Benefits of Using Enhanced Air Quality Information in Human Health Studies

The ability of four (4) enhancements of gridded PM2.5 concentrations derived from observations and air quality models to detect the relative risk of long-term exposure to PM2.5 are evaluated with a simulation study. The four enhancements include nearest-neighbor (NN or central monitor), ordinary kriging (OK), FUSED (bias-adjusted model output), and direct use of model outputs (CMAQ). The methods are applied to the state of New York. After adjusting for PM estimation bias and range modification, FUSED PM and CMAQ had similar performance and were better than kriged and nearest neighbor PM.