Research by a University chemist has led to ways of reducing health hazards from air pollution and could possibly lead to billions of dollars in royalties for the University.Barry Dellinger, Patrick Taylor chair of waste and chemistry, found similarities between environmentally persistent free-borne radical particles in the air and chemicals found in cigarette smoke. “According to our calculation, in highly polluted air, such as Mexico City, it could be equivalent to smoking a pack or two a day of cigarettes,” Dellinger said.Dellinger is working with scientists from the LSU Health Sciences Center, who are conducting toxicological studies to determine the health effects of these free-borne radicals.”What we’re doing is testing the biological actions of the particles he generates into laboratory surrogates,” said Kurt Varner, director of the Cardiovascular Function Core Facility in the Department of Pharmacology at LSUHSC. Varner said he thinks the particles have the ability to adversely affect cardiovascular functions. He said it makes the heart vulnerable to subsequent diseases and may worsen existing disease.Varner said it may also cause inflammation and damage to the lungs.Varner said he is not sure whether this would cause cancer, but it is definitely something to worry about.”Just look at all the uproar and worry concerning the Olympics in Beijing,” Varner said. “People were concerned about the pollution and if it would affect the athletes.”Dellinger said this discovery of free-borne radicals’ behavior could change the study of pollution.Dellinger said a lot of the pollutants associated with particles are free borne radicals. Much of the research done on toxicity is done on molecular pollutants, which might not be the right things to do, Dellinger said.”It’s a different beast,” Dellinger said. “It’s not the same species.”Dellinger said the concentration of pollutants in the air varies. He said he does not have air samples for Baton Rouge because the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality will not release them.However, Baton Rouge is not in compliance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency air pollution standards, which are 35 micrograms per cubic meter. “We are trying to get our own sampler to test the air around Baton Rouge and on campus,” Dellinger said. “At this point, we just need data.”Dellinger said he developed a catalyst to put into combustion systems and the filters of cigarettes to reduce the emission of these particles. He said he has national and international patents pending. “It seems to work,” Dellinger said. “There are some really promising results.”Dellinger said the tobacco companies have been evaluating the catalyst for the past year.Dellinger said it is a major investment for the tobacco companies; therefore, they are being careful. However, Dellinger said the fact that they are still working on it is a positive sign.”This is worth a lot of money,” Dellinger said. “If it happens, LSU won’t be the same school.”Dellinger said if the next round of testing by the tobacco companies works out, the incorporation of the filter into cigarettes will appear even more plausible.”It has shown some progress,” he said. “But it has a long way to go.”—–Contact Steven Powell at [email protected].