The ‘Air Toxics Under the Big Sky’ symposium provides an opportunity for area science students to share the findings from their yearlong research projects investigating indoor and outdoor levels of air pollution in western Montana.  It also offers mentoring opportunities for students to work alongside university scientists to examine important components of air pollution.  Levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are measured both indoors and outdoors to provide a better picture of how these compounds vary seasonally and geographically and evaluate their potential human health effects. This year we’ve expanded the program to include measuring indoor residential concentrations of carbon monoxide and PM2.5. 

The 2006 second annual Air Toxics Under the Big Sky Symposium is hosted by the UM Center for Environmental Health Sciences and Department of Chemistry, with funding provided by Resources for Environmental and Occupational Health (REOH) and Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

Symposium Agenda

Key Note Speaker: Dr. Joellen Lewtas, Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington.
           

Conclusion, Future Directions, Students’ Evaluation of Symposium, Awards, and Thanks

Related Exhibits, Seminar & Public Lecture

Exhibits, posters, and displays on environmental public health – Skaggs lobby and Urey lobby area

Town Hall Meeting – Informal, interactive public presentation by Dr. Joellen Lewtas on public health issues related to woodsmoke, forest fires, and air quality.  North Underground Lecture Hall

Air pollutant sampling equipment and other laboratory resources necessary for this work were purchased through the generous financial support of the Toshiba America Foundation, the Toyota Tapestry Foundation, Center for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health’s COBRE and SEPA programs, and the National Science Foundation’s EPSCoR program.  Additional grant support was provided by the F. Morris and Helen Silver Foundation.