A new mobile air research laboratory will help a team of researchers led by a Michigan State University professor better understand the damaging health effects of air pollution and why certain airborne particles - emitted from plants and vehicles - induce disease and illness.
Jack Harkema, a University Distinguished Professor of pathobiology and diagnostic investigation in the College of Veterinary Medicine, will deploy the new 53-foot, 36,000-pound center - dubbed "AirCARE 2" - throughout southern Michigan, including metropolitan Detroit.
"The mobile laboratory allows us to analyze 'real-world' pollution in communities that may be at risk," he said. "We can study why certain ailments, such as asthma, cardiovascular disease and even obesity, may be more pronounced after exposure to particulate air pollution."
With about 450 square feet of indoor laboratory space, the $400,000 center helps researchers study fine and ultrafine particles in air pollution. These small particles have been found to increase mortality and morbidity among susceptible people with pre-existing health conditions such as heart disease.
Housed in a converted semitrailer, the mobile laboratory pulls air from the surrounding atmosphere through an air-particle concentrator, allowing the scientists to selectively collect the particles and analyze for chemical components that may be responsible for damaging health effects.