EHS 575 Final Exam Notes
March 28, 2024
Environmental Justice 101 - Nathan Lothrop
Definitions
Environment: where we live, work, and play and how it impacts health or quality of life
Environmental justice
Everyone should get their fair share of environmental benefits (or lack of hazards)
Everyone should have the chance to be meaningfully involved in how laws, regulations, and policies that affect their environment are made and used.
A Very, Very Brief History
Varying definitions of when the “environmental justice” movement started
Colonization
1960s, San Joaquin Valley, CA - Pesticides
1979, Houston, TX - Landfill
1982, Warren, NC - PCB landfill
1990, Dumping in Dixie. Race, Class, and Environmental Quality
1994, Exec. Order 12898
Water Quality in Rural AZ
Concern about possible lead and arsenic in drinking water
Study of water quality in private well and one small, and one large community water service
One community next to a mining waste site
**Having a private well, you have to self-handedly take care of it.
Navajo Generating Station
Navajo Generating Station, near Page, AZ, closed in Nov. 2019
Largest coal-fired plant in the western US
Air quality is so bad, that it would be “a national sacrifice area”
Double cancer rates
Increased asthma
Many area residents lacked electricity, hauled water due to drained aquifers
But it made…
The lights of Las Vegas visible from space
Pumping Colorado River water uphill 336 miles to Phoenix and Tucson
Disconnect between who pays and who benefits
Potential Hermosa Mine
“Hermosa has the potential to become a globally significant producer of metals critical to a low carbon future.” - South 32
Would produce manganese, nickel, and silver (battery components)
Community concerns
Health and safety, esp. Manganese
preserve /protect the natural environment (and jobs related to this)
Air and water quality
A mismatch between who pays and who benefits
“We are the guinea pigs…”
Tradeoffs
“We need to find ways of attracting good paying jobs for our residents” VS
“No account of money is going to help you if you lose your health or if they destroy our environment…”
Other Examples
Home Safety
Lead exposure from paint and pipes
Asbestos insulation
Workplace
Chemicals and extreme heat
Industrial accidents
Train derailments
Legacy mine tailing leaks
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Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income concerning the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. It aims to address environmental inequalities and ensure that all individuals have equal access to a healthy environment.
Ongoing Environmental Justice Issues in Arizona:
Water scarcity and quality concerns
Air pollution from industrial activities
Disproportionate impact on marginalized communities
Lack of access to clean energy sources
Contamination of tribal lands and sacred sites
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April 4, 2024
Remote Sensing for Environmental Justice - Ian Estacio
Introduction to remote sensing
What is Remote Sensing?
Remote (situated at some distance away) + Sensing (getting information from an object) = Remote Sensing (the measurement of object properties on the earth’s surface using data acquired from aircraft and satellites, therefore an attempt to measure something at a distance, rather than in situ
Spectral signatures
>>The reflectance of a material varies with wavelength
>>Spectral signature is a material property that enables the identification of different substances
Sensor vs Platform
Sensor
>>the instrument or device that makes the measurement.
Radiometer
Spectrometer
Sounder
Interferometer
Synthetic aperture radar
Altimeter
Lidar
Scanner
Spectroradiometer
Platform
>> The type of vehicle that supports or carries the sensor
Satellite
Space shuttle
Airplane
Helicopter
Balloon
Ship
Resolution of remote sensing images
Resolution of digital images
>> The ability of an imaging system to record fine detail in a distinguishable manner
Spatial resolution
>> Fineness of spatial detail in an image
>>The size of the smallest object that can be resolved
>>In a digital image, the spatial resolution is limited by the pixel size
High: 0.6 - 4 m
Medium: 4 - 30 m
Low: >30 m
Spectral resolution
>>Ability of sensor to define fine wavelength intervals
>>The specific wavelength intervals in the electromagnetic spectrum that a sensor can record
High: >15 bands
Medium: 3 -15 bands
Low: 3 bands
Radiometric resolution
>>Ability of sensor to record many levels of brightness
>>The smallest change in intensity level that can be detected
>>Landsat 8:12-bit (2¹² or 4096 levels)
Temporal resolution
>>The revisiting frequency of a satellite sensor for a specific location.
Landsat - 7/8 16 days
SPOT-5 2-3 days depending on latitude
IKONOS approximately 3 days at 40º latitude
QuickBird 1-3.5 days depending on latitude
High: < 24 hours - 3 days
Medium: 4 - 16 days
Low: > 16 days
>> There is often a tradeoff between the different types of resolutions
Remote sensing products
Sample remote sensing products
>>Land use / Land Cover (LUCC)
>>By utilizing the spectral signatures of materials on the earth’s surface, LUCC can be derived
>>Spectral Indices
>>Highlights the amount of a specific land cover type
>>Local Climate Zones (LCZ)
>>Within an urban city, variations in the urban atmosphere can be observed as a result of the different urban forms and functions.
>>LCZ classifies urban and rural areas according to localized climate conditions.
>>Weather and climatological variables
>>3D models
Remote sensing for environmental justice
Remote sensing data applied in environmental justice
>>Remote sensing data allows spatially continuous description of environmental characteristics
>>Provides detailed information on the inequalities and injustices in the environmental conditions experienced by some communities.
Some environmental benefits or burdens that can be mapped through remote sensing
>> Urban Tree Canopy (UTC)
>>The density of trees in urban areas
>>Provides benefits to individual health and well-being
>>High spatial resolution images can be used to map UTC
>>Park access
>>Parks provide physical and mental health benefits
>>Green spaces such as parks can be identified through LULC or spectral indices
>>Heat
>>Impacts
Higher electricity and water consumption
Worsening environmental quality
Increase in heat-related morbidity and mortality cases
>>Land Surface Temperature (LST) can easily be derived from a sensor’s thermal
>>Air pollution
>>Influences human health significantly
>>Typically measured by monitoring stations. However, they do not provide spatially continuous data.
>>Most remote sensing data have coarse resolution
>>Light pollution
>>Strong associations have been found between ambient light at night and breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men
>>The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night band (DNB) sensor provides global coverage of light
>>Noise pollution
>>Affects the quality of life of residents
>>Measurements are also made from ground-based in situ sensors
>>Aggregations are made from such data points
>>Flooding
>By utilizing Digital Elevation Models (DEM), different types of flood zones can be mapped
Mini tutorial for Google Earth Engine
What is Google Earth Engine (GEE)?
>> A cloud-based platform for acquiring, processing, and analyzing geospatial datasets
>>useful for implementing remote sensing and GIS studies purely cloud-based
>>JavaScript-based
Set the area
Set the date range
Filter an image collection
Create a single-image composite
Display the image
Export the image
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Remote sensing can be used for environmental justice by monitoring air quality in disadvantaged communities, assessing land use changes impacting marginalized groups, and identifying environmental hazards near vulnerable populations.
Remote sensing platforms include satellites, aircraft, drones, and ground-based sensors.
Spatial resolution: Refers to the size of the smallest object that can be detected in an image.
High: 0.6 - 4 m
Medium: 4 - 30 m
Low: >30 m
Spectral resolution: Indicates the ability to distinguish between different wavelengths or colors.
High: >15 bands
Medium: 3 -15 bands
Low: 3 bands
Radiometric resolution: Describes the sensitivity to different levels of brightness or intensity.
Landsat 8:12-bit (2¹² or 4096 levels)
Temporal resolution: Represents the frequency at which images are captured over time.
Landsat - 7/8 16 days
SPOT-5 2-3 days depending on latitude
IKONOS approximately 3 days at 40º latitude
QuickBird 1-3.5 days depending on latitude
High: < 24 hours - 3 days
Medium: 4 - 16 days
Low: > 16 days
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April 11, 2024
Risk Assessment and Risk Communication - Will Humble & Jeff Burgess
Environmental Risk Assessment
The quantitative process for determining whether a given environmental exposure(s) exceeds established risk level(s)
Risk Assessment Process*
Hazard Identification
Examines whether a stressor has the potential to cause harm to humans and/or ecological systems, and if so, under what circumstances.
Identifying hazardous substances occurring in the setting of interest
For carcinogens
EPA
IARC
ATSDR
NIOSH
For other substances
EPA, occupational limits
Dose-Response Assessment
Examines the numerical relationship between exposure and effects.
A.k.a. Toxicity Assessment
Determines an acceptable exposure level
Cancer risk below a specified level
Not exceeding the RID for non-carcinogens
Often use MCLs or other environmental contaminant standards (air, soil, etc.)
Exposure Assessment
Examines what is known about the frequency, timing, and levels of contact with a stressor.
Concentration of contaminant by media
Routes of exposure
Inhalation, ingestion, skin, other
duration of exposure
E.g., lifetime exposure to carcinogens
EPA provides default equations for general use
E.g., adult water consumption 2 liters/day
Risk Characterization
Examines how well the data support conclusions about the nature and extent of the risk from exposure to environmental stressors.
Calculations based on the first three steps
For carcinogens
Relative risk, attributable risk, excess risk
For non-carcinogens
Hazard quotient*
The ratio of the potential exposure to the substance and the level at which no adverse effects are expected.
Hazard index*
The sum of hazard quotients for substances that affect the same target organ or organ system.
Risk Management
NOT A STEP IN RISK ASSESSMENT!
Needed if risk characterization demonstrates unacceptable risk
Exposure reduction decisions may be guided by most important exposure pathways
Costs are taken into account
Limitations of Risk Assessment
Lack of toxicity information on many exposures
Lack of exposure standards
Inappropriate use of default assumptions
Multiple exposures
May not involve exposed community or other stakeholders
Risk Communication
Objectives/Types
Information and education
Behavioral change and protective action
Disaster warning and emergency notification
Joint problem-solving and conflict resolution
Models
Risk protection
Mental noise
Negative dominance
Trust determination
Risk Perception Factors
Trust
voluntariness/control
Familiarity/understanding/uncertainty
Fairness
Benefits
Catastrophic potential
Delayed effects
Effects on Children
Victim identity
Media attention
Accident history
Reversibility
Personal stake
Ethical/moral nature
Human v. natural
Risk Communication Principles
Build trust and communication
Encourage dialogue
Influence attitudes, decisions, and behaviors
Provide timely, accurate, clear, objective consistent, and complete risk information
Risk Communication Strategies
Choose the most experienced individual
Create and follow talking points
Message map
Sound bites
Be proactive in providing information
Provide regular updates
Use risk comparisons carefully if at all
Acknowledge uncertainty
Avoid humor
Activity
Within this case study, name and describe each of the four steps of public health risk
assessment and the risk assessment results.How was the risk assessment handled from the perspective of the community, legislators and
ADHS?Describe how carcinogens and non-carcinogens would be handled differently within the case
study context by the risk assessment process.Describe the limitations of the risk assessment process specifically applied to this case study.
For this case study, what were the objectives/types and model(s) of the risk communication
carried out by ADHS?How was risk communication carried out in this case study? Compare this to the 7 cardinal
rules of risk communication and effective risk communication strategies and describe when
the rules were followed and when they were not.Name factors that affected risk perception from the community’s perspective.
Describe any selectivity or bias in the media reporting (use the links in the case study).
Create a message map that ADHS could have followed for use with the media or community.
Was the risk assessment effective? Could the public health hazards have been prevented?
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These are the four steps in the process of conducting a human health risk assessment.
Hazard Identification: Identifying potential hazards.
Dose-Response Assessment: Determining the relationship between the dose of a substance and the response.
Exposure Assessment: Evaluating the exposure of individuals to the hazard.
Risk Characterization: Integrating information to estimate the risk.
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April 18, 2024
One Health and Toxicology Overview - Frank von Hippel
Animal health & stewardship
Antibiotic resistance
Climate change impacts
Community-engaged scholarship
Disease surveillance
Ecotoxicology & pollution
Environmental acquired illness
Environmental justice
Border & rural health
Farmworker health
Food safety & food security
human/animal bonds for emotional health and support
Infection prevention
Microbiome health
Public service worker training
Water quality & security
Vector-borne and emerging zoonotic diseases
Sprint speed
Accelerate
Bite force
Grasp strength
High Jump
Running on a slippery slope
Corner turn
Maximum oxygen consumption
What are the obstacles to studying companion animals as biomonitors?
Scientific: routes of exposure (e.g., household dust/air)
Infrastructure: mostly nonexistent
Ethical: lack of veterinary care (+ lack of data)
Financial: poverty • Practical: remoteness
Cultural: fear of dogs
Health: e.g., rabies, with a broad host spectrum
Conflicts in communities: traplines
What are the opportunities for studying companion animals as biomonitors?
Scientific: routes of exposure (e.g., subsistence foods) – similar exposures in sled dogs, polar bears, and Arctic Indigenous Peoples with similar effects; endocrine effects on intact dogs
Infrastructure: improvements
Ethical: improved access to veterinary care
Financial: job opportunities
Practical: remoteness can mean a lack of confounding variables • Cultural: dogs central to the culture
Health: e.g., fighting rabies (zoonoses = ~60% of human infectious diseases, >60 pathogens shared with dogs, some specialized)
Conflicts in communities: enhancing community engagement
How can we ensure that research does not perpetuate inequities or discriminate against disadvantaged populations?
Community-engaged research is essential, ideally community-based participatory research (CBPR)
Consent of the owner + community/Tribe
Data ownership/data sovereignty
Benefits of the research for animal health, human health, local economy, education…
Understanding a society that views animals in different ways
Opportunities for collaboration, with appropriate timelines
Parallels Between Climate Change & Synthetic Chemical Pollution
Effects on the Arctic
Declines in Arctic wildlife
Disease spread & virulence
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
But…divergent levels of attention – political, societal, funding
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One Health Definition:
One Health is an approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.
It emphasizes collaboration across disciplines to address health issues holistically.
The goal is to achieve optimal health outcomes for all by considering the interdependence of humans, animals, and ecosystems.
What is a sentinel animal?
A sentinel animal is a living creature used to detect the presence of pathogens or toxins in the environment, serving as an early warning system for potential health risks.
Global distillation: Process where volatile substances evaporate from warm regions and condense in cooler areas.
Bioaccumulation: Accumulation of substances in an organism faster than they can be excreted.
Biomagnification: Increase in concentration of substances at higher trophic levels in a food chain.
Impact of Manganese on One Health
Manganese is essential for human health, but excessive exposure can lead to neurological issues, respiratory problems, and other health issues. In the environment, high levels of manganese can affect water quality and ecosystem health, impacting both human and animal populations.
Pollution in the Arctic
Pollution in the Arctic can have severe consequences such as harming wildlife, contaminating water sources, disrupting ecosystems, and accelerating climate change due to the release of stored pollutants.
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