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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
This project was supported by Contract No. 68-C-98-003 between the National Academy of Sciences and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
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COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH PRIORITIES FOR AIRBORNE PARTICULATE MATTER
JONATHAN SAMET (Chair),
The Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
JUDITH CHOW,
Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada
ROBERT E. FORSTER,
The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DANIEL S. GREENBAUM,
Health Effects Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts
MAUREEN HENDERSON,
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
PHILIP K. HOPKE,
Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York
PETROS KOUTRAKIS,
Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
DANIEL KREWSKI,
Health Canada and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario
PAUL LIOY,
University of Medicine and Dentistry-New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey
JOE L. MAUDERLY,
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
ROGER O. MCCLELLAN,
Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
GÜNTER OBERDÖRSTER,
University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
REBECCA PARKIN,
American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C.
JOYCE E. PENNER,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
RICHARD SCHLESINGER,
New York University, Tuxedo, New York
FRANK E. SPEIZER,
Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
MARK UTELL,
University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
RONALD WHITE,
American Lung Association, Washington, D.C.
RONALD WYZGA,
Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, California
TERRY F. YOSIE,
Ruder Finn, Inc., Washington, D.C.
Project Staff
JAMES J. REISA, Principal Staff Officer
KULBIR BAKSHI, Senior Staff Officer
RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Senior Staff Officer
JAMIE YOUNG, Assistant to the Director
LEE R. PAULSON, Editor
RUTH E. CROSSGROVE, Publications Manager
BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
Gordon Orians (Chair),
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
DONALD MATTISON (Vice Chair),
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
MAY R. BERENBAUM,
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
EULA BINGHAM,
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
PAUL BUSCH,
Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., White Plains, New York
GEORGE P. DASTON,
The Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio
PETER L. DEFUR,
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
DAVID L. EATON,
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
ROBERT A. FROSCH,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
MARK HARWELL,
University of Miami, Miami, Florida
BARBARA HULKA,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
DANIEL KREWSKI,
Health Canada and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario
RAYMOND C. LOEHR,
The University of Texas, Austin, Texas
JAMES A. MACMAHON,
Utah State University, Logan, Utah
MARIO J. MOLINA,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
WARREN MUIR,
Hampshire Research Institute, Alexandria, Virginia
GEOFFREY PLACE,
Hilton Head, South Carolina
MARGARET STRAND,
Bayh, Connaughton and Malone, Washington, D.C.
BAILUS WALKER, JR.,
Howard University, Washington, D.C.
DIANA WALL,
Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colorado
GERALD N. WOGAN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
TERRY F. YOSIE,
Ruder Finn Inc., Washington, D.C.
Staff
JAMES J. REISA, Director
DAVID J. POLICANSKY, Associate Director and Program Director for Applied Ecology
CAROL A. MACZKA, Program Director for Toxicology and Risk Assessment
LEE R. PAULSON, Program Director for Resource Management
RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Program Director for Environmental Sciences and Engineering
KULBIR BAKSHI, Program Director for the Committee on Toxicology
JAMIE YOUNG, Assistant to the Director
COMMISSION ON LIFE SCIENCES
THOMAS D. POLLARD (Chair),
The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California
FREDERICK R. ANDERSON,
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Washington, D.C.
JOHN C. BAILAR III,
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
PAUL BERG,
Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
JOANNA BURGER,
Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
SHARON L. DUNWOODY,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
JOHN EMMERSON,
Portland, Oregon
NEAL FIRST,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
URSULA GOODENOUGH,
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
HENRY HEIKKINEN,
University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado
HANS J. KENDE,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
CYNTHIA KENYON,
University of California, San Francisco, California
DAVID LIVINGSTON,
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
THOMAS E. LOVEJOY,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
DONALD R. MATTISON,
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
JOSEPH E. MURRAY,
Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts
EDWARD E. PENHOET,
Chiron Corporation, Emeryville, California
MALCOLM C. PIKE,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
JONATHAN M. SAMET,
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
CHARLES F. STEVENS,
The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California
JOHN L. VANDEBERG,
Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, San Antonio, Texas
PAUL GILMAN, Executive Director
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
GEORGE M. HORNBERGER (Chair),
University of Colorado, Boulder
PATRICK R. ATKINS,
Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
JAMES P. BRUCE,
Canadian Climate Program Board, Ottawa, Ontario
JERRY F. FRANKLIN,
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
B. JOHN GARRICK,
St. George, Utah
THOMAS E. GRAEDEL,
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
DEBRA KNOPMAN,
Progressive Foundation, Washington, D.C.
KAI N. LEE,
Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
JUDITH E. MCDOWELL,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
RICHARD A. MESERVE,
Covington & Burling, Washington, D.C.
HUGH C. MORRIS,
Padre Resource Corporation, Delta, British Columbia
RAYMOND A. PRICE,
Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario
H. RONALD PULLIAM,
University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
THOMAS C. SCHELLING,
University of Maryland, College Park
VICTORIA J. TSCHINKEL,
Landers and Parsons, Tallahassee, Florida
E-AN ZEN,
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
MARY LOU ZOBACK,
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California
Staff
ROBERT M. HAMILTON, Executive Director
GREGORY H. SYMMES, Assistant Executive Director
JEANETTE SPOON, Administrative & Financial Officer
SANDI FITZPATRICK, Administrative Associate
MARQUITA SMITH, Administrative Assistant/Technology Analyst
OTHER REPORTS OF THE BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
The National Research Council's Committee on Toxicology: The First 50 Years (1997)
Toxicologic Assessment of the Army's Zinc Cadmium Sulfide Dispersion Tests (1997)
Carcinogens and Anticarcinogens in the Human Diet: A Comparison of Naturally Occurring and Synthetic Substances (1996)
Upstream: Salmon and Society in the Pacific Northwest (1996)
Science and the Endangered Species Act (1995)
Wetlands: Characteristics and Boundaries (1995)
Biologic Markers [Urinary Toxicology (1995), Immunotoxicology (1992), Environmental Neurotoxicology (1992), Pulmonary Toxicology (1989), Reproductive Toxicology (1989)]
Review of EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (three reports, 1994-1995)
Science and Judgment in Risk Assessment (1994)
Ranking Hazardous Waste Sites for Remedial Action (1994)
Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children (1993)
Issues in Risk Assessment (1993)
Setting Priorities for Land Conservation (1993)
Protecting Visibility in National Parks and Wilderness Areas (1993)
Dolphins and the Tuna Industry (1992)
Hazardous Materials on the Public Lands (1992)
Science and the National Parks (1992)
Animals as Sentinels of Environmental Health Hazards (1991)
Assessment of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Program, Volumes I-IV (1991-1993)
Human Exposure Assessment for Airborne Pollutants (1991)
Monitoring Human Tissues for Toxic Substances (1991)
Rethinking the Ozone Problem in Urban and Regional Air Pollution (1991)
Decline of the Sea Turtles (1990)
Tracking Toxic Substances at Industrial Facilities (1990)
Copies of these reports may be ordered from the National Academy Press
(800) 624-6242
(202) 334-3313
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The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
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PREFACE
New epidemiological evidence—largely obtained during the 1990s—renewed concerns about the health effects of particulate matter in ambient (outdoor) air, and ultimately led to new National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter that were issued in July 1997 by the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Even as the standards were promulgated, scientists and policymakers recognized that further research on particulate matter was needed to address key uncertainties.
In the Fiscal 1998 appropriations to EPA, Congress directed the administrator to arrange for an independent study by the National Research Council (NRC) to identify the most important research priorities relevant to setting particulate matter standards, to develop a conceptual plan for particulate-matter research, and, over 5 years, to monitor research progress toward improved understanding of the relationship between particulate matter and public health.
The Committee on Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter was established by the NRC in January 1998 in response to the request from Congress. The committee is charged with producing 4 reports over the 5 years 1998-2002.
This, our first report, offers a conceptual framework for an integrated national program of particulate-matter research, identifies the most-critical research needs linked to key policy-related scientific uncertainties, and describes the optimal short-term and long-term timing
and estimated costs of such research in an integrated research strategy, or ''research investment portfolio." The committee was neither asked, nor did it attempt, to evaluate the scientific evidence on particulate matter and health in regard to the 1997 decision of the EPA administrator to issue new particulate-matter standards. The committee's identification of uncertainties and related research needs should not be interpreted as an evaluation of any specific point of evidence related to the new particulate matter standards. Rather, the committee identified uncertainties in the evidence base that should be addressed through a program of research. The findings of this research should strengthen the scientific foundation for policy decisions.
This report was produced in a 2-month period at the beginning of a 5-year study. The committee expects to gain a deepening understanding of research being conducted by EPA and others as it continues to do its work over the next 5 years, and recommendations made in this report will be refined and augmented in subsequent reports.
The committee has been generously assisted by many people, including those who presented valuable information and documents during the committee's public sessions at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., on January 20-21 and February 18, 1998: Frank Cushing, U.S. House Appropriations Committee; William Farland, John Vandenberg, and John Bachmann, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Sheila Newton, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; David Hawkins, Natural Resources Defense Council; Carol Henry, American Petroleum Institute; Jane Warren, Health Effects Institute; Owen Moss, Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology; George Hidy, University of Alabama; Gregory Wagner, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; and Robert Schnatter, American Industrial Health Council. Special thanks are due to Maria Costantini of the Health Effects Institute and John Vandenberg of the Environmental Protection Agency for preparing, at the committee's invitation, the Particulate Matter Research Inventory summary contained in Appendix B of this report.
This report was also improved by a separate group of expert reviewers, chosen by the NRC and anonymous to the committee members until public release of the report. The following persons provided prompt and insightful evaluations of the semifinal draft of this report:
Joan M. Daisey, Arthur B. DuBois, Clark W. Heath, Jr., Carol J. Henry, Morton Lippmann, Peter H. McMurry, Thomas W. Peterson, Robert F. Phalen, Joel Schwartz, John H. Seinfeld, and George T. Wolff.
The committee was ably assisted and deftly guided by staff of the NRC's Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, especially James J. Reisa, Kulbir Bakshi, Raymond Wassel, and Jamie Young. These staff members merit special recognition for their thoughtful contributions and extraordinary efforts in producing the report so rapidly, and for the many extra hours they worked to get the job done.
Finally, I would like to express my thanks and admiration to the members of the committee, who deserve to be remembered in NRC folklore for producing this report with extraordinary speed and thoughtfulness within 2 months of the committee's first meeting. Because of the urgent need of Congress and EPA for the committee's first report, the members of the committee, all serving pro bono, put in many long hours to prepare this report. The committee meetings lasted from early morning to late into the night, and the committee members followed through between meetings with draft report sections, countless revisions, and conference calls. In accepting service on this committee, every member voluntarily agreed not to seek or accept any air-pollution-related, noncompetitive research contracts or cooperative agreements over $10,000 from EPA during the 5-year duration of this NRC study. Without exception, the committee members have been knowledgeable, thoughtful, hardworking, and generous of their time. In spite of the pace, the committee and staff maintained a high level of cooperation and good humor.
The committee's collective response to our charge reflects our unified view of the potential significance of this report and the great responsibility given to this committee by Congress, EPA, and the NRC.
Jonathan Samet, Chair
March 1998
CONTENTS
TABLES
TABLE 1.1 |
EPA's Review and Implementation Timetable for Particulate-Matter Standards |
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TABLE 2.1 |
Uncertainties and Highest-Priority Research Needs Identified by EPA for Establishing Standards for Airborne Particulate Matter |
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TABLE 2.2 |
EPA's Particulate-Matter Research-Strategy Summary |
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TABLE 3.1 |
Key Scientific Uncertainties Related to the Source-to-Response Framework |
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TABLE 5.1 |
The Committee's Research Investment Portfolio: Timing and Estimated Costs ($ million/year in 1998 dollars) of Recommended Research on Particulate Matter |
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TABLE 6.1 |
Estimated FY98 EPA Research Allocations |
FIGURES