US EPA, Particulate Matter Research: Future Directions for PM Research

Expanded research during the past five years has answered many pressing questions about the health effects of PM and related exposures, but much remains to be learned. We do not yet understand the role of long-term PM exposure in the development of chronic disease. Further research is also needed to determine how long-term exposure combines with short-term fluctuations in PM levels to trigger acute problems such as heart attacks. In response to these needs, EPA recently issued a Request for Applications to examine the health effects of exposure to PM over a 10-year period.

EPA’s research office will be investigating the significance of new hypotheses to explain the mechanisms by which PM causes disease and death. New research is needed to explain the effects of different physical and chemical properties of PM on human health, particularly on the most susceptible populations. With this understanding and an ability to link sources of PM to observed health effects, researchers will be able to produce information to help develop targeted control strategies to reduce human exposure.

EPA is completing the Air Quality Criteria Document for Particulate Matter, a comprehensive assessment of PM health and exposure science. This document will review the results of the approximately 2,000 studies that have been published since the last review in 1996. EPA will use this information to issue a proposal outlining whether the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) should be revised.

Now that the National Monitoring Network has compiled several years of detailed PM2.5 monitoring data, there is a critical need to accelerate research to help implement the NAAQS. EPA will use modeling and monitoring data to determine which states and regions are out of compliance with the NAAQS. EPA’s research office is developing new analytical tools that will help these states and regions achieve NAAQS compliance.