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THE DIRTY SECRET ABOUT DIRTY AIR: IT'S NOT JUST ONE POLLUTANT -- IT'S MANY POLLUTANTS!
Regulators and Industry Join Forces to Fund Air Pollution Study
Albuquerque, NM - Some of the country's largest companies, including Ford and Exxon, have joined forces with the government to create a new, cutting edge air pollution research program called the National Environmental Respiratory Center (NERC). Located at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute (LRRI) in Albuquerque, NM, this research and information center concentrates on how the large number of different particles, gases, and vapors in the air work together to affect public health.
NERC's industry partners also include American Trucking Association and California Trucking Association, heavy engine manufacturers such as Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Deere, and Navistar, the Chemical Manufacturers Association, and Southern Co., the nation's largest private electric power company.
Air pollution is an ever-changing mixture of many contaminants from many natural and manmade sources, despite the fact that air pollution research, debates, and regulations have historically focused on one pollutant or source at a time.
"Nobody ever breathed only one pollutant at a time, and it's a good bet that the health effects associated with dirty air can never really be understood by studying one pollutant at a time," says Dr. Joe Mauderly, NERC Director and air pollution scientist.
In a 1998 directive, US Congress designated NERC in the EPA budget, reflecting frustration over the large scientific uncertainties revealed during debate of the recent new standards for ozone and airborne particles. Other federal agencies and some states have also recognized the problem and appear ready to join in the effort.
"Debates about air pollutants and their sources tend to occur in a one-at-a-time, 'revolving door' pattern, so research has also been conducted on one pollutant or source at a time," explains Mauderly. "There was no serious effort to get our hands around the real problem."
"We know from experience that combinations of air contaminants can have effects either greater or less than predicted from our knowledge of single pollutants, yet we continue to behave as if we can understand the problem one pollutant at a time," says Dr. Rogene Henderson, NERC's Deputy Director.
"Air quality is an emotional issue", says Dr. Robert Rubin, President of LRRI, the country's only independent, nonprofit research group focused entirely on respiratory diseases and lung health risks. "Research that will bring better facts to the table and enable regulation to be based on sound research is very important to the respiratory health of the nation."
This new alliance among independent researchers, government, and industry, is working to reveal the effects of complex pollutant mixtures, including some contaminants for which no regulations exist. NERC maintains that as the air becomes cleaner, the risk of making poor decisions increases unless there is an improved understanding as to how pollutants work together to affect public health.
The first group of complex pollutant atmospheres to be studied over the next few years include: engine and power plant emissions; wood and tobacco smoke; cooking fumes, and road dust. If the strategy is successful, it will be expanded to include other pollutants, such as pollens and other natural materials, and chemicals that are not emitted by any source but result from reactions in the air.
The NERC Website, http://www.nercenter.org, hosts 21,000 papers on pollutants and reports derived from many previously unlinked sources. Citizens, businesses, regulators, and students can find information on the Center, the pollutants it studies, and its results. The site containing the tailored list of over 21,000 papers offers a user-friendly format making it easy to find relevant studies.
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