These instruments provide information about changes in fine particle concentration at a one minute time resolution. Andersen Single Stage Microbial impactors were similarly used at multiple locations to assess temporal and spatial variability of Aspergillus spore concentrations. Aspergillus, a common fungal spore resulting from decomposing organic material, can be introduced into the air at significant concentration as the imploded building impacts the ground. The concentration of Aspergillus was of particular concern to health officials at the nearby Johns Hopkins Hospital, where infection by these spores in immune-compromised individuals could lead to serious complications. Samples and data collected during this study are currently being analyzed.
Plans are underway to publish and provide the results to the local community.
This project involves the development of national-level approaches for estimating the morbidity and mortality associated with air pollution. Methods have been developed for this purpose that have, as the first stage, the analysis of time-series data of health outcomes and air pollution within single cities, and, as the second stage, the combination of findings from the second stage. These methods offer a new and powerful set of approaches to addressing assessments of the effects of environmental agents using time-series approaches. A series of publications have resulted from this study. Data from these same 20 cities were analyzed to assess the form of the dose-response relationship for air pollution and mortality.