Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute

Exposure Science Division

Research Highlights


  • Indoor levels of volatile organics can react with ozone that has penetrated indoors to form significant levels of ultra fine and fine particles in indoor air.
  • Mosquito control coils used in developing countries can lead to particulate matter and formaldehyde exposures that are high enough to increase risk for acute health effects after use.
  • A comprehensive characterization of the composition of the initial dust/smoke released after the collapse of the Word Trade Center.
  • Successful reconstruction of the dust/smoke and the smoldering fire plumes that existed in the metropolitan area after the collapse of the WTC. Period of intense investigation was from 9-11-2001 through mid October, 2001.
  • Quantification of the exposure and acute respiratory health risks in New Jersey caused by ozone at levels above the National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 80 ppb for 8 hours.
  • Successful characterization of the history of air pollution exposure of children that were part of the Toms River Cancer Cluster.
  • Identification of haloacetic acid as a compound in shower water.
  • The Modeling Environment for Total Risk (MENTOR) system has successfully estimated population exposure to the multimedia pollutant arsenic, and fine particulate matter.
  • Development of computational tools to assist in rapid risk and response assessment for homeland security events.
  • The development of microbial techniques for site remediation and exposure reduction.
  • Quantification of the importance of children's behavior and activity patterns in changing exposure to toxicants found in one or more exposure pathways.
  • Advances in the use of house dust analyses as a metric for recent and historical exposure to toxicants.
  • Collaborative studies examining the effects of MTBE, indoor air pesticides and/or Gulf War contaminants on symptom expression in sensitive populations.