News

Here's the latest news from AirUCI — our events, our people, our science.

 

2021

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

UC Irvine has launched a center dedicated to researching and advancing environmental justice issues.  AirUCI faculty Jun Wu will lead the center along with Professor of Public Health Alana LeBrón, both of whom have extensive experience in testing for air and soil contaminants.  In working to solve complex environmental justice issues, the center will be interdisciplinary, engaging with engineering, urban planning, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and anthropology departments.   Read the article

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

On October 20th, AirUCI Research Speicalist Shahir Masri is quoted in a Daily Pilot article focusing on indoor air pollution as a major issue for unionizing workers in Santa Ana.  The workers wore small monitors for two days while performing normal tasks and activities.  They gave the monitors to Shahir (who was conducting an independent study for his consulting firm) for analysis of the data that was collected, and the findings showed levels of particulate matter far in excess of EPA standards for hours at a time.  Read the article

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Today UC Irvine launched a new web site entitled California's Climate Crisis and Solutions and the Human Impact story in this inaugural edition focuses on the research of AirUCI faculty Jun Wu, as well as the work of AirUCI Project Scientist Murat Aydin.    
Read the article

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

AirUCI faculty Michael Dennin, who also serves as UCI's vice provost for teaching and learning and dean of undergraduate education, was recognized by the Greater Irvine Chamber’s Distinguished Educators program.  This program aims to celebrate the role that Irvine’s world-class education plays in helping the city live up to its promise as a model community and its ability to sustain economic vitality by ensuring a continuous skilled workforce. At a ceremony at the Irvine Hilton Hotel on Wednesday, October 13th, the program’s inaugural Educator of the Year award was presented to Mike.  Congratulations!

Monday, October 11, 2021

On October 11th, AirUCI faculty Donald Blake was featured as a guest on the HISTORY This Week Podcast where he dives into Mario Molina and Sherry Rowland's work on ozone depletion.  Listen to the podcast here
 

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

On Wednesday, October 6th, AirUCI faculty Kim Fortun was interviewed on the KCBS 5:00 news hour as an expert on environmental disasters for a segment on the oil spill along the Orange County coast.  She answered questions over four minutes about both obvious and cascading damages of such events to the environment and society, how communities recover, the complications of determining responsibility for such events, as well as measures that can be taken to mitigate effects and prevent future events.  See the interview
 
Kim said, “This spill is happening at a time when oceans are known to be in crisis because of plastic pollution, because of warming, coastlines are under stress from rising sea levels and unregulated development, species extinctions have received lots of attention in the just last few weeks; so we need to see this spill as connecting and exacerbating that whole array of issues. … The liability issues on this case are going to be particularly complex.”

Monday, October 4, 2021

AirUCI faculty Jun Wu is the author of a new study that shows pregnant women who live in Southern California areas with poor air quality have an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus. Mothers with gestational diabetes have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, while their children are at higher risk for preterm birth, childhood autism, and adult obesity.  As Jun says, “No prior study has systematically explored the joint effects of complex air pollution mixtures on the condition.” 
 
Recommended interventions to reduce the odds of gestational diabetes, especially among Southern California’s at-risk demographic groups, include stronger air-quality regulations, use of air filters and purifiers, early gestational diabetes screening and promotion of healthy lifestyles. 
Read the article

Monday, October 4, 2021

AirUCI faculty Don Blake is quoted in a USA Today article on the oil spill off Orange County beaches.  While some official agencies were informed of the spill late Friday night, no public announcement was made even though it was a warm weekend with a popular air show taking place in Huntington Beach that attracted 1.5 million spectators to the shore.  There was some risk to the public, as crude oil contains several toxic and carcinogenic pollutants that rapidly vaporize when spilled, including benzene, toluene, and xylenes. While the most dangerous spot is at the site of the bubbling rupture, the gases can be carried for miles in the air.
 
When asked to comment on the delay in reporting the spill, Don said, "It would have made more sense to at least report it publicly and then let people decide if they wanted to go to the beach, and possibly be exposed at the air show."  Read the article

Monday, September 27, 2021

AirUCI faculty Jack Brouwer is quoted in a September 27th article in The Grist on the pros and cons of hydrogen as a means of replacing fossil fuels in multiple applications, including transportation, energy, and manufacturing.  Jack talks about the promising idea of blending green hydrogen and methane, but there are significant issues to be overcome.  Read the article

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

The California Department of Justice announced today that AirUCI is among the applicants selected to receive research funds to study air pollution from vehicle tires and brakes.  This is a groundbreaking project that involves 12 of our AirUCI faculty, headed by Primary Investigator Barbara Finlayson-Pitts, and spans the schools of Physical Sciences, Engineering, Social Sciences, and Health Sciences. Along with AirUCI Project Scientists and other research staff, we are partnering with the Madison Park Neighborhood Association in Santa Ana, a non-profit environmental justice organization who will assist in collection of data and in communication of findings to local residents.
 
The funds, part of Volkswagen's settlement in 2016 for falsifying emissions data, are designated for research that addresses air quality issues, particlularly those affecting areas that are disproportionately exposed to vehicle emissions.  Barbara notes that even though emissions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and other gases are expected to drop as internal combustion engines decline as a power source for vehicles, tires and brakes and other sources of airborne grit will persist and are small enough to be inhaled.  This project aims to gain a better understanding of the health effects of these particles.  Read the article

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