Epidemiology Research Lab

Environmental health - air pollution, temperature, climate change and the built environment

Globally, fine particulate matter air pollution with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5µm (PM2.5) is the fifth-ranked risk factor for mortality and adverse health associations have started to emerge in Australia. PM2.5 is a product of fossil fuel combustion and is increasingly being investigated to understand the role of different sources and their contribution to exposure. In metropolitan areas, particulate matter emissions from human activity are primarily a result of wood heaters, controlled burns, diesel engines and industry. The air in Australia is considered fairly clean relative to other countries because air pollution in other countries is terrible, not because Australian air is clean. Importantly there is no level of PM2.5 air pollution below which health effects have not been observed. One source of air pollution common to many countries is bushfire (wildfire) smoke.

Selected major bushfire smoke events

Environmental Research. 2015 136: 120-132.

It is now generally well-accepted that air pollution affects the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, particularly among the elderly. We are conducting research to investigate effects of air pollution in Australia on understudied populations (children and pregnant women). We also conduct studies to investigate the effects of air pollution in understudied regions such as Ghana, studies that quantitatively summarise the effects of air pollution in high-exposure regions such as China, and studies that can better ascertain dose-response relationships through the use of high quality exposure data in the US and high quality health data in the Nordic countries. We also use satellite imagery to develop models for air pollution and investigate effects of residential greenness and other spatially derived exposures, and serve as editors to initiate special issues on energy transitions and health.

Project lead: Gavin Pereira

Collaborators: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Yale University, Center for Climate Change Adaptation National Institute for Environmental Studies Japan, University of Tsukuba Japan, Korea University, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Queensland University of Technology, Institute for Environmental and Climate Research (ECI) Jinan University China, University of Surrey, University of New South Wales

References