SACRAMENTO -- The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has approved its research plan for fiscal year 2004-2005.

"The 2004 research plan will help the ARB continue developing the best possible regulations to protect public health and achieve our goal of healthy air for all Californians," said ARB Chairman, Dr. Alan Lloyd "Its important in these fiscally challenging times that we invest our research dollars as wisely as possible," he added.

The 17 project plan contains studies that focus on four main areas of research:

• Health and Welfare Effects: Six studies including projects to better understand the relationship of traffic and ultrafine particles on mortality, how traffic pollution can effect children's health, the long term effects of air pollution and an effort to better determine the health effects of ambient woodsmoke.

• Exposure Assessment: Seven Projects that include identifying contributions of sources such as outdoor burning, diesel and gasoline engines to the formation of airborne particles. Also, three projects to help determine how ventilation and building design can effect contaminant levels in schools and new homes and to evaluate emissions from office machinery.

• Technology Advancement and Pollution Prevention: Three projects that include an effort to better understand how school bus design can affect the way they self-pollute, an evaluation of the in-use emissions from big-rig trucks. Also, projects to better characterize emissions from on-road diesel engines equipped with advanced pollution control devices and to further develop low-cost, portable instruments to provide ambient and indoor air monitoring.

• Global Air Pollution: A study to determine emissions from various sources of black carbon and its global warming impact.

"These projects will further our understanding of how working and attending schools near major traffic corridors can effect the health of both students and teachers and how exposure to everyday pollution sources such as diesel engines and woodsmoke can damage health," Lloyd added.

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality standards.

The energy challenge facing California is real. Every Californian needs to take immediate action to reduce energy consumption. For a list of simple ways you can reduce demand and cut your energy cost, see our website at http://www.arb.ca.gov.