Environmental Public Health Commons^™

Clearing The Air: Tracking Spatial And Temporal Pm2.5 Variability Along A Biking Transect In Chicago, Beau R. Rass

DePaul Discoveries

Fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) poses significant risks to human health and disproportionately affects marginalized communities in urban environments (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021; Tessum et al., 2021). Using low-cost mobile sensors, this study explored spatiotemporal PM₂.₅ concentration patterns along a north–south transect of Halsted Street in Chicago. A 2B Technologies Portable Aerosol Monitor (PAM) mounted on a bicycle was used to continuously record PM₂.₅ concentrations with associated GPS coordinates at approximately two-second intervals during 16 sampling events between 08-12-2025 and 10-05-2025. PM₂.₅ concentrations did not differ significantly among the South Side, West Loop, and North Side regions, contrary to the …

Air Pollution And Public Health: Global Evidence And Implications, Mohammed Obaid Al-Mansoori

Al-Bahir

Globally, the issue of air pollution keep being one of most serious challenges that affecting environment and human health, coming from emissions of industries, transport, agriculture and also from the fuel people use in homes, in addition to natural events that make the situation worse. This review try to bring together the available evidences about the sources, types, and the health impacts of the main air pollutants, including the gaseous ones like SO₂, O₃, NO₂, and CO, and the particulate matter (PM₁₀, PM₂.₅). Exposure for short or long time to these pollutants is linked with many harmful outcomes, such as …

Something In The Air? Uncovering The Air Quality Of St. Mary's University, Isaiah Charles, Keagan Farrell, Antonio Martinez, Andrea Realyvasquez, Kelly Swyers

Presentations - 2026

What is air quality?

Measurement of how clean or polluted the air is in a certain area. The Environmental Protection Agency uses Air Quality Index (AQI), a scale that describes the quality of air. The six major pollutants measured are: •ground- level ozone •particulate matter •carbon monoxide •sulfur dioxide •nitrogen dioxide •lead   Impacts of air pollution
•Acid rain •Climate change •Damage to plants and crops •Loss of biodiversity
•Respiratory illnesses •Cardiovascular damage •Premature death •Coughing and asthma

Air Quality Risks In Public Housing, Brynn Sheehan, Carolyn Caraballo Velez, Vaughan W. Rees, Miasha T. O'Neal, Kristen E. Moore, Katie M. Jones, Jessica Meadows, Sarah Gehlert, Richard Grucza, Andrew Plunk, Kelli J. England

Department Psychiatry & Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Importance Public housing residents face elevated environmental health risks, yet indoor air quality in these settings remains underexamined. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate indoor air quality in public housing 5 years after implementation of the federal smoke-free housing policy and compare it with outdoor air quality in the same regions.

Design, Setting, and Participants A 1-year cohort study of indoor air quality (particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM2.5]) across 12 multifamily public housing communities in southeastern Virgina for individuals 65 years and older or persons with disability in cities with the highest rated outdoor air quality. Indoor PM2.5 was continuously measured …

Emission Characterization And Health Risk Assessment Of Volatile Organic Compounds From Automotive Painting In Thailand, Vanitchaya Kultan, Sarawut Thepanondh, Jutarat Keawboonchu, Nattaporn Pinthong, Wissawa Malakan

Kesmas

The automotive industry is a significant source of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, particularly from solvent-based painting processes. This study evaluated VOC characteristics and distribution to assess associated health risks for workers and communities at varying distances from automotive painting facilities in Thailand, focusing on stacks and wastewater treatment plants that handle solvent-containing wastewater. The findings revealed aromatic compounds were predominant (66% of the total emissions), followed by oxygenated VOCs (26%). The stacks mainly emitted aromatics such as toluene and ethylbenzene, whereas the wastewater released oxygenated VOCs, particularly methyl isobutyl ketone and methyl ethyl ketone. The exposure concentrations in each …

Associations Between Atmospheric Ozone, Pm2.5 And Prevalence Of Diabetes In Georgia, United States, Kingsley A. Kalu, Jingjing Yin, Atin Adhikari

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Objective:

This study examines the association between two air pollutants (PM_2.5 and ozone), and the prevalence of adult diabetes mellitus in relation to various confounding factors.

Methods:

We collected diabetes prevalence data from the 2015 County Health Ranking and Georgia Health Data Hub. A negative binomial regression analysis was conducted to examine the associations between the county-level dependent variable “adult diabetes” (for adults aged> 18 years diagnosed with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes) and two independent county-level variables: percentage of days ³ NAAQS for ozone and PM_2.5 concentration levels while controlling for confounders.

Results:

At the county …

Systematic Review Of Factors Related To Pm2.5 Exposure On The Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Rifka Putri Salma, Laila Fitria

Kesmas

Diabetes mellitus is a major public health problem in many countries, and most of them are type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Air pollution is thought to contribute to the T2DM incidence, and one of the most important pollutants is PM2.5. This study aimed to determine factors related to PM2.5 exposure and individual factors in increasing the risk of T2DM based on a systematic review. The PRISMA was used as a method of data collection and selection. Of 176 relevant articles identified and screened, 12 articles from various countries published in 2013-2021 were synthesized in this study. Results showed that long-term …

The Effect Modification Of Pm2.5 And Ozone On The Short-Term Associations Between Temperature And Mortality Across The Urban Areas Of Japan, Muhammad Abdul Basit Ahmad Tajudin, Ryusei Kubo, Chris Fook Sheng Ng, Masahiro Hashizume, Xerxes Seposo, Yoonhee Kim, Hironori Nishikawa, Hirohisa Takano, Kayo Ueda

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Background

The acute effects of temperature and air pollution on mortality are well-known environmental factors that have been receiving more recognition lately. However, the health effects resulting from the interaction of air pollution and temperature remain uncertain, particularly in cities with low levels of pollution. This study aims to examine the modification effects of particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 µm or less (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) on the association between temperature and mortality.

Methods

We collected the daily number of all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality from 20 major cities in Japan from 2012-2018. We obtained meteorological data from …

Environmental Exposures And Aging., Daniel Chris Gomes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, research into air pollution has shown that exposure to certain components in air pollution, primarily PM2.5 can accelerate biological aging and thereby lead to increased susceptibility to multiple diseases. We hypothesize that prolonged exposure to air pollutants can result in premature aging leading to extensive tissue dysfunction and susceptibility to diseases. To examine this, we exposed mice to PM2.5 for 9, 15, and 21 days, then measured the telomere lengths, cellular senescence, and histone methylation patterns of multiple cell types. We found consistently increased telomere attrition, cellular senescence and advanced age-consistent histone methylation patterns in groups exposed …

Monitoring Personal Exposure To Air Quality Gradients While Biking On An Elevated Urban Trail, Gavin D. Salas

DePaul Discoveries

Air pollution is a major global health concern, specifically as it relates to the human exposome. The EPA criteria pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and NO_x can have severe impacts on respiratory and cardiovascular health, particularly in populations with chronic illnesses such as asthma, those facing economic hardships and individuals who frequently spend time outdoors, such as bicyclists and runners. To understand the impact of air pollution on human health, it is essential to assess personal exposure. This study aimed to investigate personal exposure to air pollution levels while biking along …

Association Between Residential Exposure To Air Pollution And Incident Coronary Heart Disease Is Not Mediated By Leukocyte Telomere Length: A Uk Biobank Study, Chia-Ling Kuo, Rui Liu, Lucas Da Cunha Godoy, Luke C. Pilling, Richard H. Fortinsky, Doug Brugge

Health Science Faculty Publications

Higher air pollution exposure and shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) are both associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), and share plausible mechanisms, including inflammation. LTL may serve as a biomarker of air pollution exposure and may be intervened with to reduce the risk of CHD. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to test the mediation effect of LTL in the relationship between air pollution exposure and incident CHD. Using the UK Biobank (UKB) data (n = 317,601), we conducted a prospective study linking residential air pollution exposure (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, NOx) and …

Assessment Of Spatio-Temporal Variations In Pm2.5 And Associated Long-Range Air Mass Transport And Mortality In South Asia, Md Sariful Islam, Shimul Roy, Tanmoy Roy Tusher, Mizanur Rahman, Ryley C. Harris

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is associated with adverse impacts on ambient air quality and human mortality; the situation is especially dire in developing countries experiencing rapid industrialization and urban development. This study assessed the spatio-temporal variations of PM_2.5 and its health impacts in the South Asian region. Both satellite and station-based data were used to monitor the variations in PM_2.5 over time. Additionally, mortality data associated with ambient particulate matter were used to depict the overall impacts of air pollution in this region. We applied the Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope trend analysis tool to investigate the …

So2 Concentration And The Occurrence Of Acute Respiratory Infection In Children Under Five, Puji Amrih Lestari, Budi Haryanto

Kesmas

Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia, with 10.7 million inhabitants with poor air quality as of 2020. Higher levels of pollution often come with an increase in the number of health risks and pneumonia cases. This study aimed to determine the association between SO2 concentration and the occurrence of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in children under five. An ecological time series design was implemented during the study by utilizing secondary data of SO2 concentrations and ARI from the Indonesian Agency for Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysics, the Special Capital Region of Jakarta Environmental, and Health Office. Statistical correlation tests were …

Gaseous Air Pollutants And Dna Methylation In A Methylome-Wide Association Study Of An Ethnically And Environmentally Diverse Population Of Us Adults, Katelyn M Holliday, Rahul Gondalia, Antoine Baldassari, Anne E Justice, James D Stewart, Duanping Liao, Jeff D Yanosky, Kristina M Jordahl, Parveen Bhatti, Themistocles L Assimes, James S Pankow, Weihua Guan, Myriam Fornage, Jan Bressler, Kari E North, Karen N Conneely, Yun Li, Lifang Hou, Pantel S Vokonas, Cavin K Ward-Caviness, Rory Wilson, Kathrin Wolf, Melanie Waldenberger, Josef Cyrys, Annette Peters, H Marike Boezen, Judith M Vonk, Sergi Sayols-Baixeras, Mikyeong Lee, Andrea A Baccarelli, Eric A Whitsel

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Epigenetic mechanisms may underlie air pollution-health outcome associations. We estimated gaseous air pollutant-DNA methylation (DNAm) associations using twelve subpopulations within Women's Health Initiative (WHI) and Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohorts (n = 8397; mean age 61.3 years; 83% female; 46% African-American, 46% European-American, 8% Hispanic/Latino). We used geocoded participant address-specific mean ambient carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO2; NOx), ozone (O3), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations estimated over the 2-, 7-, 28-, and 365-day periods before collection of blood samples used to generate Illumina 450 k array leukocyte DNAm measurements. We estimated methylome-wide, subpopulation- and race/ethnicity-stratified pollutant-DNAm associations in …

Environmental Exposures And Human Health Challenges: Evidence-Based Insights From Health Surveillance Systems, Jagadeesh Puvvula

Theses & Dissertations

Human exposure to environmental hazards is associated with a variety of preventable adverse health outcomes. As the environmental health risks result from the complex interaction between hazard, exposure, and susceptibility, these exposure-outcome associations are heterogeneous across the population. Improving environmental health literacy by advocating evidence-based environmental risk communication could play a role in reinforcing protective behavior against environmental hazards. The use of public health surveillance systems to assess the exposure-response associations is one of the effective ways to quantify the environmental health risks. However, there are several gaps in effectively quantifying environmental health risks. This dissertation aims to address a …

Assessing Public Health Benefits Of Replacing Freight Trucks With Cargo Cycles In Last Leg Delivery Trips In Urban Centers, Jennifer C. Hartle, Ossama (Sam) A. Elrahman, Cara Wang, Daniel A. Rodriguez, Yue Ding, Matt Mcgahan

Mineta Transportation Institute

Increased urbanization, population growth, and demand for time-sensitive deliveries means increased freight movement in cities, which contributes to emissions, noise, and safety concerns. One innovative mode gaining widespread attention for urban deliveries is cargo cycles—bicycles adapted for freight delivery. Despite the recognized potential and possible success of transporting at least 25% of freight via cycle, research remains limited. This research investigates the potential of cargo cycle delivery for last mile freight in Oakland, California, with a focus on the West Oakland neighborhood. The data collection included interviews, focus groups, vehicle field observation and counts, and traffic simulation modeling. The traffic …

Determining The Distribution Of Elemental Compounds And Oxidative Potential Across Fine Particulate Matter (Pm2.5) Filters, Allie Michelle Sidwell

Honors Theses

Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is a complex mixture of particles and sorbed chemicals that poses serious, adverse effects on human health such as increasing cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity and mortality. There is ongoing research into the impacts of PM_2.5 of differing chemical compositions, sampling location, and the mechanisms for the observed health effects. To conduct these analytical and toxicology studies of PM_2.5, researchers often split filters into sections. This process allows multiple, often destructive, assays to be performed. Our previous research showed chemical composition differences across PM_2.5 filters. The goal of our study was …

Fine Particulate Matter And Low Weight Births In Mexico City, Mexico, Kennedy Cohn

Honors Theses

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure has been associated with several negative health consequences, and recent studies suggest a potential relationship between PM2.5 exposure and adverse birth outcomes, including low birth weight (LBW). This thesis investigated a potential relationship between fine particulate matter concentration and low birth weight in Mexico City, Mexico between 2008-2016. Maternal pollution exposure was estimated at the city-wide level by averaging PM2.5 measurements from various monitoring stations. Birth weight was collected from the SINAC database. Logistic regression models were run for different temporal scales (by trimester, and 10-month periods); however, there were no significant relationships found between …

Identifying The Cardiovascular Effects Of Multiple Pollutants., Katlyn Elizabeth Mcgraw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death from environmental exposures. Although exposure to PM_2.5 is an established risk factor for CVD, the contribution of other hazardous pollutant exposure to CVD is less clear. Overall, this work aimed to examine the effect of pollutants with lesser documented effects on cardiovascular disease using a multi-pronged approach to exposure assessment. The three aims were to examine the relationship between county-level toxic chemical releases and CVD mortality in the contiguous United States between 2002 and 2012, to assess the relationship between individual-level VOC metabolites and vascular function, and to build multipollutant …

Corneal Disease And Air Pollution Levels In Detroit: Preliminary Results And Future Directions​, Sachin Ketkar, Matthew Silbergleit, Vaama Patel

Medical Student Research Symposium

Purpose: To determine if Detroit zip codes with elevated air pollution levels demonstrate increased incidence of corneal disease.

Background: 82 million people in the United States live in counties with air quality concentrations above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Air pollution’s detrimental effects on an individual’s health has been well documented. Much of this research has focused on the pulmonary system. The eye, another mucous membrane exposed to the external environment, has been largely ignored

Methods: After an initial literature review of similar studies, 14 corneal diseases and 5 pollutants were selected to be evaluated. Kresge Eye Institute’s patient …

Air Pollution And Non Communicable Diseases, Zafar Fatmi, Shafaq Mahmood, Zainab Samad, Mohammad Wasay

Community Health Sciences

No abstract provided.

Global Air Quality Trekkers: Nandi Clean Kitchen Study, Samantha Dykhuis, Stephanie Schiavo, Avalin Senefeld

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Indoor air pollution is a widespread environmental health challenge sub-Saharan Africa and is the leading cause of premature death in many sub-Saharan African countries. This pollution is primarily caused by the burning of biomass fuels inside an enclosed kitchen in order to provide heat for cooking. Global Air Quality Trekkers is an undergraduate engineering team within the EPICS department at Purdue that began in fall 2016. Our objective is to create a kitchen design that utilizes natural ventilation to mitigate the amount of air pollutants present in these kitchens, specifically in the Nandi community of Western Kenya. This year, our …

What’S In Wildfire Smoke, And Why Is It So Bad For Your Lungs?, Luke Montrose

Public and Population Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

If I dare to give the coronavirus credit for anything, I would say it has made people more conscious of the air they breathe.

A friend texted me recently after going for a jog in the foothills near Boise, Idaho, writing: “My lungs are burning … explain what’s happening!!!”

A wildfire was burning to the east of town – one of hundreds of fires that were sending smoke and ash through communities in hot, dry western states. As an environmental toxicologist, I research how air pollution, particularly wood smoke, impacts human health and disease.

Examining The Intersection Of Environmental Justice, Chronic Disease, And Pandemics; How A Mobile Health App Could Improve Health Outcomes And Inform Policy, Jessica Snow

Master's Projects and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the intersection of environmental justice, chronic disease and illness, and pandemics. The inequitable distribution of polluting factories, landfills, and hazardous waste sites have been a long-standing concern in the field of environmental justice. Local zoning codes and land use policies have been tools for segregating people and concentrating pollution in low-income communities and communities of color. Many studies have found that pollution varies among racial and minority groups, and the burden of pollution is not one that is evenly shared. Communities of color and low income communities are disproportionately affected by air …

Particulate Matter Pollution And Its Effect On Covid-19, Aída Fica Conejeros

International Programs

Growing research supports the significant effects of particulate matter on COVID-19. This air pollutant has been identified before as responsible for serious respiratory diseases. Studies on the differences in high and low polluted cities confirmed that COVID-19 not only correlates to the number of infections but also, increases of 1 ��g/m3 can cause a mortality rate to rise by 8% and the hospital admissions by 4.4%. However, laboratory studies are still needed to support these findings.

Kentucky's Environmental Future, Fall/Winter 2004, Issue 9

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Urban Air Quality, Spring/Summer 2002, Issue 6

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Concentrations Of Criteria Pollutants In The Contiguous U.S., 1979 – 2015: Role Of Model Parsimony In Integrated Empirical Geographic Regression, Sun-Young Kim, Matthew Bechle, Steve Hankey, Elizabeth (Lianne) A. Sheppard, Adam A. Szpiro, Julian D. Marshall

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

BACKGROUND: National- or regional-scale prediction models that estimate individual-level air pollution concentrations commonly include hundreds of geographic variables. However, these many variables may not be necessary and parsimonious approach including small numbers of variables may achieve sufficient prediction ability. This parsimonious approach can also be applied to most criteria pollutants. This approach will be powerful when generating publicly available datasets of model predictions that support research in environmental health and other fields. OBJECTIVES: We aim to (1) build annual-average integrated empirical geographic (IEG) regression models for the contiguous U.S. for six criteria pollutants, for all years with regulatory monitoring data …

Short-Term Association Between Black Carbon Exposure And Cardiovascular Diseases In Pakistan’S Largest Megacity, Daniel Malashock, Haider Khwaja, Zafar Fatmi, Azhar Siddique, Yi Lu, Shao Lin, David Carpenter

Community Health Sciences

This study investigated the association between black carbon (BC) exposure and hospital admissions (HAs) and outpatient department/emergency room (OPD/ER) visits for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among residents of Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan. We measured daily concentrations of BC in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and collected records of HAs and OPD/ER visits for CVD from 2 major tertiary care hospitals serving Karachi for 6 weeks continuously during each quarter over 1 year (August 2008–August 2009). We subsequently analyzed daily counts of hospital and BC data over 0–3 lag days. Daily mean BC concentrations varied from 1 to 32 µg/m3 . …

Examining The Association Of Environmental Degradation And Poor Cardiovascular And/Or Respiratory Health Outcomes In A Disadvantaged Community, Khyati Niranjan Kantaria

Health Services Research Dissertations

Air pollution is associated with poor cardiovascular and/or respiratory health outcomes. The poor air quality in certain communities due to the emission of toxic air pollutants from industries and major roadways has been a growing concern. The main objective of this study was to examine whether residential proximity to environmental air pollution sources, individual-level risk factors (age, gender, and body mass index (BMI)) and number of years at same residence are associated with observed poor cardiovascular and/or respiratory health outcomes in the residents of Southeast community in Newport News, Virginia. Logistic regression was conducted to assess this association using the …