C. Arden Pope III (born c. 1954) is an American professor of economics at Brigham Young University and one of the world's foremost experts[1][2][3] in environmental science. He received his B.S. from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1978 and his Ph.D. in economics and statistics from Iowa State University in 1981. Although his research includes many papers on topics in the fields in which he was trained—environmental economics, resource economics, and agricultural economics—he is better known for his cross-disciplinary work in environmental epidemiology and public health. He is world-renowned for his seminal work on the effects of particulate air pollution on mortality and health. His articles have helped establish the connection between air pollution and health problems, including cancer, cardiovascular, and pulmonary disease. These research findings have influenced environmental policy in the United States and Europe, contributing to the establishment of emission standards for particulate matter pollution.
C. Arden Pope III | |
|---|---|
 Pope, speaking at Utah Valley University, September 18, 2008. | |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Iowa State University (PhD, MS) Brigham Young University (BS) |
| Occupation | Professor |
| Employer | Brigham Young University |
| Known for | Studies on the health effects of air pollution |
| Notable work | Respiratory hospital admissions associated with PM10 pollution in Utah, Salt Lake, and Cache Valleys (1991), An Association between Air Pollution and Mortality in Six U.S. Cities (1993), Particulate air pollution as a predictor of mortality in a prospective study of U.S. adults (1995). |
| Title | Mary Lou Fulton Professor of Economics |
Air pollution research
editEarly in Pope's career he published a paper that made him an academic cornerstone of environmental science and policy called "Respiratory hospital admissions associated with PM10 pollution in Utah, Salt Lake, and Cache Valleys".[4] In Utah Valley, the Geneva Steel Mill generated large quantities of particulate matter, a byproduct of fossil fuel consumption. The mill was shut down temporarily in 1986-87 as U.S. Steel sold the facility to new ownership. Pope compiled hospital admissions data for the time before, during, and after the temporary closing of the mill and was the first to convincingly show the immediate health harms associated with atmospheric particulate matter.[5] Asthma, mortality, and respiratory admissions generally were twice as high while the plant was operating than the year in which it was closed. Utah made a particularly suitable natural experiment as the various valleys included in the study trap pollution in the winter months when temperature inversions stifle the escape of pollution. His abstract states:
This study assessed the association between respiratory hospital admissions and PM10 pollution in Utah, Salt Lake, and Cache valleys during April 1985 through March 1989. Utah and Salt Lake valleys had high levels of PM10 pollution that violated both the annual and 24-h standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Much lower PM10 levels occurred in the Cache Valley. Utah Valley experienced the intermittent operation of its primary source of PM10 pollution: an integrated steel mill. Bronchitis and asthma admissions for preschool-age children were approximately twice as frequent in Utah Valley when the steel mill was operating versus when it was not. Similar differences were not observed in Salt Lake or Cache valleys. Even though Cache Valley had higher smoking rates and lower temperatures in winter than did Utah Valley, per capita bronchitis and asthma admissions for all ages were approximately twice as high in Utah Valley. During the period when the steel mill was closed, differences in per capita admissions between Utah and Cache valleys narrowed considerably. Regression analysis also demonstrated a statistical association between respiratory hospital admissions and PM10 pollution. The results suggest that PM10 pollution plays a role in the incidence and severity of respiratory disease.
— C. Arden Pope[4]
Pope came under political pressure and his findings provoked controversy.[6][7] Later scrutiny revealed his results were accurate.
Six Cities and American Cancer Society studies
editPope worked with Douglas Dockery of Harvard University on a 16-year scientific study of air pollution in six major cities in the United States, which published its findings in 1993.[8] Known as the Harvard Six Cities study, it proved to be a milestone in establishing the human health effects associated with long-term exposure to fine particulate pollution, and remains one of the most highly citied studies of air pollution ever published.[9] Like Pope's Utah Valley research, the Six Cities study proved intensely controversial.[10][11] The study's conclusions were affirmed in 2000 after a three-year-long independent analysis carried out by the Health Effects Institute.[12] They have also been supported by numerous follow-up studies.[13]
Pope and Dockery also collaborated on a long-term study of the effects of air pollution on over half a million people from 151 urban areas, which published its first results in 1995. Informally known as the American Cancer Society study, it found that long-term exposure to particulates was linked to cardiopulmonary and lung cancer mortality.[14]
Awards
editIn 2004 Pope was awarded the Utah Governor's Medal in Science and Technology.[15]
In 2006 Pope was recognized as BYU's distinguished faculty, receiving the Karl G. Maeser award.[16]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Brink, Susan (10 November 2013). "A Chinese Child's Lung Cancer Is Linked to Pollution". National Geographic. Archived from the original on November 8, 2013.
We talked with C. Arden Pope, economics professor at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. His research into the effects of air pollution on human health and mortality has been instrumental in establishing federal air quality regulations.
- ^ Harris, Gardiner (29 May 2015). "Holding Your Breath in India". New York Times.
C. Arden Pope III, a professor of economics at Brigham Young University and a leading expert on the health consequences of air pollution...
- ^ "Is Beijing air as bad as you think?". Time Out Beijing. 7 May 2014.
...Dr C Arden Pope III, one of the world's top environmental science experts...
- ^ a b Pope, C. A. (1991). "Respiratory hospital admissions associated with PM10 pollution in Utah, Salt Lake, and Cache Valleys". Archives of Environmental Health. 46 (2): 90–97. doi:10.1080/00039896.1991.9937434. PMID 2006899.
- ^ C.A. Pope, 1989. "Respiratory Disease Associated with Community Air Pollution and a Steel Mill, Utah Valley". American Journal of Public Health, May 1989, Vol. 79, No. 5, 623–628
- ^ Cushman, Jr., John H. (21 January 1997). "Utah Mill Lies at Heart of Fight for Air Pollution Limits". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ Phalen, Robert (2007). The Particulate Air Pollution Controversy A Case Study and Lessons Learned. Springer. ISBN 9780306482083.
- ^ Dockery, Douglas W.; Pope, C. Arden; Xu, Xiping; Spengler, John D.; Ware, James H.; Fay, Martha E.; Ferris, Benjamin G.; Speizer, Frank E. (9 December 1993). "An Association between Air Pollution and Mortality in Six U.S. Cities". New England Journal of Medicine. 329 (24): 1753–1759. doi:10.1056/NEJM199312093292401. PMID 8179653.
- ^ Shaw, Jonathan (May 2005). "Clearing the Air". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ Grant, Elaine (Fall 2012). "Prevailing winds". Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ Kaiser, Jocelyn (25 July 1997). "Showdown over clean air science". Science. 277 (5325): 466–469. doi:10.1126/science.277.5325.466. JSTOR 2892518. PMID 9254414. S2CID 28219089.
- ^ Krewski, Daniel (July 2000). Reanalysis of the Harvard Six Cities Study and the American Cancer Society Study of Particulate Air Pollution and Mortality (PDF). Cambridge, MA.: Health Effects Institute. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ Pope, C. Arden; Dockery, Douglas W. (2006). "Health Effects of Fine Particulate Air Pollution: Lines that Connect". J Air & Waste Manage Assoc. 56 (6): 709–742. doi:10.1080/10473289.2006.10464485. PMID 16805397. S2CID 8299285.
- ^ Pope, C. Arden; Thun, M.J.; Namboodiri, M.M.; Dockery, D.W.; Evans, J.S.; Speizer, F.E.; Heath, Jr., C.W. (March 1995). "Particulate air pollution as a predictor of mortality in a prospective study of U.S. adults". Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 151 (3_pt_1): 669–74. doi:10.1164/ajrccm/151.3_Pt_1.669. PMID 7881654.
- ^ "C. Arden Pope III". Economics. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
- ^ "BYU honors outstanding faculty, staff at Annual University Conference". 2006-08-25.
Sources
edit- Smart, Michael D. (Spring 2007). "Clearing the Air". BYU Magazine. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
Bibliography
edit- Dockery, Douglas W.; C. Arden Pope; Xiping Xu; John D. Spengler; James H. Ware; Martha E. Fay; Benjamin G. Ferris; Frank E. Speizer (December 9, 1993). "An Association between Air Pollution and Mortality in Six U.S. Cities". The New England Journal of Medicine. 329 (24): 1753–1759. doi:10.1056/NEJM199312093292401. PMID 8179653. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- Pope, C. Arden III; Richard T. Burnett; Michael J. Thun; Eugenia E. Calle; Daniel Krewski; Kazuhiko Ito; George D. Thurston (March 6, 2002). "Lung Cancer, Cardiopulmonary Mortality, and Long-term Exposure to Fine Particulate Air Pollution". Journal of the American Medical Association. 287 (9): 1132–1141. doi:10.1001/jama.287.9.1132. PMC 4037163. PMID 11879110.
- Dockery, D. W.; C. A. Pope (May 1994). "Acute Respiratory Effects of Particulate Air Pollution". Annual Review of Public Health. 15: 107–132. doi:10.1146/annurev.pu.15.050194.000543. PMID 8054077.