Grantee Research Project Results

Project 4: Human Health Impacts of Energy Transitions: Today and Under a Changing World

EPA Grant Number: R835871C004
Subproject: this is subproject number 004 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R835871
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Center for the Study of Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment
Center Director: Hansel, Nadia
Title: Project 4: Human Health Impacts of Energy Transitions: Today and Under a Changing World
Investigators: Bell, Michelle L. , Deziel, Nicole Cardello , Peng, Roger D. , Son, Jiyoung , Storelvmo, Trude , Zhang, Yawei
Institution: Yale University , The Johns Hopkins University
EPA Project Officer: Callan, Richard
Project Period: October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2020 (Extended to September 30, 2022)
RFA: Air, Climate And Energy (ACE) Centers: Science Supporting Solutions (2014) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air , Climate Change

Objective:

Decision-makers who protect health from air pollution are faced with complex systems involving multiple emission sources, variation in health response by population and region, and temporal changes such as climate change and economic development. We will provide scientific evidence and tools to aid sound policy by investigating: 1) factors that could influence air pollution-health associations, including modifiable factors and factors that could account for regional variability in observed associations (e.g., urbanicity, land-use), for PM_2.5 and O₃ on risk of cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions, including understudied rural populations; 2) health impacts from energy transitions using the most up-to-date scientific information on the multipollutant mixture, regional variation, and sensitive subpopulations; and 3) how climate change could affect health impacts of energy transitions and the co-benefits/costs of air quality policies by calculating their climate change impact. We hypothesize that health impacts will vary considerably by energy transition, region, and population, and will be influenced by modifiable factors such as urbanicity/rurality. We further hypothesize that the climate impacts of air quality policies will vary by energy transition.

Approach:

We will achieve the objectives by: 1) Bayesian hierarchical modeling of data for the Medicare population for the eastern U.S. (2001-2008) and PM_2.5 and O₃ estimates from fused air quality modeling (CMAQ) and air monitoring data; 2) linking concentration changes from energy transitions for 2010-2050 for the U.S. (Projects 1 and 3) to concentration-response functions from Objective 1 and those identified by comprehensive systematic reviews and metaanalyses of key pollutants, with statistical methods to incorporate uncertainty, including information from detailed exposure characterization (from Project 2); and 3) linking concentration estimates under global change to health response, and using the multi-model CMIP5 ensemble to estimate the climate change impact of multiple energy transitions.

Expected Results:

We will produce innovative estimates of associations between air pollutants and hospital admissions, including under-studied factors of urbanicity/rurality and land use. Results will integrate the impacts of energy transitions, climate change, land use/cover change, and temporal trends in modifiable factors. Key outcomes are a better understanding of how policy and energy choices, land use, and other decisions can impact health. The research framework will provide the basis for future analysis of air pollution, energy, health, and climate for other policy strategies and updated scientific findings.

Publications and Presentations:

Publications have been submitted on this subproject: View all 2 publications for this subproject | View all 119 publications for this center

Journal Articles:

Journal Articles have been submitted on this subproject: View all 2 journal articles for this subproject | View all 74 journal articles for this center

Supplemental Keywords:

ambient air, atmosphere, epidemiology, dose-response, elderly, ethnic groups, global climate, race, risk assessment, susceptibility;

Progress and Final Reports:

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R835871 Center for the Study of Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R835871C001 Project 1: Modeling Emissions from Energy Transitions
R835871C002 Project 2: Assessment of Energy-Related Sources, Factors and Transitions Using Novel High-Resolution Ambient Air Monitoring Networks and Personal Monitors
R835871C003 Project 3: Air Quality and Climate Change Modeling: Improving Projections of the Spatial and Temporal Changes of Multipollutants to Enhance Assessment of Public Health in a Changing World
R835871C004 Project 4: Human Health Impacts of Energy Transitions: Today and Under a Changing World

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.