trusted science for decisions hei annual … · hei probes all corners to make sure our science is...

T R U S T E D S C I E N C E F O R D E C I S I O N S H E I A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 6

HEI probes all corners to make sure our science is the best for decisions

T R U S T E D S C I E N C E F O R D E C I S I O N S

Nga Lee (Sally) Ng, Georgia Institute of Technology.

HEI President Dan Greenbaum testifies to the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Jason Surratt, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.

Ron Herbert, left, and Roger Renne, expert pathologists for the Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study (ACES).

Jacob McDonald, Lovelace Respiratory Research Insti-tute, with Ken Demerjian, ACES Oversight Committee, and Maria Costantini, HEI Principal Scientist.

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A M E S S A G E F R O M T H E C H A I R

hen the HEI Board of Directors considers new directions and initiatives for HEi’s science, we always ask two questions:

First, will the science be of the highest quality and

independence, adhering to HEi’s founding principles of stringent competition among the best scientists and intensive, independent peer review?

Second, and equally important, will the sci-ence make a difference in critical and often controversial decisions on environmental policy and public health?

if we can answer these questions affirma-tively, then and only then will we commit our sponsors’ financial support, and the expertise of our scientific committees and staff, to a targeted program of science investment.

This commitment to quality, independence, and relevance has meant that HEi has been turned to again and again to produce trusted science on questions facing decision makers in the United States and around the globe. And although HEi has been producing this science for over 35 years, today’s challenging climate for producing trusted science, where policy positions may be advocated with dis-regard for facts, makes our continued focus on “getting the science right” as relevant as it has ever been.

You will find in the pages that follow evidence of how HEi is always listening to those who make decisions — hearing their questions, marshaling the best science to answer them, and then communicating the results in the most effective way to inform decisions. One example: we are now examining a key ques-tion underlying the often controversial setting

of air quality standards: how valid are new studies suggesting that air pollution at levels below current standards can impact health? And in a world where the benefits and costs of regulations are often debated, we are providing independent evidence of whether actions taken for clean air — new-technol-ogy engines, cleaner fuels — are actually having the benefits they were designed to achieve. in new and often challenging arenas in the developing countries of Asia, which face some of the globe’s worst air pollution, HEi is identifying which sources of air pollu-tion contribute the most to poor health so as to best inform decisions. And because of our longstanding track record of delivering trust-ed science, HEi is also responding to growing interest from industry and government in having us address questions of whether there are exposures and health effects from uncon-ventional oil and natural gas development. At each turn, HEi endeavors to ensure science of the highest quality and relevance.

Our commitment to quality, inde-pendence, and relevance has meant that HEI has been turned to again and again to produce trusted sci-ence on questions facing decision makers in the United States and around the globe.

We on the HEi Board do not face these chal-lenges alone. Our government and industry sponsors, and others in the environmental community and state agencies, regularly ad-vise us in selecting the most important con-cerns to explore. HEi’s Research Committee brings extensive expertise to identifying the best investigators to undertake the research and overseeing their efforts to ensure that they apply the best techniques. Our Review Committee is known throughout the scien-tific community for the rigor with which it independently peer reviews the report of each study, and then works with the investigators to issue a comprehensive final report and a

commentary on what the study means for science and policy. And at every stage our talented scientific, editorial, and adminis-trative staff makes sure that we deliver and communicate the results in the most effec-tive, and cost-effective, way possible.

Richard F. Celeste Chair, HEi Board of Directors

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Finding the Most Important Questions to AskHEi takes care to select the most pertinent research to support. Case in point: the next round of HEi traffic studies. in May 2016, more than 40 scientists and HEi sponsors in industry and government met to discuss progress in reducing emissions, what we know, and what we need to know about the potential effects of traffic-related pollution on health, as well as factors such as socioeconomic status and noise, which may confound or modify such effects. Through a series of presentations and structured discussions, participants identified the most important issues in need of investigation and the critical factors that must be considered in new studies. The result will be a Request for Applications that, after undergoing review and input from HEi’s sponsors in government and industry, will generate research proposals from interested scientific experts. A thoughtful and competitive review of the proposals will begin in early 2017. HEi will fund only the most relevant and cost-effective studies, with the best designs.


he Health Effects Institute has for over three and a half decades produced reliable, trusted science that informs better decisions about air quality. HEi’s objective and meticulous approach to science — supported at its core jointly by gov-

ernment and industry — allows it to provide impartial, credible answers that help guide difficult, sometimes controversial choices about policy and technology. The organization has funded hundreds of research projects worldwide, generating nearly 270 peer-re-viewed HEi reports and several thousand journal articles to date.

HEi’s science has wide reach and broad ap-plicability. HEi has a unique ability to gather input from diverse stakeholders in industry and government as well as from leading scientists. The institute uses that input to develop its Strategic Plan every five years to keep its investigations focused on the most important questions about air quality. As a result, HEi’s research findings are valuable in shaping regulatory decisions and industry strategies in the United States and globally.

While smart choices have made the air cleaner in many places over the past four decades, air pollution remains a challenge, especially in Asia, where air pollution has lo-cal impacts and can travel to the West. That’s why organizations and industries around the globe, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the European Union, the World Bank, HEi’s industry sponsors, and the World Health Organization — as well as officials in China and india — look to HEi for guidance.

THE PROOF IS IN THE RIGOR

HEi supports science designed to answer key questions and inform decisions. The process begins with HEi’s Strategic Plan. Updated every five years, the Plan identifies primary areas in need of investigation and analysis. HEi funds and oversees scientific

studies designed to rigorously and objectively meet those needs. in so doing, it engages with leading independent scientists from the United States and around the world, who bring expertise in epidemiology, toxicology, statistics, engineering, energy, and more. During open calls for research proposals, a competitive selection process conducted by the HEi Research Committee — a panel of independent experts from prominent research institutions — assures that only the highest quality studies receive funding.

When a funded study is complete, the HEi Review Committee, a separate panel of aca-demic experts who have had no involvement in the study, intensively peer reviews all of its results and HEi issues a research report that fully discloses all the data, methods, analy-ses, and findings. Accompanying each report is a targeted commentary by the Review Committee on the study’s scientific merit and policy relevance. Because HEi applies the highest principles of quality science — and never takes policy positions — HEi publica-tions become go-to references for decision makers in the public and private sectors. Whether it is the U.S. EPA or the World Health Organization reviewing air quality standards and seeking the most credible science, or companies using HEi results to decide on future technologies in which to invest, or Congress and other legislatures deciding on policy, HEi helps shape better decisions with each new report it produces.

REACHING A WIDE AUDIENCE

in many ways, HEi’s work begins, rather than ends, with the publication of a research report. HEi engages in extensive communi-cation of its results, in understandable form, to ensure that its reports provide decision makers in industry and government with the latest facts to guide new policies and strategies related to air quality.

Private companies, and public agencies worldwide, apply HEi’s high-quality science

to analyses that will shape technology and policy decisions. Manufacturers look to HEi results to inform future technology choices, such as whether to invest in diesel or advanced gasoline engines for their vehicles. And HEi results can inform economic as well as health analyses; recently, HEi science played a key role in a report from the World Bank and the institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, The Cost of Air Pollution: Strengthening the Economic Case for Action, which concluded that air pollution from many sources contributes more to public health costs than any other form of pollution.

HEi’s studies focus on a range of topics related to air pollution at the local, regional, national, and global levels. For example, HEi pursues answers to questions about whether actions that have been taken to improve air quality have actually had benefits (studies to hold such rules “accountable”); whether there are exposures and health effects from high concentrations of hazardous air pollutants in so-called “hot spots”; and whether there are effects of low levels of pollutants in ambient air. it also examines the potential benefits and any potential unintended health effects of emissions from the latest emerging fuels and technologies.

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Comparison of particulate matter emissions from traditional and new-technology diesel engines. The 2007 and 2010 engines were tested in HEI’s Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study (ACES).

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With new cleaner technologies, do standards need to go lower?

orth America, Western Europe, and other higher-income areas of the world have successfully lowered their levels of many air pollutants. But some recent epidemiological studies suggest that some air pollutants, such as

ozone, may cause cardiovascular effects at low levels and that there may still be health risks associated with particulate matter air pollution at or below the level of current air quality standards. if true, these effects would have significant public policy and cost implications. At the urging of its sponsors in both government and industry to examine whether these studies may be accurate, HEi has undertaken human controlled exposure and population studies to test the results and inform decisions.

COMPELLING ANSWERS

Ozone has been a pollutant of concern since the earliest days of the U.S. Clean Air Act. There is significant evidence that exposure to ozone can cause a range of respiratory effects — for instance, leading asthmatics to have increased difficulty breathing and resulting in increased hospitalization. in recent years, however, the setting of ambient standards has become controversial — with suggestions in some studies that ozone may have effects on the heart as well as the lung, and questions about how low the ambient air quality standards for ozone should be set.

HEi responded to these concerns with the most comprehensive examination ever undertaken of whether ozone may cause cardiovascular and lung effects at low levels typically found in many U.S. cities. The Multicenter Ozone Study in oldEr Subjects (MOSES), completed in 2016, investigated short-term exposure of older, healthy individuals to ozone. The study found that

ozone exposure had no cardiovascular effects on the subjects, in contrast to other recent, smaller studies in younger subjects, although it did find evidence of respiratory effects in these older adults. The full report will be available in the spring of 2017.

NEW QUESTIONS

The U.S. EPA has set the annual ambient air pollution limit for fine particulate matter at 12 µg/m3, which is slightly higher than what the World Health Organization recom-mends but less than half of the European limit. Studies have found that actual annual levels in the developed world range from 6 to 30 µg/m3, and some recent studies have suggested that increased risks of mortality remain associated with levels below 8 µg/m3.

The question in terms of the air quality standard, then, is how low is low enough? Responding to the need for a much closer look at whether these associations can stand up to scrutiny, HEi has launched (following an intense competition among nearly 40 initial proposals) a trio of studies to investigate the health effects of exposure to low levels of air pollution across large populations.

The first two studies will assess exposure and health data for millions of U.S. Medicare and Medicaid enrollees and a large sample of Canada’s population. in both groups, inves-tigators will employ satellite data and other state-of-the-art tools to estimate exposure at low levels of pollution, and, relying on census and public health insurance information, investigate potential health effects.

The third study, approved by HEi in 2016, will investigate exposure and associations with potential health effects in 25 million Europeans. That study will measure and esti-mate exposure to particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, ozone, and black carbon levels down to the level of individual residences and test whether those exposures correlate with car-

diovascular health, lung cancer, and overall mortality in multiple populations, using exten-sive information about the participants. This study is powered to provide reliable answers and to rigorously test, in concert with the two North American studies, the lowest levels at which effects might occur.

in May 2016, HEi held the first workshop to bring investigators for all three studies together with HEi staff and outside oversight experts in exposure, health, and statistics. At the workshop, investigators started planning for the individual studies and for cooperative analyses across the studies to test their results as rigorously as possible.

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New-generation technologies: the fuel cell-powered Toyota Mirai, top; the electric Chevrolet Bolt; and a natural gas (combined-cycle electric) power plant.


ell-informed decisions made in the past have vastly improved air quality in many places, particularly in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. But work remains to be done,

especially in Asia, where levels of air pollution are particularly high and it can travel from China and other Asian countries to Japan and North America. HEi has, for the past decade, led the air pollution analyses for the com-prehensive Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project. Organized by the institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, GBD is the world’s most system-atic effort to understand the causes of death and illness worldwide, and the full range of potential risk factors — for instance, smok-ing, diet, obesity, and air pollution — that may contribute to that health burden.

GBD has tracked substantial improvement in health worldwide, with people living 20 or more years longer than they did in 1970. it has found that the effects from air pollution have been reduced in the developed world over the past 25 years, but that the develop-ing world still faces significant air pollution burdens. According to the most recent GBD estimates for 2015, heavily polluted outdoor air contributes each year to more than 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide, and more than half of those deaths occur in China and india.

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HEI Vice President Robert O’Keefe at Clean Air Asia’s 9th Better Air Quality Conference, held in South Korea in late summer 2016.

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INFORMING ASIAN AIR QUALITY DECISIONS

To respond to continuing air quality chal-lenges in China and india, HEi has launched the Global Burden of Disease from Major Air Pollution Sources (GBD MAPS) initiative. This effort aims to understand how different sources of pollution (for instance, from power production, industrial plants, agriculture, transportation, and household stoves) con-tribute to health problems. HEi has partnered with Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, the india institute of Technology in Mumbai, india, the institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington–Seattle, and the University of British Columbia in Vancou-ver to carry out the project.

The first results are out. in August 2016, Tsinghua University and HEi announced findings that coal combustion in China is the single largest source of air pollution to contribute to health effects, which was widely reported in both the Chinese and international press. Coal burning contributed to about 40 percent of the premature deaths attributable to air pollution in China in 2013.

The GBD MAPS analysis also found that premature deaths related to all sources of air pollution in China could reach 1.3 million per year by 2030 without further action to improve air quality. China has implemented measures to control air pollution in recent years, but the study suggests that more aggressive strategies are needed. The information is shedding light on the country’s energy choices, such as decisions about future industrial modernization and pollution control.

A similar GBD MAPS study in india is nearing completion. Over a million premature deaths there in 2015 were attributable to poor outdoor air quality. Recent efforts to reduce pollution in india have focused on traffic and power plants, but understanding other sources of pollution will help india invest in regulations and energy choices that provide

the largest health benefit to the population. Those interventions may be as diverse as making new, cleaner fuels available to households throughout the country, retrofitting the older power plants and diesel trucks, and ensuring that new vehicles, factories, and power plants can apply the control technologies — often from U.S. manufacturers — to meet the most modern standards.

INFORMING THE WORLD

Such information is invaluable for decision makers everywhere. Leaders in China and india — countries with key emerging markets for new vehicle and energy technology — are charged with analyzing the costs and benefits of actions to improve air quality. They already rely on HEi’s trusted science. in June 2016, HEi and collaborators presented GBD MAPS study results at a major air pollution confer-ence in Shanghai, China, where officials from throughout the country were learning about the latest science for estimating those costs and benefits.

To enhance such efforts more broadly, HEi will launch a new State of Global Air report

and interactive Web site early in 2017. This effort will inform government decision mak-ers, the press, nongovernmental organiza-tions, and industry about the latest data and trends in air quality and impact on human health. The site will build on the most up-to-date annual findings from GBD studies and make the underlying data on every country publicly available. it will also summarize findings from the GBD MAPS initiative and provide an easily comprehended comparison of the various estimates being made by other organizations around the world.

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This Tata Motors hybrid bus, which has a Cummins engine, is bringing cleaner technology to India’s roads.

Top Chinese Mortality Risk Factors, 2013

DEATHS

High blood pressure –Smoking –

High Sodium –Low fruit –

Ambient particulate matter –Household air pollution –High body-mass index –

High fasting plasma glucose –Alcohol use –

Low whole grains –Lead –

Low physical activity –Low glomerular filtration –

High total cholesterol –Low fiber –

Low omega-3 –Low nuts and seeds –

Low vegetables –Occupational carcinogens –

Drug use –| | | | | |

0 500K 1M 1.5M 2M 2.5M

5th Leading Cause of Death

HIV/AIDS & tuberculosisDiarrhea/LRI/otherNeoplasmsCardiovascular diseasesChronic respiratoryCirrosisDigestive diseases

Neurological disordersMental & substance useDiabetes/urog/blood/endoTransport injuriesUnintentional injuriesSelf-harm & violence

Estimates of causes of premature death in China from the top 20 risk factors in 2013, for both sexes and all ages.



From older power plants to unconventional oil and gas development to the fuels we use for transportation, the array of energy sources continues to broaden.

PRESSING ENERGY QUESTIONS

ore than ever, people are recognizing that energy choices, air quality, and health are linked. As a result, choices about the best energy sources to meet the needs for power, industry, transportation, and other ac-

tivities — while minimizing potential effects on human health and the environment — are becoming a central focus worldwide.

Several HEi studies have examined the air quality and health impacts of energy choices. Most recently, HEi’s Global Burden of Disease from Major Air Pollution Sources (GBD MAPS) study in China has provided a guide to the relative health burdens of different fuel and energy choices from different sources (e.g., industry, power, transportation, and house-hold). HEi has also evaluated the health

effects of emerging technologies in studies such as the Advanced Collaborative Emis-sions Study (ACES), which characterized the substantial reductions in emissions from new technology heavy-duty diesel engines designed to meet U.S. EPA standards set in 2007 and 2010 (and similar to corresponding European standards), and HEi continues to explore the impact of new fuels and technol-ogies that may both improve efficiency and reduce air pollution.

GROWING ENERGY ACTIVITY

One source of energy supply that has grown in importance in the United States is the de-velopment of unconventional oil and natural gas resources (UOGD), which, among other benefits, is offering lower-cost natural gas for electricity generation and industrial activity, with the potential for lower air pollution. While the benefits are substantial, the rapid increase in energy development in many

regions of the country has raised questions in communities and states as to whether it may be associated with increased exposures and health effects. Such questions call for answers from impartial, high-quality science.

Given HEi’s long track record of delivering objective and relevant scientific results, a public–private initiative in Pennsylvania tapped the institute to help identify and prior-itize emerging questions about the potential exposures from and health effects of UOGD in the Appalachian Basin. in response, HEi developed a Strategic Research Agenda that addressed such questions after carefully reviewing scientific and industry literature and gathering input from a series of public workshops held in the region. The agenda was published in November 2015.

To begin to fill critical knowledge gaps noted in the report, HEi is now developing a national Energy Research Program — to be jointly funded by industry and government — that will produce trusted answers on two sets of questions. The first involves questions about whether people in regions of oil and natural gas development may be exposed to

UOGD-related pollutants in air or water. The second is to de-termine, if there are exposures related to UOGD, whether they may cause health effects.

HEi’s Energy Research Pro-gram is targeted to get under way in 2017, with an initial focus on characterizing po-tential exposures for people in communities near UOGD oper-ations in representative loca-

tions across the United States. Exposure studies will be carried out in phases over the coming years, with early-phase study results informing and guiding later-phase studies. Regular assessments of results and consid-erations of potential health effects will help HEi determine whether or not further study is necessary and, if so, how best to proceed.

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Adaptation of an energy flow chart, prepared by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, detailing the sources of energy production, how Americans are using energy, and how much waste exists.

Geothermal0.224

Coal15.7

Petroleum35.4

NaturalGas28.3

Nuclear8.34

Hydro2.39

Wind1.82

Biomass4.72

Solar0.532

ElectricityGeneration

38.0

Residential11.3

Net Electricity Imports

RejectedEnergy59.1

EnergyServices

38.4

Commercial8.71

Industrial24.5

Transportation27.7

Estimated U.S. Energy Consumption in 2015: 97.5 Quads

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RESEARCH COMMITTEE

David L. Eaton, Chair Dean and Vice Provost of the Graduate School, University of Washington–Seattle

Jeffrey R. Brook Senior Research Scientist, Air Quality Research Division, Environment Canada, and Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Canada

David Christiani Elkan Blout Professor of Environmental Genetics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Francesca Dominici Professor of Biostatistics and Senior Associate Dean for Research, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

David E. Foster Phil and Jean Myers Professor Emeritus, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Engine Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Uwe Heinrich Professor, Hannover Medical School; Executive Director, Fraunhofer institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine, Hanover, Germany

Amy H. Herring Carol Remmer Angle Distinguished Professor of Children’s Environmental Health, and Associate Chair, Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill

Barbara Hoffmann Professor of Environmental Epidemiology, institute for Occupational and Social Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, Germany

Allen L. Robinson Raymond J. Lane Distinguished Professor and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Professor, Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

Ivan Rusyn Professor, Department of Veterinary integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University

REVIEW COMMITTEE

James A. Merchant, Chair Professor and Founding Dean Emeritus, College of Public Health, University of iowa

Michael Brauer Professor, School of Environmental Health, University of British Columbia, Canada

Bert Brunekreef Professor of Environmental Epidemiology, institute of Risk Assessment Sciences, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands

Mark W. Frampton Professor of Medicine and Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center

Jana B. Milford Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado–Boulder

Roger D. Peng Professor of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Lianne Sheppard Professor of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Washington–Seattle

C O M M I T T E E S 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6


New HEI Review Committee Members

The HEi Review Committee welcomed two new members in 2016: Jana B. Milford, a professor of mechanical engineering and environmental engineering at the University of Colorado–Boulder, who joined the Committee in the spring; and Jennifer L. Peel, a professor and section head of epidemiology at Colorado State University, who began serving in the fall.

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Strategic Research Agenda NOVEMBER 2015 Strategic Research Agenda on the Potential impacts of 21st Century Oil and Natural Gas Development in the Appalachian Region and Beyond HEi Special Scientific Committee on Unconventional Oil and Gas Development in the Appalachian Basin

Special Report 19 NOVEMBER 2015 Diesel Emissions and Lung Cancer: An Evaluation of Recent Epidemiological Evidence for Quantitative Risk Assessment HEi Diesel Epidemiology Panel

Communication DECEMBER 2015 The Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study (ACES) Executive Summary Health Effects institute

Research Report 185 DECEMBER 2015 Analysis of Personal and Home Characteristics Associated with the Elemental Composition of PM2.5 in indoor, Outdoor, and Personal Air in the RiOPA Study Patrick H. Ryan

Research Report 183, Part 3 APRiL 2016 Development of Statistical Methods for Multipollutant Research. Part 3. Modeling of Multipollutant Profiles and Spatially Varying Health Effects with Applications to indicators of Adverse Birth Outcomes John Molitor

Research Report 186 MAY 2016 Ambient and Controlled Particle Exposures as Triggers for Acute ECG Changes David Q. Rich and Annette Peters

Research Report 187 MAY 2016 Causal inference Methods for Estimating Long-Term Health Effects of Air Quality Regulations Corwin M. Zigler

Special Report 20 JUNE 2016 Burden of Disease Attributable to Coal-Burning and Other Major Sources of Air Pollution in China GBD MAPS Working Group

*Unpublished report JUNE 2016 New Methods to Detect Aerosol Chemical Composition-induced Reactive Oxygen Species in a Biological Model Richard E. Peltier

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*Not published, but available on request.

HEI has selected Kymberly Gowdy (with award), assistant professor in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, for its 2015 Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award. The award will contribute funding to her investigations into how exposure to ozone may damage lung and cardiovascular tissues. Pictured with her are (from left) David Eaton, chair of the HEI Research Committee; Rashid Shaikh, HEI Director of Science; and Annemoon van Erp, HEI Managing Scientist.

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Downloads of HEI PublicationsUser data show growing interest in scientific reports posted on HEI’s Web site, with more than 150,000 downloads of publications each year.


ACCOUNTABILITY

*The effects of policy-driven air quality improvements on children’s respiratory health. Frank Gilliland, University of Southern California

improvements in air quality and health out-comes among California Medicaid enrollees due to goods movement actions — Phase 2. Ying-Ying Meng, University of California–Los Angeles

impact of emissions changes on air quality and acute health effects in the Southeast, 1993–2012. Armistead Russell, Georgia institute of Technology

OZONE

*Effects of ozone in human volunteers ex-posed to low levels of ozone in a laboratory. John Balmes, University of California–San Francisco; Philip Bromberg, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill; Mark Frampton, University of Rochester; Paul Stark, New England Research institute

*Air pollution and systemic inflammation of autonomic nerves. Allison Fryer, Oregon Health & Science University

*Report in the HEi review process as of June 30, 2016

AIR POLLUTION CONSTITUENTS AND MIXTURES

Epidemiology

*Particulate air pollutants, risk of cognitive disorders, and neuropathology in the elderly. Jiu-Chiuan Chen, University of Southern California

*Air pollution and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Wuhan, China. Zhengmin Qian, Saint Louis University

*Adverse reproductive outcomes and ex-posures to gaseous and particulate matter air pollution in pregnant women. Jun Wu, University of California–irvine

Epidemiology at Low Exposures

identifying the shape of the association between long-term exposure to low levels of ambient air pollution and the risk of mortality: An extension of the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort using innovative data linkage and exposure methodology. Michael Brauer, University of British Columbia

Mortality and morbidity effects of long-term exposure to low-level PM2.5, black carbon, NO2, and O3: An analysis of European cohorts. Bert Brunekreef, Utrecht University

Assessing adverse health effects of long-term exposure to low levels of ambient pollution. Francesca Dominici, Harvard University

Emissions and Exposure Assessment

The Hong Kong D3D study: A dynamic three-dimensional exposure model for Hong Kong. Benjamin Barratt, King’s College London

Enhancing models and measurements of traffic-related air pollutants for health studies using Bayesian melding. Stuart Batterman, University of Michigan

Use of real-time sensors to assess mis-classification and to identify main sources contributing to peak and chronic exposures. Juana Maria Delgado-Saborit, University of Birmingham

Characterizing the determinants of vehicle traffic emissions exposure: Measurement and modeling of land-use, traffic, transformation, and transport. Christopher Frey, North Carolina State University

Chemical and physical characterization of non-tailpipe and tailpipe emissions at 100 locations near major roads in the Greater Boston area. Petros Koutrakis, Harvard University

Developing multipollutant exposure indicators of traffic pollution: The Dorm Room inhalation to Vehicle Emissions (DRiVE) study. Jeremy Sarnat, Emory University


O N G O I N G S T U D I E S A N D R E P O R T S U N D E R R E V I E W 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6 A N D I N P R E S S

Christopher Murray, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, at HEI’s 2016 Annual Conference.

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Evaluation of alternative sensor-based exposure assessment method. Edmund Seto, University of Washington

Real-world vehicle emissions characteriza-tion for the Shing Mun Tunnel in Hong Kong and Ft. McHenry Tunnel in the U.S. Xiaoliang Wang, Desert Research institute

Mechanisms of Health Effects

Understanding the impact of air quality on the chemistry of ribonucleic acids. Lydia Contreras, University of Texas–Austin

Scavenger receptor B1 regulates oxidized lipid driven pulmonary and vascular inflammation after ozone exposure. Kymberly Gowdy, East Carolina University

Air quality by genomics interactions in a cardiovascular disease cohort. William Kraus, Duke University

Composition and oxidative properties of particulate matter mixtures: Effects of particle phase state, acidity, and transition metals. Nga Lee (Sally) Ng, Georgia institute of Technology

Understanding the health effects of iso-prene-derived particulate matter enhanced by anthropogenic pollutants. Jason Surratt, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill

O N G O I N G S T U D I E S A N D R E P O R T S U N D E R R E V I E W 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6 A N D I N P R E S S

Xiaoliang Wang, Desert Research Institute (right), with James Merchant, University of Iowa and chair, HEI Review Committee.

Warren Washington (left), outgoing member of the HEI Board of Directors, receives a framed photograph of the group from Chair Richard Celeste in recognition of Washington’s eight years of service on the Board.

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STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION June 30

2016 2015

Assets

Cash and cash equivalents $651,213 $607,313

Resticted cash 147,281 147,099

Contributions receivable 287,068 325,714

Unbilled incurred costs on grants 1,406,925 2,265,382

Prepaid expenses 23,931 5,196

Office equipment, office furniture and fixtures, and leasehold improvements, net 66,362 57,500

Total assets $2,582,780 $3,408,204

Liabilities and Net Assets

Liabilities:

Contracted research payables $1,141,897 $1,724,398

Accrued contracted research 778,590 790,000

Other accounts payable and accruals 456,819 798,266

Line of Credit — 400,000

Total liabilities 2,377,306 3,712,664

Unrestricted net assets:

Operating 194,557 (304,460)

Board-designated reserve fund 10,917 —

Total unrestricted net assets 205,474 (304,460) Total net assets 205,474 (304,460)

Total liabilities and net assets $2,582,780 $3,408,204


F I N A N C I A L S U M M A R Y 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6

HEi made significant progress in fiscal year 2016 on initiatives in our Accountability and Health Effects of Air Pollution programs, as well as in our Global Burden of Disease from Major Air Pollution Sources (GBD MAPS) project and other international efforts. These activities were made possible by our core sponsors with additional funding from government, industry, and foundations. We also moved forward with our development of a new research program concern-ing unconventional oil and gas activities, supported by separate funding. Our goal continues to be to make maximum use of our resources for funding scientific expenditures.

The HEi Financial Statement and the Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C., Tofias New England Division Auditors’ Report may be obtained by contacting Jacqueline C. Rutledge at [email protected].


STATEMENTS OF ACTIVITIES Years Ended June 30

2016 2015

Assets

Revenues and support:

EPA grants for the Health Effects of Air Pollution program $5,141,543 $4,365,382

industry contributions 3,996,982 4,096,236

U.S. Federal Highway Administration grants — 6,778

Non-federal grant and contract revenue 370,649 562,275

Shale Gas foundation support 225,000 525,000

Other revenues 70,066 45,978

Total revenues and support 9,804,240 9,601,649

Expenses

Research programs:

Research studies 4,188,266 5,298,942

Research planning and study selection 415,652 552,017

Scientific study management 300,959 303,282

Scientific study review 288,799 411,437

Scientific publication and communication 732,869 895,812

5,926,545 7,461,490

Special scientific projects:

Air Quality — 24,161

Diesel Epidemiology 140,158 247,867

Shale Gas 511,105 535,008

Global Health Science 492,063 477,678

1,143,326 1,284,714

Total research and scientific expense 7,069,871 8,746,204

Administration 2,224,435 2,457,270

Total expenses 9,294,306 11,203,474

Net increase (decrease) in net assets 509,934 (1,601,825)

Net assets at beginning of year (304,460) 1,297,365

Net assets at end of year $205,474 $(304,460)

F I N A N C I A L S U M M A R Y 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6


CORE SPONSORS

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Research and Development

National Center for Environmental Research

National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory

National Center for Environmental Assess-ment

Office of Air and Radiation

Office of Air Quality and Planning Stan-dards

Office of Transportation and Air Quality

Office of Atmospheric Programs

Office of Radiation and indoor Air

Office of international Affairs

Motor Vehicle Industry

BMW of North America, LLC

Caterpillar, inc.

Chrysler, LLC

Cummins Engine Company

Daimler AG

Detroit Diesel Corporation

Ford Motor Company

General Motors Corporation

Hino Motors, Ltd.

American Honda Motor Company, inc.

Hyundai America Technical Center, inc.

isuzu Motors, Ltd.

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC

KiA Motors America, inc.

Mazda Motor Corporation

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

Navistar

Nissan Motor Company, Ltd.

Subaru Research and Development, inc.

Toyota Motor Corporation

Volkswagen of America, inc.

Volvo Cars of North America, LLC

Volvo Powertrain North America

OTHER SPONSORS

Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation

Exxon Mobil

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Henry L. Hillman Foundation

John Deere and Company

Richard King Mellon Foundation

Oak Foundation

PACCAR, inc.

Henry C. and Belle Doyle McEldowney Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation

S P O N S O R S 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6


REPORT CREDITS

Writing Elizabeth Dougherty

Art Direction/Design Glenn Ruga

Project Management and Editing Hope Green

Printing Quad Graphics, inc., Woburn, MA

Printed using UV inks on 100% post-consumer recycled fiber. UV inks cut down on volatile organic compounds produced

during the printing process.

Sherri Hunt of the U.S. EPA and Howard Feldman of the American Petroleum Institute.

From left: Ivan Rusyn and Uwe Heinrich, both on HEI Research Committee; and Erika Sasser and Dan Costa, U.S. EPA.

Chad Bailey, U.S. EPA, and David Foster of the HEI Research Committee.

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OFFICERS AND STAFF

Daniel S. Greenbaum President

Robert M. O’Keefe Vice President

Rashid Shaikh Director of Science

Jacqueline C. Rutledge Director of Finance and Administration

Kristen M. Mann Corporate Secretary_____________

Sarah Benckart Science Administrative Assistant

Hanna Boogaard Consulting Senior Scientist

Aaron J. Cohen Consulting Principal Scientist

Maria G. Costantini Principal Scientist

Philip J. DeMarco Compliance Manager

Hope Green Publications Associate

Kathryn Liziewski Research Assistant

Anny Luu Executive Assistant

Hilary Selby Polk Managing Editor

Robert A. Shavers Operations Manager

Tyler Trainor Staff Accountant

Annemoon M.M. van Erp Managing Scientist

Donna J. Vorhees Director of Energy Research

Katherine Walker Principal Scientist

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Richard F. Celeste, Chair President Emeritus, Colorado College

Sherwood Boehlert Of Counsel, Accord Group; Former Chair, U.S. House of Representatives Science Committee

Enriqueta Bond President Emerita, Burroughs Wellcome Fund

Purnell W. Choppin President Emeritus, Howard Hughes Medical institute

Michael T. Clegg Professor of Biological Sciences, University of California–irvine

Jared L. Cohon President Emeritus and Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

Stephen Corman President, Corman Enterprises

Linda Rosenstock Dean Emeritus and Professor of Health Policy and Management, Environmental Health Sciences and Medicine, University of California–Los Angeles

Henry Schacht Managing Director, Warburg Pincus; Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lucent Technologies

Warren M. Washington Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research; Former Chair, National Science Board____________

Archibald Cox Founding Chair, 1980–2001

Donald Kennedy Vice Chair Emeritus, 1980–2003; Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Science

H E I S TA F F A N D B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6

BOARD WELCOMES NEW MEMBER

Jo ivey Boufford, president of the New York Academy of Medicine, recently joined HEi’s Board of Directors. Boufford is Professor Emeritus of Public Service, Health

Policy, and Management at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and clinical professor of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine.

HEI Board of Directors: (standing, from left), Michael Clegg, Richard Celeste (chair), Jared Cohon, and Henry Schacht; (sitting, from left) Purnell Choppin, Enriqueta Bond, Linda Rosenstock, and Sherwood Boehlert; (not pictured) Stephen Corman and Warren M. Washington.

H E A L T H E F F E C T S I N S T I T U T E

75 Federal Street, Suite 1400

Boston, MA 02110-1817

USA

Phone: + 1 617 488 2300

Fax: 1 617 488 2335

www.healtheffects.org

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