CalSPEC is currently supporting the California Assembly Natural Resources and Senate Environmental Quality Committees to produce a report on near-roadway indoor air pollution. Pollution inside homes, offices, and public spaces is of increasing concern for several reasons. First, even in temperate regions like California, most people spend most of their time indoors. Second, the hazards associated with gas stoves, furniture, paints, solvents, and other fixtures of modern life are increasingly recognized. Third, any substance present in the outdoor air will ultimately make its way indoors; when residences or workplaces are located near roadways, the risk of indoor pollution is compounded. Because millions of Californians live, work, and go to school near major roadways and other transportation hubs, the state legislature has concerns about human exposure to traffic-related air pollutants, and is interested in strategies to mitigate near-roadway indoor air pollution.
The CalSPEC report will summarize evidence on the following sub-topics:
- Composition and Prevalence of Near-Roadway Indoor Air Pollutants
- Health Effects of Near-Roadway Air Pollutants
- Mitigations Strategies to Reduce Near-Roadway Indoor Air Pollution
CalSPEC welcomes public submission of scientific evidence regarding human health effects of near-roadway air pollutants and mitigation strategies intended to reduce near-roadway indoor air pollution. Please send your submissions by July 31, 2023 to CalSPEC@ucdavis.edu.
Expected publication date: December 2023.
2023 Research Team
Composition and Prevalence Team
Suzanne Paulson, PhD
Professor, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Director, Center for Clean Air, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Faculty Fellow, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies
Luskin Scholar
University of California, Los Angeles
Viraj Sawant, PhD candidate
Graduate Teaching Fellow, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
University of California, Los Angeles
Health Effects Team
Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH
Alison S. Carlson Endowed Professor and Director, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE)
Professor, UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Services and the Phillip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies
Director, Environmental Research and Translation for Health (EaRTH) Center
University of California, San Francisco
Nick Chartres, PhD
Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Sydney Pharmacy School
Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
Courtney Cooper, MPH
Science Associate, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
University of California, San Francisco
Emily Lasher, MSPH candidate
Student Intern, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
University of California, San Francisco
Mitigation Team
Ling Jin, PhD
Research Scientist, Sustainable Energy Systems Group & Transportation Initiative
Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Madeline Sit, MPH candidate
Graduate Student Research Assistant, Division of Environmental Health Sciences
University of California, Berkeley