Acting upon the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council (NRC), the U.S. Congress has authorized the U.S. EPA to fund recently five Particulate Matter (PM) Centers of Excellence. These Centers are funded under the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program of EPA, initially for five years, with the possibility of an additional 5-year renewal. The Southern California Center for Airborne Particulate Matter is one of these five centers, and it received the highest score among the 23 submitted Center applications by the scientific peer-review committee appointed by EPA.

The SCCAPM is a 5-year effort for a total amount of $ 8,719,360 and its activities commenced on September 1, 1999. The Principal Investigator of the Center is Dr. John Froines (UCLA, School of Public Health). Dr. Sioutas is the Co-Principal investigator and he directs the studies under the Exposure and Concentrator research Cores of the center. These studies will investigate aerosol chemical and physical properties in Los Angeles, processes leading to aerosol formation and transformation, and individual exposure to specific particulate components. The proposed research applies a broad range of experimental and numerical tools to study, systematically and comprehensively, ambient particulates, and their components, suspected of causing adverse health effects. This research is guided by hypotheses that link particles with specific health effects observed in epidemiological studies. Of particular importance to our center are particles (and adsorbed vapors) emitted from mobile sources, which constitute by far the major source of air pollution in the LA Basin. Intensive aerosol measurements are coordinated with routine monitoring at sites established for ongoing research into the impacts of air quality on residents in the Los Angeles Basin.

In addition to the PM Center, Dr. Sioutas is Co-Principal Investigator and Deputy Director of a 5-year program funded recently by the U.S. EPA for 3.7 million dollars for the creation of the Southern California Particulate Matter Supersite (SCPMS). Dr. John Froines (UCLA) is the Principal Investigator of the SCPMS. The overall objective of the SCPMS is to conduct monitoring and research that contributes to a better understanding of the measurement, sources, size distribution, chemical composition and physical state, spatial and temporal variability, and linkages to health effects of airborne particulate matter (PM) in the Los Angeles Basin. The activities of the SCPMS are integrated with the multidisciplinary research in exposure assessment, toxicology, and epidemiology of the EPA supported Southern California Center for Airborne Particulate Matter. Moreover, interactions with the California Air Resources Board (ARB) and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) are intended to maximize the use and value of the data collected by the SCPMS and the State and Local Agencies on PM. Of particular interest are "within" community studies of PM variability through the use of satellite stations deployed in communities as well as studies to assess the relevance of mobile source contributions to PM concentrations in the Los Angeles Basin.

The ultimate goal of the joint program, which we have named "Southern California Particle Center and Supersite (SCPCS)" is to link the information generated through the aerosol characterization studies with the human and animal health studies conducted concurrently, using particle concentrators (described below). This effort is also unique in that it represents the only program that has both a PM Center and a Supersite. With this initial funding base of $14.7 million, plus additional resources from individual investigator research awards, the SCPCS strives to become a leading center in the nation for the study of the nature and health effects of airborne particulate matter.