CAFEH Newsletter
NEWSLETTER
HIGHLIGHTS:
 CAFEH Advisory
Board Meeting &
Community Report
Back—Dec. 12th
2011
 Somerville, MA
Clean Air Project
(CAP) Preliminary
Findings
 Monitoring
Ultrafine Particles
(UFP) in
Somerville, MA
 Particle
Concentration in
East
Somerville Mobile
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Indoor Air Study:
Reduction of
Particles with Air
2
Filters
Indoor Exposure
to Ultrafine
2
Particles
Measuring Particle 3
Number
Concentrations
with a Mobile Lab
Recent &
Upcoming Events
4
V O L U M E
1 ,
I S S U E
2
F A L L
2 0 1 1
Explaining CAFEH: Through the Lens of a Novice
By Sophia Burks
research assistant to Doug Brugge
that I became interested in local environmental health issues. I immediately
began working on tasks and attending
meetings related to the Community
Assessment of Freeway Exposure
and Health (CAFEH) study. Evaluating
the impact of exposure to near highway ultrafine particulate matter (UFP)
on biomarkers of cardiovascular (CV)
Since August 2009, I have driven
north- and southbound on interstate
93, between the Melnea Cass/
Massachusetts Avenue and Somerville exits, 18 and 29 respectively.
Traveling to and from Somerville, I
always pass the Mystic Housing Development and think about discussions with classmates about urban
renewal and public housing
construction near major highways. Waiting for the red light
to turn green at the intersection of Mystic Avenue and
Temple Street I try to imagine
the air quality residents, patrons, business owners, and
pedestrians are inhaling in
this immediate area near the Image Source: www.dipity.com
I-93 inbound and outbound
health in people over 40 years of age
overpasses. The traffic congestion at
is the goal of the CAFEH study, which
this section of Mystic Avenue only
I understood. However, I did not uncontributes to the number of vehicles
derstand what UFP or biomarkers
sitting idle and traveling near the
were, or how the research team was
residential and businesses in this
going to gather and evaluate data on
area.
UFP and biomarkers of CV health. I
It was not until I began working as a
found myself in a position where I had
to increase my knowledge of the
unknown, in a short amount of time,
to a level of comfort if I was asked
the question: “Can you tell me about
the CAFEH study?”
Somerville, Dorchester/South Boston, and Chinatown were selected as
the 3 CAFEH study areas. Residents
living within 400-meters along highway I-93 were selected to participate
in the study. Malden served as the
urban background for Chinatown.
For the purpose of this study, an
urban background is a location
greater than 1000-meters from I-93.
Environmental data collection related
to ultrafine particulate matter (UFP)
was collected in three forms: (1)
mobile laboratory – consisting of a
van driven along fixed routes within
the study areas and the urban backgrounds. The mobile van measured
near-highway air pollution gradients;
(2) fixed sites in Somerville – a
measuring instrument was installed
on the roof of the Mystic Activity
Center and at the Blessing of the
Bay (Continue on page 3)
Chinatown Community Surveyors
What is the most interesting thing about working in Chinatown on the CAFEH study?
“Study participants want to
know how to make changes.
People started to think
about how to make their
community better and their
family healthier.”
- Fung Lin Yian
“I learned a lot of
knowledge about
pollution that I can use to
educate more people
within and outside of the
Chinatown community.
I am proud to share with
people how to protect
themselves and be
healthy.”
-Tina Wang
PAGE
2
Indoor Air Study: Reduction of Particles with Filters
By Luz Padro
The Clean Air Project (CAP) is a community-based participatory research
pilot-scale study taking place in Somerville, MA. CAP investigates the
impact of indoor air filtration on the cardiovascular health of the Mystic
River Housing Development’s residents, located next to Interstate 93.
Figure 1. HEPAiRx room air purification system (Air Innovations) used in the study with a) HEPA and b) Sham filter.
To evaluate the effectiveness of filtration, a room air purification system,
shown in Figure 1, is installed in the participant’s home for six weeks.
During the six week period, participants agree to give three blood
samples to test whether reducing the particles in the participant’s home
improves their cardiovascular health. Two filters are used during the six
weeks: (a) A HEPA filter which removes particles from the air, and (b) A
sham filter which does not remove the particles as efficiently as the
HEPA filter.
Figure 2, displays the range of particle counts observed with both filters in
a participant’s home. As illustrated in the graph, placing a HEPA filter in
the home reduced the particles significantly. Whether this reduction in
particles is sufficient to improve cardiovascular health in our participants
will be known once the blood samples are tested and analyzed.
Ultimately, the study wants to (1) investigate whether in-home air filtration
reduces particle concentration in homes located near major highways,
and (2) test whether this intervention could be a cost-effective way to
reduce particle exposure and related cardiovascular health risks.
Figure 2. Range of particle counts observed with the sham
Luz Pedro is a Postdoc in the Civil Environmental Engineering department at Tufts Univ.
(left) and HEPA filter (right).
Indoor Exposure to Ultrafine Particles (UFP)
By Christina Hemphill Fuller
As outdoor concentrations increased indoor concentraTwo of the goals of the CAFEH study are to provide more
tions would generally increase. In addition, there was also
information on the ability of ultrafine particles (UFP) to enter
evidence that use of air conditioning lowered the ability of
the indoor environment and to identify which factors are imoutdoor UFP to come indoors. Figure 3, shows
portant determinates of indoor concentrations. CAFEH monicontinuous data at two homes of
tored indoor and outdoor UFP
indoor (pink) and outdoor (blue)
for 1-2 weeks during the warm
UFP from a single day. Residence
months at a group of homes in
3 had windows open with no air
Somerville. Participants enconditioning in use and had similar
gaged in normal activities such
indoor and outdoor UFP
as cooking, cleaning and openthroughout the day. In contrast,
ing windows during monitoring.
Residence 4 used central air condiThis is important because UFP
tioning and indoor UFP was overall
can also be generated indoors.
lower than outdoor UFP. When
The data showed that the meconsidering all this data together
dian indoor/outdoor ratio for all
we conclude that UFP can easily
homes was 0.95, which means
migrate indoors, however, certain
that levels of UFP indoors and
outdoors were about the same. Figure 3. Continuous data for two homes monitored on June 14, 2010 factors such as use of air conditioning may limit this migration.
The most important factors that for indoor (pink) and outdoor (blue) UFP.
determined indoor concentraChristina Hemphill Fuller, a Postdoc at Georgia State Univ., recently
tions were outdoor concentrations, weather and time of day.
completed her PhD at Harvard School of Public Health.
CAFEH
NEWSLETTER
PAGE
3
Measuring Particle Number Concentrations with a Mobile Lab
By Allison Patton
In order to estimate how much pollution people are exposed to, we
need to know how much pollution there is in the air that they breathe
every day.
We collected real-time
measurements of the
ambient levels of
particulate matter and
other pollutants over the
course of a year by
driving a van around a
fixed route in East
Somerville. We covered
the same route at different times throughout the
day and on all days of the
week to capture variation
in traffic, temperature,
wind speed and direction.
This map shows the
median (half of the
measurements were higher and half were lower) concentrations of
particle number concentration from all of the measurements we
made. Similar maps show there are higher particle levels in the air
close to highways and on busy streets with a lot of traffic signals than on
streets with less traffic.
Particle number levels also
vary over time. Concentrations are highest when there
is a lot of traffic, in winter,
and under calm wind
conditions. We are building a
model to try to understand
exactly how each of these
conditions affects the particle
number concentrations that
we measure.
By combining the model
results with information on
where people spend their
time, we will be able to
estimate the particle levels to
which individual people in the
CAFEH study were exposed.
Then we can see whether higher particle number concentrations are
associated with higher risks of cardiovascular disease.
Allison Patton is a PhD. Student in the Civil Environmental Engineering department at Tufts
Explaining CAFEH: Through the Lens of an Novice
(Cont. from Pg 1)
Boathouse at ground level; and (3) at
select residential sites – indoor/outdoor
monitors to measure indoor and ambient
UFPs. Although UFPs are more toxic
than larger particulate matter, the effects
UFPs have on human health are not as
well established. Community surveyors
went house to house gathering detailed
demographic, social, and health information from the participants. The research
team hypothesizes that increase chronic
exposure to traffic-related UFPs is
associated with increases in biomarkers
of CV disease. Biomarkers used in this
study include blood pressure, ankle
brachial pressure index (the ratio of
blood pressure in the lower legs to blood
pressure in the arms), C-reactive protein
(protein found in the blood, which rises in
response to inflammation), and
fibrinogen (protein produced by the body
and is important in the process of
clotting). Biomarker data was collected,
with the consent of the study participants,
“Two hundred
at two scheduled clinical visits. During
the clinical visits, blood pressure, height
& weight were recorded and a blood
sample was taken. Two hundred and
seventy participants completed at least
one clinical visit in Somerville and
Dorchester. One hundred and fifteen
Chinatown/Malden clinicals were completed as of the release of this article.
UFP in the homes of Puerto Ricans who
are at least 45 years old. One of the
goals of the study is to produce materials
tailored to the Puerto Rican population
that explains the hazards of traffic-related
air pollution. Directly educating people is
one of the benefits of utilizing a
community-based participatory research
study.
and seventy
The Clean Air Project (CAP) is a
sub-study of the CAFEH study in the
Mystic River Housing Development. CAP
Participants complete surveys and attend
in-home clinicals similar to CAFEH
participants, in addition to having an
in-home air filtration unit installed in their
home for a period of 6 weeks. A HEPA
filter was installed for 3 weeks and a
sham filter for the 3 weeks.
The CAFEH study research team would
like to pursue intervention studies of
possible benefits of reducing exposure to
UFPs such as investing in home air
filtration systems to reduce outdoor
particulate exposure in homes bordering
highways or advocating for state policy
that would regulate construction of
residential homes within a certain
distance of the highway.
hundred and
In addition to the CAP study, the Puerto
Rican Health Disparities Center uses the
same methods to study the effects of
Sophia Burks is a Graduate Student in the Urban +
Environmental Policy + Planning program at Tufts
Univ.
FALL
participants
completed
clinical visits in
Somerville and
Dorchester. One
fifteen
Chinatown
clinicals were
completed as of
the release of
this article.”
2011
Recent & Upcoming CAFEH Events
DECEMBER 12, 2011
CAFEH Advisory Board Meeting
& Community Report Back
Photographed Left to Right: Allison Patton, Jessica Perkins, Caitlin Collins, Luz
T. Padró-Martínez, Christina H. Fuller, and Kevin Lane
CAFEH student participants attended the 2011 meeting of the International Society of Exposure Science in Baltimore, MD this past
This year’s Advisory Board meeting and Community Report Back will
October. They presented 5 posters and 2 oral talks about the
take place December 12, 2011 from 9am to 1pm at the Mystic Activity
CAFEH study at the conference .
Center located at 535 Mystic Avenue Somerville, MA 02145.
CAFEH participants, community members, and volunteers are
encouraged to attend.
CAFEH Community Partners
CRA
Chinatown Residents Association
FUNDED BY:
NIEHS ES015462; NHLBI CA148612; HUD
MALHH0194-09; EPA STAR FP-91720301-0; EPA
STAR FP-917349-01-0; and P.E.O. Scholar Award
NEWSLETTER CREDITS:
Doug Brugge—Issue Co-Editor
Sophia Burks—Issue Co-Editor, Designer, & Producer
Working together on a five-year study to examine the
effect of air pollution of traffic on the health of people
living near major highways.
NEW Website!
http://sites.tufts.edu/cafeh/