246924 Formaldehyde Health Impact Assessment using US-EPA's BenMAP

Monday, October 31, 2011

Shabnam Mehra, MSPH , Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Haofei Yu , Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Thomas J. Mason, PhD , College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Amy L. Stuart, PhD , Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Daniel Santiago , Department Of Chemistry, University Of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Ashley Mullen , Department Of Chemistry, University Of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Background Hazardous air pollutants (HAP) have been associated with a wide variety of adverse health effects, from minor irritation of respiratory tissues to chronic asthma. Formaldehyde, a volatile organic HAP, present abundantly in the lower atmosphere is known to cause serious health effects. Health impact assessments (HIA) for criteria pollutants are routinely performed by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) using Benefits Mapping Analysis Program (BenMAP). BenMAP can be modified to perform local HIA for formaldehyde using local data.

Study Purpose The main objective of this research is to develop a method which can estimate impact on health outcomes due to change in local formaldehyde. The primary focus is to develop concentration response (CR) functions necessary in BenMAP for performing formaldehyde HIA.

Methodology Detailed review of published literature on health effects of Formaldehyde and documentation on BenMAP was performed. Using published literature CR functions will be developed. Dispersion model for local formaldehyde will be added to BenMAP. Health outcomes data from the State agencies like FL-AHCA and CDC(FL) will be obtained. Data will be managed and incorporated into BenMAP using SAS and SQL. For changes in formaldehyde levels prevalence/incidence of health outcomes will be estimated using BenMAP and compared to the actual values in data received from State. The CR functions incorporated will be adjusted to reflect estimated output from BenMAP close actual values with an allowable error of 5%.

Result The main outcome of this research will be development of CR functions for formaldehyde HIA and availability of spatially resolved method for formaldehyde HIA using BenMAP.

Importance in Public Health The developed method will provide a tool to estimate health impacts due to formaldehyde air pollution and can assist decision making of local policy for public health and welfare.

Learning Areas:
Environmental health sciences
Epidemiology
Public health administration or related administration
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines

Learning Objectives:
To Identify a method for performing Health Impact Assessment for formaldehyde using EPA's BenMAP

Keywords: Health Assessment, Environmental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I oversee the research , analysis , data management and development of method for HIA
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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