Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #107299

Deanna Meyler, PhD, Preventive Medicine and Community Health, Sociomedical Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, 700 Harborside, 1.134J Ewing Hall, Galveston, TX 77555-1153, (409)772-2551, demeyler@utmb.edu, Jim Stimpson, PhD, Sealy Center on Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd., Galveston, TX 77555-0460, and Malcolm Cutchin, PhD, Occupational Therapy, University of Texas Medical Branch, 3.702 School of Allied Health Sciences, Galveston, TX 77555-1142.

Texas City, located on the Texas Gulf Coast, is a long established racially and ethnically diverse community that shares its history with a large petrochemical complex. In general, active industrial sites, including petrochemical plants, have been linked to increased stress and self-reported illness. US residents are aware of and have consistently identified chemical manufacturing and toxic waste as carrying high potential health risks. Some studies in Texas City suggest that residents experience more frequent health problems, including higher cancer rates. “The smell of money,” as locals often refer to air quality, is accompanied with risks and residents have survived several explosions over time, such as the 1947 disaster or “the worst industrial accident in US history.” In response, many residents have moved further in-land; however, more disadvantaged community members continue to live closer to the complex. Researchers at The University of Texas Medical Branch are currently conducting research about stress, coping, and health in this community. This photo essay will place a face, human and environmental, on Texas City that is often missing from the stories of environmental hazards. Photography, as a form of qualitative data collection, offers viewers an opportunity to reinterpret images and visually connect with the subject matter. This project will include images, current and historical, of the city, homes, recreation areas, and the landscape including the close proximity of petrochemical plants. Photos are collected from public sources or with consent and will be accompanied by a dialogue of the risks residents face.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. By sharing the information in a public forum we bring greater attention to the human consequences of environmental hazards.
• 2. A photo essay approach offers viewers an opportunity to make a visual connection to the experiences, historical and current, of residents near a petrochemical complex.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.