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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Svetlana Smorodinsky, MPH, Janice J. Kim, MD, MPH, Bart Ostro, PhD, and Michael Lipsett, MD. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, 1515 Clay St, 16th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612, 510-622-3156, svetsmor@yahoo.com
Traffic-related air pollution has been associated with adverse respiratory effects and research has demonstrated that children living near major roads have a higher risk of developing chronic respiratory symptoms. The East Bay Children’s Respiratory Health Study (EBCRHS) is the first epidemiologic study in Northern California to examine children’s respiratory health and exposure to traffic emissions. Geographic Information System (GIS) is an invaluable tool as it allows linking data from disparate sources and conducting spatial and statistical analysis.
GIS was used to geocode the school locations and respondent addresses, determine proximity to roads, estimate traffic densities at the school and residences, and assess traffic-related pollution exposures. Ten schools in the San Francisco Bay Area were selected based on proximity to major roadways and estimation of traffic density. Parents completed questionnaires on children’s health and home environment. We also measured several outdoor air pollutants as proxies for traffic emissions.
Six schools were located within 350 meters of roads with at least 90,000 vehicles per day. The response rate was 1111 out of 1571 eligible students (70.7%). More than 80% of respondents were non-White, 31.2% low income, 21.0% reported living next to a street with heavy traffic, 11.6% of children had current physician-diagnosed asthma. None of the measured pollutants were above California standards, but there were differences based on school location. We are continuing spatial and statistical analysis.
EBCRHS will help further the application of GIS in air pollution research and help understand the relationship between traffic-related air pollution and children’s respiratory health.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the presentation, the participants will be able to
Keywords: Geographic Information Systems, Children's Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.