A Community Based Initiative to Protect Healthy Living
Amy Funk
Action Research ILLINOIS
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Metro East Community Air Project
(MECAP) aims to draw awareness to the
health risks associated with air pollution
through education, outreach and
monitoring research.
MECAP is part of Action Research. Illinois (ARI). ARI
is a community engagement program within the
College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of
Illinois.
What is the average respiration rate
for an adult at rest?
What is the average respiration rate
for a young child at rest—3 years
old?
An 80 year old will have taken on average
672,768,000 breaths in a lifetime.
1.
Where does air pollution come from?
2.
What cities come to mind when thinking of air pollution?
3.
What groups are more vulnerable to air pollution? Why?
4.
What are the health impacts of air pollution?
5.
6.
Name common air pollutants?
7.
What is the Air Quality Index?
What two air pollutants have been the subject of a great
deal of study over the past 20 years?
*
1939 St.
Louis Smog
*
*The Clean Air Act (CAA) regulates air emissions from
stationary and mobile sources.
*This law authorizes the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health
and public welfare and to regulate emissions of
hazardous air pollutants.
Criteria Pollutants
Target Organ(s)
Ozone (ground level)
Lung, upper respiratory tract
Sulfur dioxide
Lung, heart , upper respiratory tract
Nitrogen dioxides
Lung, heart
Particulate matter (PM2.5 & PM 10)
Lung, upper respiratory tract
Carbon monoxide
Heart, nervous system
Lead
nervous system
*
Total emissions of the six principal air pollutants has
dropped by 63 percent. -Environmental Protection Agency
*
Source: EPA
Second Prospective
Study - 1990 to
2020
Health Effects of
Secondhand Smoke
Health Effects
of Bad Air
* Shortness of breath & wheezing
* Asthma attacks
* ER visits & hospitalizations
* Long-term lung & cardiovascular disease
* Lung Cancer
* Premature death in seniors and infants
-American Lung Association
Generally every family has someone who falls into
the at-risk groups.
* Children
* Elderly
* Those with respiratory conditions like asthma and
COPD
* Those with heart disease and diabetes
* Those that work outdoors
*Coughing and wheezing
*Asthma attacks
*Worsening of COPD
*Hospital and ER admissions
*Premature death
US EPA, Air Quality Criteria for Ozone and Related
Photochemical Oxidants, 2006
* Integrated Science Assessment of Ozone and Related
Photochemical Oxidants (Second External Review Draft)
*
Committee on Estimating Mortality Risk Reduction Benefits from
Decreasing Tropospheric Ozone Exposure, National Research Council.
Estimating Mortality Risk Reduction and Economic Benefits from
Controlling Ozone Air Pollution, 2008. Available at
www.nap.edu/catalog/12198.html.
* Gent JF, Triche EW, Holford TR, Belanger K, Bracken MB, Beckett WS,
Leaderer BP. Association of Low-Level Ozone and Fine Particles with
Respiratory Symptoms in Children with Asthma. JAMA 2003;290:18591867.
* Effects of Air Pollution on Adults with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
Disease. Arch Environ Health. 2002;57:554-560. Höppe P. Peters A, Rabe
G, Praml G, Lindner J, Jakobi G, Fruhmann G, Nowak D. Environmental
Ozone Effects in Different Population Subgroups. Int J Hyg Environ Health.
2003; 206:505-516.
Source: IEPA
Air monitors in entire St. Louis Region
exceeded federal standards more than
170 times during 2012 season
*75 parts per billion (ppb)
*Exceedance is when an 8-hour average of values is
calculated to be > 75 ppb on any given day
*Violation is when a 3-year average of the 4th highest
annual average is calculated to be
> 75 ppb
* Health groups contend that controlled and epidemiological
studies strongly support a new primary standard within 6070ppb over an 8-hour period.
*170 Exceedances
*40 Ozone Days
3 in May
10 in June
16 in July
11 in August
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
*4th warmest summer on record
(1901,1936, 1934)
*21 days of 100o or higher
*11 days of 105o or higher (new record)
*60 days of 90o or higher
East West Gateway Council of Governments
the birds had to pick up the worms
with potholders
2012 St. Louis Region receives F Grade
*Madison County and Cook County—which includes
Chicago—are the only two Illinois counties to
receive an “F” rating.
*On the Missouri side, both St. Louis city and St.
Louis County failed air quality standards for ozone
pollution levels.
*Mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets (acids,
organic chemicals, metals, dust, soil.)
*Measured in micrometers in diameter.
*Common sources of toxic PM: Fuel-burning engines,
industry (i.e. power plants, incinerators), wood burning,
cigarettes.
Risks from breathing particles
* Asthma attacks
* Heart attacks, strokes
* Worsening of lung & cardiovascular diseases
* Hospital and ER admissions
* Linked to cancer, premature births
* Premature mortality
EPA, Integrated Science Assessment, 2009
Source:
Environmental
Protection Agency
*Annual: 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air
*24-hour: 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air
December 14, 2012 tightened the annual standard
to 12 micrograms per cubic meter while retaining
the 24-hour standard.
Expert panel reviewed evidence related to particle
pollution and health research studies between 20022009. They found short and long term exposures:
•Causes early death (both short-term and long-term exposure)
•Causes cardiovascular harm (e.g. heart attacks, strokes, heart
disease, congestive heart failure)
•Likely to cause respiratory harm (e.g. worsened asthma,
worsened COPD, inflammation)
•May cause cancer
•May cause reproductive and developmental harm
—U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Integrated Science
Assessment for Particulate Matter, December 2009. EPA 600/R08/139F.
Members of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Particle Review
Panel:
•
Dr. Rogene Henderson, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Chair
•
Dr. Ellis Cowling, North Carolina State University
•
Dr. James D. Crapo, National Jewish Medical and Research Center
•
Dr. Douglas Crawford-Brown, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
•
Dr. Donna Kenski, Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium
•
Dr. Armistead (Ted) Russell, Georgia Institute of Technology
•
Dr. Jonathan M. Samet, Johns Hopkins University
Additional Members of the CASAC PM Review Panel include:
•
Dr. Lowell Ashbaugh, University of California
•
Mr. Ed Avol, University of Southern Califronia
•
Dr. Wayne Cascio, East Carolina University
•
Dr. H. Christopher Frey, North Carolina State University
•
Dr. David Grantz, University of California, Kearney Agricultural Center
•
Dr. Joseph Helble, Dartmouth College
•
Dr. Philip Hopke, Clarkson University
•
Dr. Morton Lippmann, New York University School of Medicine
•
Dr. William Malm, National Park Service
•
Mr. Charles Thomas (Tom) Moore, Jr., Western Governors’ Association
•
Dr. Robert F. Phalen, University of California, Irvine
•
Dr. Kent Pinkerton, University of California, Davis
New Standard
WHAT YOU CAN DO
* Advocate for stricter air quality regulations.
* Decrease your personal contribution
reducing energy consumption
to air pollution by
* Use public or active (walking or bicycling) transportation.
* Avoid heavy exercise near busy roadways or on smoggy
days
* Eat a healthy diet that contains fruits and vegetables high
in antioxidants (shown to prevent the health effects of
pollutants like ozone)
For just about a penny per gallon, cleaner
gasoline standards will drastically reduce
tailpipe emissions to the equivalent of
taking 33 million cars off the road.
Substitution of cycling for driving for short trips has the
potential to reduce gasoline demand up to nearly 34.9% of
current domestic oil consumption.
http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/resourcecenter/research/trave
l-impacts-on-air-quality-and-greenhouse-gases
First stat: (Frank, et al., 2006)
Second: (Higgins, et al., 2005
http://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/article/role_coal_us.cfm
Encourage
Counsel patients to use AQI forecasts to plan
outdoor activities.
Reschedule outdoor activities to times of day when
ozone levels are forecast to be lower
Take it easier when air quality is poor, spending less
time engaged in vigorous outdoor activities when
ozone levels are high.
Avoid congested streets when exercising outdoors.
Pollution levels tend to be higher within 50 feet
from roadway.
Do not burn leaves, yard waste and trash
Individual Actions Matter
o Eliminating tobacco use
o Driving less and decreasing idling
o Decreasing use of wood burning appliances
o Decreasing use of dry cleaning, household solvents, and
pesticides
o Promoting policies that reduce residential and school
proximity to congested roadways
o Energy efficiency and fuel efficiency projects
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.
Helen Keller
Medical & Public Health community are highly
respected and a powerful voice!
 Serving as community health advocates or advisors
and health communication partners with
government agencies
 Promote more health-protective air quality
standards.
 Research & Data Collection
Ozone & Your Patients Health
http://www.epa.gov/apti/ozonehealth/
* Describes physiological mechanisms responsible for the lung
function changes and symptoms caused by exposure to
ground-level ozone
* The relationships observed between ground-level ozone and
other adverse health effects
* Discusses in detail the effects of ozone exposure on patients
with asthma
* Helps health care providers advise their patients about
exposure to ozone
Clean Air Counsel-Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware
Air Quality Education for Health Professionals
http://www.cleanair.org/program/environmental_health/air_quality_education
American Lung Association State of the Air 2013
http://www.lung.org/healthy-air/
Pediatric Environmental Health, 3rd Edition
American Academy of Pediatrics (Author), Ruth A. Etzel MD
PhD FAAP
THANK YOU
Amy Funk
Action Research Illinois, University of Illinois
1 Regency Plaza Drive
Collinsville, IL 62234
amyfunk@illinois.edu
meairproject.org