Pollution

Arsenic is a long-lasting environmental contaminant found in food, water, air, and soil. In Washington, there are multiple geographically unique sources of arsenic ranging from natural sources like sediments and groundwater to man-made sources.

Neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD), affect over 47 million people worldwide, and this number is anticipated to reach 131.5 million by 2050.

Introduction: The incidence rates of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and cutaneous malignant melanoma are rapidly increasing. While inhaled particulate matter (PM) has been classified as a lung carcinogen, the associations between ambient PM (either PM2.5 and PM10) and skin cancers have not been studied thoroughly.

Background: The efficacy of the high-efficiency particle arresting (HEPA) air cleaner and its related health benefits have gotten some attention, yet the number of studies on this topic is still modest.

Wildfire events are increasing in prevalence in the western United States. Research has found mixed results on the degree to which exposure to wildfire smoke increases the risk of mortality.

Issues: Smartphones and other mobile devices have become important tools for collecting wellness and personal health information. To take advantage of this potential, an environmental justice organization is developing an app to help citizen scientists collect water samples and share water quality data.

Diesel exhaust (DE) is a major contributor to air pollution globally. Fine and ultrafine particulate matter make up a large portion of its components.

The Imperial Project was a collaboration between community organizations, academia, and state partners created to investigate levels of particulate matter, a criteria air pollutant, in the highly impacted community of Imperial County. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) techniques were used to ensure that community members were engaged in each step of the research process.

Escalating prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in recent decades has triggered increasing efforts in understanding the role played by environmental risk factors as a way to address this widespread public health concern. Several epidemiological studies show associations between developmental exposure to traffic-related air pollution and increased ASD risk.