Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter

by National Research Council (U. S.) Committee on Research Priorities for

• ISBN13: 9780309060943
• ISBN10: 030906094X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-07-01
• Publisher: Natl Academy Pr

Summary

New National Ambient Air Quality Standards for airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers, called PM2.5, were issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) amidst scientific uncertainty and controversy. In response to a request from Congress, Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter, the first of four books in a series, offers a conceptual framework for an integrated national program of particulate-matter research, identifies the l0 most critical research needs linked to key policy-related scientific uncertainties, and describes the recommended timing and estimated costs of such research. The committee concludes that EPA should devote more resources to investigating the relationships between fixed-site outdoor monitoring data and actual human breathing-zone exposures to ambient particulate matter and to identifying the most biologically important constituents and characteristics of particulate matter through toxicological studies. The recommended research activities are critical to determining actual exposures of human subpopulations most susceptible to harm the most hazardous constituents of particulate matter. Future research will be an investment in public health and a means to ensure that resources spent on control technology and regulatory compliance will have a reasonable probability of success.

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY	1	(14)
1. INTRODUCTION	15	(10)
2. PREVIOUS REVIEWS OF PARTICULATE-MATTER RESEARCH NEEDS	25	(9)
Report of the Park City Workshop on Particulate-Matter Research Strategies	25	(1)
EPA's Particulate-Matter Research-Needs Document	26	(1)
EPA's Particulate-Matter Research-Strategy Document	27	(5)
CASAC's Reviews of EPA's Particulate-Matter Research-Needs and Research-Strategy Documents	32	(2)
3. THE COMMITTEE'S FRAMEWORK AND CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION	34	(10)
4. THE COMMITTEE'S 10 HIGHEST-PRIORITY RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS	44	(54)
Research Topic 1: Outdoor Measures vs. Actual Human Exposures	46	(4)
Research Topic 2: Exposures of Susceptible Subpopulations to Toxic Particulate-Matter Components	50	(3)
Research Topic 3: Source-Receptor Measurement Tools	53	(6)
Research Topic 4: Application of Methods and Models	59	(4)
Research Topic 5: Assess Hazardous Particulate-Matter Components	63	(7)
Research Topic 6: Dosimetry: Deposition and Fate of Particles in the Respiratory Tract	70	(4)
Research Topic 7: Combined Effects of Particulate Matter and Gaseous Copollutants	74	(5)
Research Topic 8: Susceptible Subpopulations	79	(3)
Research Topic 9: Mechanisms of Injury	82	(9)
Research Topic 10: Analysis and Measurement	91	(7)
5. THE COMMITTEE'S RESEARCH INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO	98	(8)
6. COMPARING THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS WITH EPA'S RESEARCH PLANS	106	(10)
Current EPA Research Funding	106	(1)
Comparing EPA's Research Allocations with the Committee's Recommended Research Portfolio	107	(6)
Overall Recommendations	113	(3)
7. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE COMMITTEE'S RESEARCH STRATEGY	116	(6)
Overall Coordination	117	(1)
Periodic Reassessments	118	(1)
Intramural and Extramural Talent	119	(1)
Sustaining Adequate Research Support	119	(3)
REFERENCES	122	(6)
APPENDIX A: Biographical Information on the Committee on Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter	128	(11)
APPENDIX B: Inventory of Particulate-Matter Research	139