Grantee Research Project Results
2012 Progress Report: 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 Period Covered by this Report: February 1, 2012 through January 31,2013
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: Climate Change , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Human Health
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.
Progress Summary:
The project team closely followed the project timeline and completed all planned research activities for the reporting period. Specifically, the team completed the planned research activities related to tasks 4 to 7 from a list of the seven tasks during this reporting period. These seven tasks are: (1) collection of environmental data, geocoding of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) facilities in Texas from 1996 to 2008, and development of GIS databases of these facilities; (2) air pollution modeling and exposure assessment; (3) linking air pollution exposure data and birth defects research control/case birth data; (4) development of a visual data mining tool that can be used to visually explore the linked air pollution exposure data and control and case births for identifying risk factors related to some selected birth defects; (5) identification of potential risk factors; (6) epidemiological analysis based on identified risk factors and selected birth defects; (7) Development of air pollution-exposure-health effect indicators. These selected birth defects include heart defects, limb reduction defects, neural tube defects, and oral cleft defects.
Future Activities:
The project team will continue the development of a visual geospatial data mining tool that can be used to analyze massive geographically referenced environmental health data, and help researchers to identify potential risk factors that may be associated with some selected birth defects. In the analyses, the team will first identify these risk factors through an exploration of the linked air pollution exposure data and control and case birth data using the data mining tool, and then perform epidemiological analysis to validate the identified risk factors. In the final phase of the project, the team will develop air pollution-exposure-health effect indicators based on the results of the epidemiological analysis.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 13 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Environmental health indicators, public health, air pollution, exposure assessment, risk assessment, birth defects, health effects, GIS, data mining, visual analyticsProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe 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.