Suffolk County
New York
An Environmental Health
Diagnosis
10th
By Sean Setzen
grade Guilderland High
School
Sources:
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AirCompare Report. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://www.epa.gov/cgibin/broker?condition=lung&citycounty=county&geocode=36031+36061+36083+36103&_debug=2&_service=aircomp&_pro
gram=dataprog.wcj_bymonthyearhealth.sas&submit=Compare+My+Air
Atlantic Ocean/Long Island Sound Watershed - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2014,
from http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/48375.html
Childhood Lead Poisoning – Environmental Public Health Tracking. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2014, from
https://apps.health.ny.gov/statistics/environmental/public_health_tracking/tracker/mapaction.map?activeTool=showLead&t
ype=Poverty
Guest Column: A legislator’s pitch for culling the deer population. (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2014, from
http://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2014/01/44658/guest-column-a-legislators-pitch-for-culling-the-deer-population/
Rockland County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2014, from
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/36087.html
Sara. (2013, December 8). Long Island Weather & Climate: Rain, Sleet or Snow? Wouldn’t You Just Love To Know?! Long
Island Weather & Climate. Retrieved from http://longislandweatherandclimate.blogspot.com/2013/12/rain-sleet-or-snowwouldnt-you-just.html
SoilWeb: An Online Soil Survey Browser | California Soil Resource Lab. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2014, from
http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/
St. Lawrence County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2014, from
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/36089.html
Suffolk County Stormwater Management Program > Best Management Practices > Residents > Artificial Wetlands. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 10, 2014, from
http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/stormwater/BestManagementPractices/Residents/ArtificialWetlands.aspx
Suffolk County, NY Population and Races. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://www.usa.com/suffolk-county-nypopulation-and-races.htm
Water Quality « Long Island Sound Study. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2014, from
http://longislandsoundstudy.net/issues-actions/water-quality/a
http://huntington.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/bellone-save-our-water
http://www.arrowexterminating.com/contact/area-served.aspx
http://longislandsoundstudy.net/2010/08/area-of-hypoxia/
http://archive.longislandpress.com/2012/02/23/suffolk-county-septic-systems/
Location...
• Suffolk County covers the entire eastern half
of the Long Island horn.
Background of Suffolk County...
• History:
o Original county in the Province on New York.
o One of twelve to be created in 1683.
o From 1664 until then, it had been known as the
Steve Bellone
East Riding of Yorkshire.
County Executive
o In 1899, Nassau County was split into Nassau County and Suffolk
County.
• County Government:
o Consists of many departments and agencies.
o Has a County Council of Governments
o Very focused on Civil Service, Parks, and Health.
Analyzing Environmental Health Concerns of Suffolk
County...
This research looks at the environmental health of
Suffolk County and the different factors affecting it. The
goal is to identify different key concerns about the
health of Suffolk County and what can be done to
alleviate varying disparities and to analyze the paths
being taken by the county to become the best county it
can be. This is done by analyzing different articles
about various events that have occurred in Suffolk
County, assorted figures and statistics relating to
Suffolk County, and isolating the biggest environmental
concerns contained within the county and the county’s
approaches to solving these dilemmas.
Methods of Diagnosing a county...
• Step 1: What is a county?
o A political and administrative division of a state that provides acertain
governmental services.
• Step 2: Research the county...
o You can use the county’s website to learn about the county. Also,
news articles and different websites can be used to learn about your
county.
• Step 3: What are the environmental health concerns of the county?
o These are things like the water quality, air quality, and the health of soil.
• Step 4: Develop possible causes...
o These could be things like industrial pollutants, toxic substances being
leaked, weather conditions, or even technological advances and
drawbacks.
• Step 5: Formulate solutions...
o Develop different possible solutions to the health concerns in the county.
What is EcoEd and what are
mentors...
• EcoEd...
o RPI’s EcoEd is a program designed for students in grades 7-12 and
elementary students.
o The idea of the program is for students to learn about different
environmental issues and how they can help to alleviate them.
o Each year the geographic focus differs, this year, the focus was
based on New York State counties, their environmental health, and
how that compares to those of others.
• Mentors...
o RPI students who are assigned to the Upper Elementary students
and the Secondary School students.
o They guide the younger students and help to teach them to
research.
o They also help with the writing process and speech preparation.
Lead Case Study...
•
The point of this case study was to study the prevalence of Lead Poisoning
in Suffolk County.
•
It was used throughout the United States until the 1970’s, but it was then
banned in 1978.
•
It is often found in contractors supplies, mainly paint. Lead in paint is a
huge concern as it can be very dangerous and potentially life-threatening.
•
It can also be found in many children’s toys.
•
Lead Poisoning in Suffolk County:
o
Tests done in Suffolk County from 2004-2007 recently concluded that 40.3% of
children born in Suffolk County had lead poisoning at age 1.
o
According to the Percent of Housing Units Built Before 1950 as of 2000, 16.3% of the
housing in Suffolk County was built during a time when lead based products were
used most often.
o
Based another statistic, the Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Children Tested
before Age 6 in 2004-2007, children who were aged 6 had only 0.2% rise in their
blood level.
Lead Paint
after years
of wear.
Suffolk County Water
Hypoxic Conditions
Soil and Water Case Study...
• This case study was done to analyze the quality of the soil
and the water in Suffolk County.
• Soil:
o Relatively fertile and healthy
o Varies by area within the county, but is stable throughout.
o This is positive and evident as the county is a very agricultural
county.
• Water:
o Mostly from Long Island Sound or Atlantic Ocean. Polluted from
those sources.
• Concerns Include:
o Hypoxia: a reduced oxygen content of air or a body of water
detrimental to aerobic organisms.
o Leaking of pollutants from industrial factories.
o Sewage mixing in with the water systems.
Deer Cull Case Study...
• The case study was conducted to analyze how Suffolk County is
taking care of their exponentially increasing deer population.
• Causing an increase in the tick population.
• There are no current numbers on what the population of whitetailed deer is in Suffolk County.
• Legislatures have passed bills to allow the USDA to hand
outhunting licenses to quickly decrease the population.
• Farmers are upset because the deer are consuming all their
crops.
• Many people are in
protest at the idea of people
easily receiving hunting licenses.
Implications...
• Suffolk County is doing a good job at working out some
issues.
• Have many programs to clean out the Long Island Sound.
• There need to be more studies conducted in the county
and they need to be done more regularly.
• The county should reconsider there tactics of their deer
culling as it is rapidly decreasing the deer population.
• The things they are doing are positive and they should keep
up their efforts as they are making changes!
• This though can only be held up if people are educated
about the topics of health risks and what to do to fix the
issues and to improve the health of the county.