Pollution

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.