"The combination of scientific and institutional integrity represented by this book is unusual. It should be a model for future endeavors to help quantify environmental risk as a basis for good decisionmaking." —William D. Ruckelshaus, from the foreword. This volume, prepared under the auspices of the Health Effects Institute, an independent research organization created and funded jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency and the automobile industry, brings together experts on atmospheric exposure and on the biological effects of toxic substances to examine what is known—and not known—about the human health risks of automotive emissions.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Part I: Overview
The Social Context of Automotive Emissions Research
Project History and Organization
Motor Vehicle Emissions: A Strategy for Quantifying Risk
Part II: Exposure Analysis
Automotive Emissions
Atmospheric Transport and Dispersion of Air Pollutants Associated with Vehicular Emissions
Atmospheric Transformations of Automotive Emissions
Ambient Levels of Anthropogenic Emissions and Their Atmospheric Transformation Products
Mathematical Modeling of the Effect of Emission Sources on Atmospheric Pollutant Concentrations
Assessment of Human Exposure to Air Pollution: Methods, Measurements, and Models
Biological Disposition of Airborne Particles: Basic Principles and Application to Vehicular Emissions
Biological Disposition of Vehicular Airborne Emissions: Particle-Associated Organic Constituents
Transport and Uptake of Inhaled Gases
Dosimetry Modeling of Inhaled Toxic Reactive Gases
Part III: Biological Effects
Epidemiologic Studies of Effects of Oxidant Exposure on Human Populations
Biochemical and Cellular Interrelationships in the Development of Ozone-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis
Relation of Pulmonary Emphysema and Small Airways Disease to Vehicular Emissions
Asthma and Automotive Emissions
Effects of Automotive Emissions on Susceptibility to Respiratory Infections
Assessment of Carcinogenicity: Generic Issues and Their Application to Diesel Exhaust
Potential Carcinogenic Effects of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Nitroaromatics in Mobile Source Emissions
Health Effects of Aldehydes and Alcohols in Mobile Source Emissions
Evaluation of Automotive Emissions as Risk Factors for the Development of Atherosclerosis and Coronary Heart Disease
Identifying Neurobehavioral Effects of Automotive Emissions and Fuel Components
Index