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Understanding urban exposure environments: new research directions for informing implementation of U.S. air quality standards

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Abstract

This article explores the role that scientific information can play in improving implementation of National Ambient Air Quality Standards and discusses some of the key policy-relevant questions related to implementation that could be informed by advances in the scientific research. This article expands on the concept of urban exposure environments as useful constructs in helping to improve research into the roles of air pollution mixtures and population exposure patterns in air pollution health effects. Recommendations for potential research areas related to urban exposure environments are discussed, including (1) improving the understanding of the role that individual pollutants play within the overall mixture of pollutants that determine air quality and health outcomes in an urban area, (2) understanding the causes of heterogeneity (or similarity) across urban areas in the relative risks associated with air pollution, and (3) improving air quality characterization within urban exposure environments, recognizing the complex air pollution mixtures in many environments which may result from emissions from multiple sources, including regional and local contributors. Informed implementation policies focused on multipollutant risk-based management objectives guided by an improved understanding of multipollutant exposures are likely to lead to greater improvements in public health through more effective and efficient emissions controls.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health and Environmental Impacts Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, USA

    Bryan Hubbell

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  1. Bryan Hubbell
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Correspondence to Bryan Hubbell.

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The views expressed in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and policies of the U.S. EPA.

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Hubbell, B. Understanding urban exposure environments: new research directions for informing implementation of U.S. air quality standards. Air Qual Atmos Health 5, 259–267 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-011-0153-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-011-0153-4

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