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EPA Awards $10.4 Million in Grants
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
NCER Staff Writer
WASHINGTON (NCER) - EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development Paul Gilman announced grant awards totaling $10.4 million for research to study the health effects of air pollution on human health; water quality issues related to nutrients in rural and agricultural watersheds; and the effects of chemicals in the environment on children's health.
Read more about:
Environmental Health Risks To Children Grants
Nutrient Water Quality Grants
Health Effects Of Air Pollution Grants
EPA Awards $3.7 Million In Grants To Study Health Effects Of Air Pollution
EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development Paul Gilman announced $3.7 million in grants for research to study the health effects of air pollution on human health after long-term exposure.
”Protecting the health of Americans, especially the elderly and other susceptible populations, is one of EPA's highest priorities,” said Gilman. ”This work demonstrates our need and commitment to find ways to prevent disease caused by environmental factors.”
The grants were awarded through Science to Achieve Results (STAR), an EPA program that funds research in environmental science and engineering and employs a competitive solicitation process and independent peer review.
Scientists will investigate whether breathing particulate matter, a component in outdoor air pollution, is linked to a higher risk of hospitalization or death from heart disease. They will also shed light on whether people with existing disease are susceptible to the effects of air pollution. The grants were awarded to the following universities:
CALIFORNIA
Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, $964,000 – This continuing EPA STAR project is following the occurrence of fatal and nonfatal heart disease in a California population. Scientists will assess the long-term effects of air pollutants using 23 years of information on people participating in the Adventist Health Study. Researchers will assess whether age or illness, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, is linked to different levels of risk.
MARYLAND
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, $1,034,000 - Scientists will use hospitalization and death information for veterans and Medicare patients compared to historical weather and air monitoring data maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies. Over the 3 years of the project, they will compare recent and long-term exposure to particulate matter with deaths and illnesses to see how it varies across the country.
MASSACHUSETTS
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, $934,000 - Using the Nurses' Health Study, an ongoing study of 121,700 women living in the U.S., researchers will evaluate the connection between long-term exposure to air pollution and heart and lung disease and death. The study will incorporate extensive information on each individual’s health and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease including diet, smoking habits, and other characteristics.
MICHIGAN
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, $769,000 - The general aim of this project is to determine if long-term exposure to airborne particles is related to the development of atherosclerosis. Using state-of-the-art indicators for vascular disease among 6,500 people in the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, scientists will study whether 15 years of exposure to air particles is associated with atherosclerosis in adults.
For more information about these grants, please visit: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/research.display/rpt/abs/rfa_id/307.
For more information on EPA's STAR program, see: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/.
EPA Awards $3 Million In Nutrient Water Quality Grants
EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development Paul Gilman recently announced $3 million in grants for research and community outreach projects to address water quality issues related to nutrients in rural and agricultural watersheds.
The projects were funded through a joint program sponsored by the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA) Science to Achieve Results (STAR) and
USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service
(CSREES).
"Watershed protection is essential to public health and water quality,” said
Gilman. “This program with USDA demonstrates our mutual commitment
to work with local partners to ensure our waters meet water quality
standards necessary to support healthy aquatic communities.”
Scientists will work closely with local governments and community groups to address local water quality issues. The grants were awarded to the following universities:
MASSACHUSETTS
Tufts University, Boston, $749,000 – This research will focus on improving nutrient models so that they can be more effectively used for nutrient Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).
MICHIGAN
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, $746,000 – These scientists will develop a management plan to eliminate nuisance algal blooms in a chain of reservoirs along the Huron River in southeastern Michigan.
NORTH CAROLINA
The
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, $738,000 – This
research will investigate the transport and transformation of nonpoint-source
derived nitrogen from agricultural and forested lands to the Neuse
River Estuary.
WISCONSIN
University of Wisconsin, Madison, $749,000 – The grant will be used to improve two models that predict how phosphorus, a common agricultural nutrient, is transported.
For more information about these grants, please visit: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/304.
For more information on EPA’s STAR program, see: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/.
EPA Awards $3.7 Million In Grants To Study Environmental Health Risks To Children
EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development Paul Gilman recently announced more than $3.7 million in grants for research projects to study the effects of certain chemicals in the environment on children’s health.
This research is needed to improve our understanding of when, how, and why children respond differently from adults to pollutants. An additional outcome of this research will be improved, effective approaches for reducing risks to children from environmental contaminants.
The grants were awarded through Science to Achieve Results (STAR), an
EPA program that funds research in environmental science and engineering
and employs a competitive solicitation process and independent peer review.
"Children are a unique subpopulation,” said Gilman. “Depending
on the circumstances, children may be more or less susceptible to the
toxic effects of environmental chemicals than adults. This research
will help us define some of the important variables we need to protect
our children.”
Scientists will focus on the potential health impacts from exposure to environmental chemicals that are related to asthma, endocrine disruption, and cancer. The grants were awarded to the following universities:
MASSACHUSETTS
Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, $750,000 - Researchers will determine if exposure in the womb or as a newborn to polychlorinated biphenyls, a common seafood contaminant, affects children's immune systems.
NEW YORK
New York University, New York, $749,000 – Researchers will determine if there are genetic differences that play a role in the increased susceptibility of children to air pollution.
NORTH CAROLINA
CIIT Centers for Health Research, Research Triangle Park, $726,000 – Using an animal model, scientists will determine whether exposure in the womb to phthalates, common additives to most plastics, can affect male fertility and reproductive system development.
Research
Triangle Institute, Chapel Hill, $750,000 – A model will
be developed to estimate the exposures of unborn children to polybrominated
diphenyl ethers, chemicals known to have neurological effects and suspected
endocrine disruption properties.
VERMONT
University of Vermont, Burlington, $775,000 – Researchers will study children exposed to contaminated ground water in New Jersey to determine whether they have genetic mutations indicating a predisposition to cancer.
For more information about these grants, please visit: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/research.display/rpt/abs/rfa_id/306.
For more information on EPA’s STAR program, see: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/.