Bartlett Learning, Burlington, MA.Phalen, R.F., (2017), Core Ethics for Health Professionals: Principles, Issues, and Compliance,

Springer Publishing Company, New York, NY.