Speaker: C. Arden Pope, III, Mary Lou Fulton Professor of Economics at Brigham Young University

Abstract: There is substantial evidence that breathing fine particulate air pollution contributes to cardiopulmonary disease and mortality. Epidemiological evidence suggests that exposure contributes to cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. Mechanistic pathways that link exposure to particulate air pollution and cardiopulmonary disease and mortality probably include pulmonary and systemic oxidative stress and inflammation, enhanced initiation and progression of atherosclerosis, and altered cardiac autonomic function. Recent research has also attempted to evaluate the constituents or characteristics of particulate air pollution most responsible for the health effects with a focus on combustion-related fine particles. This presentation will present an overview of the scientific evidence.

Speaker Bio: C. Arden Pope, III is the Mary Lou Fulton Professor of Economics at Brigham Young University. He has a Ph.D. from Iowa State University, was a Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians. He has conducted or collaborated on key studies of the health effect of air pollution for nearly 30 years.