Grantee Research Project Results
Air Pollution-Exposure-Health Effect Indicators: Mining Massive Geographically-Referenced Environmental Health Data to Identify Risk Factors for Birth Defects
EPA Grant Number: R834790Title: Air Pollution-Exposure-Health Effect Indicators: Mining Massive Geographically-Referenced Environmental Health Data to Identify Risk Factors for Birth Defects
Investigators: Zhan, F. Benjamin , Brender, Jean D. , Langlois, Peter H. , Yang, Jing
Institution: Texas State University , Texas Department of State Health Services , University of North Carolina at Charlotte , Texas A & M University
Current Institution: Texas State University , Texas A & M University , Texas Department of State Health Services , University of North Carolina at Charlotte
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: February 1, 2011 through January 31, 2014 (Extended to January 31, 2015)
Project Amount: $499,987
RFA: Exploring Linkages Between Health Outcomes and Environmental Hazards, Exposures, and Interventions for Public Health Tracking and Risk Management (2009) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air Quality and Air Toxics , Human Health , Climate Change
Objective:
Existing environmental public health indicators do not adequately address the relationships among air pollution, exposure, and health effects. This project aims to fill this gap. It develops and uses air pollution exposure assessment methods, visual data mining tools, and epidemiological analysis procedures to define new environmental public health indicators that cover three components (air pollution, exposure, and health effects) in the hazards-exposure-health effects-intervention paradigm. These new indicators are called “Air Pollution-Exposure-Health Effect Indicators.” The researchers will use air pollutants emitted from industrial facilities and birth defects data in Texas to develop and evaluate the new indicators.
Approach:
Research activities of this project are divided into four investigational areas: air pollution exposure assessment, visual geospatial data mining, epidemiological analysis, and new environmental public health indicator development. The project will:
(1) develop a new air pollution exposure assessment method that can be used to determine geographic concentrations of air pollutants more accurately (compared with existing methods) in large geographic areas;
(2) link birth defects data and air pollution data using geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial analysis methods;
(3) enhance recently developed visual data mining methods to identify risk factors that are most likely to be associated with certain types of birth defects from the linked data;
(4) perform epidemiological analyses to validate whether the identified risk factors are indeed associated with some birth defects; and
(5) explore how to use the procedures and methods developed in this project to define the new indicators.
Expected Results:
The project will generate new environmental public health indicators that cover three components (air pollution, exposure, and health effects). In addition, it will produce a set of enhanced methods for air pollution exposure assessment and environmental risk factor identification. These new indicators and enhanced methods will help us better understand the relationships among air pollution, environmental exposure, and health effects. Therefore, results from this project will increase our ability to protect the environment and ultimately improve public health.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 13 publications for this projectJournal Articles:
Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 3 journal articles for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Environmental health indicators, public health, air pollution, exposure assessment, risk assessment, birth defects, health effects, GIS, data mining, visual analytics,Progress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.