Program to Assess Health Effects Associated with Exposures to Volcanic Emissions

描述(由申请人提供) 该计划的长期目标是发展夏威夷岛社区的能力，以设计、进行、解释和传播关于火山空气污染对健康影响的研究。基拉韦厄火山20多年来持续排放二氧化硫(SO2)，独特的岛风模式，以及夏威夷高耸的山脉，创造了一个自然实验，在这个实验中，一些社区几乎长期暴露在二氧化硫、一些酸性气溶胶中，而一些社区几乎没有火山空气污染。与学术伙伴和社区倡导者夏威夷儿童肺评估科学研究(HICLASS)一起，社区研究人员将继续他们以学校为基础的纵向研究，对居住在这些不同火山空气污染区的1,988名夏威夷岛上学童进行纵向研究。将纵向研究延长5年将有助于确定哮喘发病率和肺增长率的差异，肺增长率是衡量呼吸健康的一项特别敏感的指标。 此外，HICLASS的研究人员将研究火山艺术与科学学院学生的环境暴露和呼吸健康影响。这所拥有140名学生的学校距离基拉韦厄的Halemaumau中心不到2英里，距离Pu‘u O’o‘o喷口不到10英里。在低风速或南风期间，学生可能会暴露在二氧化硫浓度超过500ppbv的环境中。最近，Halemaumau的二氧化硫排放量从100吨/天增加到近1000吨/天，这为了解超过1000ppbv的二氧化硫事件的决定因素和对健康的影响提供了独特的机会。除了将VSA纳入其空气监测计划和基于学校的健康评估之外，HICLASS还将促进试点项目和学生报告，以测试改善暴露或急性健康影响的因素。

Description (Provided by Applicant) The long-term objective of this program is to develop the capacity of the Hawaii Island community to design, conduct, interpret, and disseminate research on the health effects of volcanic air pollution. Kilauea's volcano's continuous sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions for more than 20 years, characteristic island wind patterns, and Hawaii's towering mountains create a natural experiment in which some communities are almost chronically exposed to SO2, some acid aerosols, and some communities to virtually no volcanic air pollution. Together with academic partners and community advocates, the Hawaii Island Children's Lung Assessment Scientific Study (HICLASS), community researchers will continue their school based-longitudinal study of a cohort of 1,988 Hawaii Island schoolchildren who have lived in these different zones of volcanic air pollution. Extending the longitudinal study another 5 years will help identify differences in incident asthma and the rate of lung growth, a particularly sensitive measure of respiratory health. In addition, HICLASS researchers will address the environmental exposure and respiratory health effects of students of the Volcano School of Arts and Sciences. This school of 140 students is within two miles of Kilauea's Halemaumau Center and 10 miles of Pu'u O'o vent. During periods of low wind speed or winds from the south, the students may be exposed to SO2concentrations in excess of 500 ppbv. Very recently, SO2 emissions from Halemaumau have increased from 100 tons/day to almost 1000 tons/day, providing a unique opportunity to learn the determinants and health effects of episodes of SO2 in excess of 1000 ppbv. In addition to including VSAS in its air monitoring program and school-based health assessments, HICLASS will facilitate pilot projects and reports by students to test factors that ameliorate exposure or acute health effects.