Environmental Health Research Program
Children’s Health and Air Pollution Study (CHAPS)
CHAPS is an NIH-funded study investigating the effects of childhood and in utero exposure to ambient air pollution, with a focus on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other traffic-related pollutants, on immune and metabolic dysregulation. CCAC’s research staff are conducting study visits to collect biospecimens, health measures and environmental exposure data from the original CHAPS cohort, including 400 children in Fresno, ages 5-17, who were enrolled and completed study visit(s) between 2013-2018. CCAC is collaborating with UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco on this project.
Cooking Electrification & Ventilation Improvements for Children’s Asthma
The CEVICA study will investigate the effects of interventions designed to reduce cooking-related pollutant exposures and improve respiratory health of children with asthma who live in under-resourced households with natural gas cooking equipment. The study will investigate three interventions: (1) shifting cooking from gas to electric appliances, (2) ensuring adequate kitchen ventilation, and (3) providing indoor air quality information combined with portable air filtration units. The study will be done in disadvantaged communities in Fresno, Bakersfield and Stockton. This CEC-funded study is a collaboration between Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, CCAC, UCSF, UC Berkeley and UCLA. CCAC research staff will conduct home visits in each community to collect respiratory health data, facilitate stove and/or rangehood replacement and assist with IAQ measurements.
Impacts of Appliance Electrification on Indoor Air Quality in Rural SJV Communities
This HUD-funded project will test the conditions under which free-standing air filtration systems, structural interventions, and other emerging building-level interventions reduce indoor pollutants. The primary hypothesis is that homes with electric cooking and heating appliances will have lower indoor air pollutant concentrations than those using biomass and/or gas cooking and heating appliances. The secondary hypothesis is that the use of smart, low-cost air filtration units will result in lower indoor PM2.5 levels, especially during wildfire events. This study will include the communities of Allensworth, Alpaugh and Ducor where the California Public Utility Commission is conducting a pilot project to electrify heating and cooking appliances in homes that are not connected to natural gas infrastructure and must rely on propane or other sources. CCAC is collaborating with Berkeley Air Monitoring Group and the Center for Race Poverty and the Environment.
Fugitive Methane & HAP Emissions Associated with Oil & Gas Transmission in Kern County
The SUMMATION study is a collaboration between Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), Stanford University, UC Riverside, Scientific Aviation and CCAC. SUMMATION is a comprehensive field study to identify and mitigate methane emissions in the southern San Joaquin Valley (SJV). The project team, led by LBNL, will carry out persistent regional-scale methane emissions monitoring, high spatial-resolution remote-sensing of point sources, intensive field campaigns, large data set integration and synthesis analysis. This project is funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC).
San Joaquin Valley Pollution and Health Environmental Research study (SPHERE)
The primary aim of this CARB-funded study is to assess total exposures to air pollutants and noise. The project will address knowledge gaps in environmental exposure, examine determinants of exposure and evaluate potential human health risks in relation to exposures. CCAC will enroll households in South Fresno and set-up instruments to collect indoor/outdoor air pollution data, health data and other information for individual household members. This project is a collaboration between UC Merced, UC Berkeley, CCAC and Little Manila Rising (Stockton cohort).
Impacts of Repeated Short-Term Wildfire Smoke Exposure
This CARB-funded study will conduct literature review, model wildfire waves and air pollution exposures at the community level, obtain and process geocode and zip code-level health data to conduct an epidemiological analysis and address concerns from under-resourced and vulnerable communities on wildfire smoke exposure risks in Stanislaus, Madera, Tulare and Riverside Counties. CCAC will engage the existing community steering committees (CSC) in the three San Joaquin Valley counties to conduct surveys and share back findings from the study. This study is being led by researchers at UC Irvine.
