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Cumulative Health Impacts of Toxic Air Pollutants on Sensitive Populations in New Jersey

This public hearing discusses the cumulative health impacts of toxic air pollutants on sensitive subpopulations and the general public. The current draft method and results for assessing cumulative environmental impacts in New Jersey are presented, along with comparisons to similar research and methods used by other states and organizations.

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Cumulative Health Impacts of Toxic Air Pollutants on Sensitive Populations in New Jersey

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Presentation Transcript

  1. New Jersey Clean Air Council Public HearingThe Cumulative Health Impacts of Toxic Air Pollutants on Sensitive Subpopulations and the General Public Status of Cumulative Environmental Impact Methods Development in New Jersey Steve Anderson April 13, 2011

  2. Outline • History/Background: • What question is the method designed to answer? • Other similar research • Brief description of current draft method with results

  3. History/Background

  4. Background

  5. Methods: Indicators • Categories of indicators • Environmental/exposure - Air exposures, Traffic, contaminated sites, • Social/vulnerability - Environmental Justice (race, income) • Public health • Asthma, low birth weight • Current NJDEP method focuses on Environmental Indicators • We compare environmental to other indicators (correlation) • EPA and other states combine with social, and public health

  6. Other similar methods • EPA Environmental Justice Strategic Enforcement Assessment Tool (EJSEAT) • Only used internally • Faber (Northeastern University) “Unequal Exposure” • California EPA report: Cumulative Impacts: Building a Scientific Foundation (Dec 2010)

  7. EPA EJ SEAT Strategic Enforcement Assessment Tool

  8. Faber (Northeastern University) “Unequal Exposure

  9. California EPA

  10. Outline of NJDEP Approach Identify separate “indicators” Quantify indicators separately at small geographic scale using GIS Assess options for combining, weighing or aggregating indicators “Scale Up” to larger geographic areas Analyze/correlate with other variables

  11. Current NJDEP Indicators

  12. Methods: Indicator Quantification • Create 100 meter grid rasters using consistent statewide grid • Calculate statistical z-score for each indicator and grid • Z score = (value-mean)/standard deviation • Eliminate outliers, z-score >3 are assigned a score of 3 • This impacts less than 0.5% of grids • Two options used to combine indicators: • Option 1: Sum all z-scores in each grid • Maximum score of 27 (9 indicators) * (3 max z score) • Quantifies how all indicators impact one area • One or two high indicators can drive results • Option 2: Count each grid with a z score greater than 1 • Maximum score of 9 (9 indicators) * (1 count if z >1 ) • Focuses more on higher scores • Highlights areas with multiple high indicators

  13. DRAFT Results Option 2: Count of all scores >1

  14. NJ Census Data for Percent Minority • 10 cut points • Natural breaks

  15. Relationship between Cumulative Impact and Social/Economic Indicators • Grouped all block groups based on percent minority and poverty • Calculated average cumulative impact score for combined groups • Cumulative impact scores increase steadily with increasing percent minority and poverty

  16. Work Needed • Updates/improvements to existing indicators • Example….NATA 2005 results for diesel particulate

  17. Work Needed • Potential new environmental indicators (Environmental Public Health Tracking) • Drinking Water (Community water systems and Private Well Testing) • Ambient Water Monitoring • SRP soil and groundwater contamination data/RPS? • Ambient Air Monitoring/CMAQ • Radon, Radiation • Facility Release/Emission data • Modeled areas “impacted” where possible to replace where data is currently release point • Communication/Provide “context” to data • Vulnerability and Health data • Working with DHSS • Stakeholder Input

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