GIS Enhances ATSDR Health Assessment Activities at Kelly Air Force Base

David A. Fowler, PhD, and Andrew L. Dent, MA, ATSDR

Kelly Air Force Base is located in Bexar County, Texas, 7 miles southwest of San Antonio. Currently, the base is primarily used for logistics and maintenance of aircraft engines, weapons systems, support equipment, and aerospace fuels. Several activities formerly conducted at the base have been potential sources of air contamination in the surrounding community, including painting, chrome plating, fueling, and aerospace fuel storage. In late 1997 and early 1998, ATSDR used its geographic information system (GIS) to assist the Division of Health Assessment and Consultation in conducting a public health assessment at the base. GIS effectively provided the means of determining whether a potential relationship existed between past exposures to hazardous substances emitted from the base and excess cancer rates in the surrounding community.

First, GIS was used to access, build, and manage data derived from an air-dispersion model that estimated the transport and fate of past and present emissions from the base. Then GIS was used to identify areas outside the boundaries of the base in which estimated levels of contaminants were of public health concern. Next, GIS was used to determine whether biologically plausible adverse health outcomes had been reported in these areas. GIS provided a graphical correlation between the estimated risks and population-density and cancer-incidence data. GIS identified areas off the base at which the potential for exposure to substantial levels of environmental contaminants was high. Demographic data indicated, however, that these areas were unpopulated and, therefore, unlikely to result in exposure to humans. ATSDR determined that it is unlikely that exposure to the low level of current air emissions from the base would result in a meaningful increase in the risk for cancer. This evaluation did identify some health outcomes of public health concern that either (a) were not likely to result from exposure to contaminants emitted from the base or (b) required further evaluation to make that determination.

Finally, GIS maps assisted ATSDR staff in communicating this complex information to residents of surrounding areas. At community meetings, residents were introduced to the process of creating GIS maps and were provided the opportunity to discuss individually the information presented in the maps. This interaction produced a better understanding of the conclusions reached by ATSDR in its health assessment.

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Assessing Neighborhood Characteristics of Brownfields and Other Distressed Communities

Stephanie I. Davis, MSPH, ATSDR

A new GIS project at ATSDR is underway to link demographic, environmental, and health-outcome data for communities near Brownfields properties (i.e., abandoned or dilapidated former industrial or commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is prohibitive because of real, or perceived, environmental contamination). The Brownfields Redevelopment Initiative is the realization of a federally organized commitment to help communities revitalize these properties. Future commercial or residential use of Brownfields properties depends on assurances that the levels of environmental contamination that might be present are not harmful to health.

The coordination of economic policy, environmental regulation, and public health interests are vital to support this initiative. EPA and other federal agencies, including ATSDR, have committed to strengthen and improve their collaborative efforts on the Brownfields Initiative.

ATSDR is conducting this project in an effort to enhance state and local public health involvement in three pilot states (Georgia, New York, and Oregon) to link the people, the places in which they live, and their health. For each of these states, ATSDR is using its geographic information system (GIS) to identify economically distressed census tracts eligible for the Brownfields Tax Incentive and to attempt to integrate information on economic development, environmental regulation, and populations potentially affected by redevelopment. Eligibility for the Brownfields Tax Incentive has many data components. The principal agencies providing Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community, zoning, and boundary data for this project are U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and state and local planning agencies. High-poverty areas and adjoining industrial and commercial areas are identified with 1990 U.S. census data. ATSDR is working with EPA and coordinators of local Brownfields properties to identify assessment demonstration pilot sites that are eligible for the Brownfields Tax Incentive. The U.S. Department of Treasury is providing additional tax incentive advise.

On the population and public health front, GIS is being used to evaluate two ATSDR projects conducted by the Multnomah County Health Department in Oregon and the Monroe County Health Department in New York. These health departments were funded to pilot the ATSDR "Protocol for Initial Public Health Decisions at Brownfields Properties," which is a capacity-enhancing tool for use by local public health departments, economic development authorities, and property redevelopers to examine and properly address public health issues.

The evaluation will indicate how incorporating available sources of demographic and environmental data into a GIS adds to the information that site assessors collect while conducting a protocol. In the future, the project will use a GIS to obtain, integrate, and analyze additional baseline information on neighborhood economic, social, environmental, and health indicators using data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, vital records, and environmental and public health agencies.

At the federal level, the ATSDR GIS model will make it possible to compare state activities involving economic development, environmental regulation, and public health. On the state level, the model is intended to benefit Brownfields and other distressed neighborhoods through more cost-effective comprehensive and targeted planning of community development, social services, and public health services.

Calendar 

November 1-5, 2000. 

American Evaluation Association Annual Conference at the Sheraton Waikiki in Waikiki, Hawaii. Topics of current interest are discussed in sessions proposed by members, as well as in sessions presented by invited speakers. In addition, a computer-assisted Job Bank is provided at the annual conference. More than 25 training sessions are offered before the conference. For further information contact the American Evaluation Association, 505 Hazel Circle, Magnolia, Arkansas 71753; telephone: (888) 232-2275 or (870) 234-7433; e-mail: AEA@kistcon.com.

November 12-16, 2000. 

American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference and Public Health Expo, Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts. The 2000 APHA Annual Meeting is a comprehensive combination of scientific sessions, workshops, poster sessions, and panel discussions to enhance knowledge and facilitate public health information exchange. More than 900 sessions are planned, and 3,000 scientific papers will be presented. The Public Health Expo will consist of more than 500 booths featuring the most up-to-date products and information for health professionals. Complete information can be found at the American Public Health Association Web site (http://www.apha.org) or by calling (202) 777-2742 or by fax at (202) 777-2530.

November 15, 2000.

GIS Day 2000 is an annual event to showcase real world application of GIS technology. The event is principally sponsored by the National Geographic Society, Association of American Geographers, University Consortium of Geographic Information Science, U.S. Geological Survey, the Library of Congress, and Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI). The event takes place during Geography Awareness Week (November 12-18, 2000), sponsored by the National Geographic Society, which is promoting geographic literacy in schools, communities, and organizations.

November 17-18, 2000. 

Health Management Summit 2000. Presented by The Health Management Institute and held at the Sheraton National Hotel, Arlington, Virginia, this 2-day seminar presents information on health management of a population, preventive guidelines, demand management, disease management, and case management. The treatment of hyperlipidemia will be used as a model. Contact the Health Management Summit, 4435 Waterfront Drive, Suite 101, Glen Allen, Virginia 23060; telephone: (804) 527-1905; fax: (804) 747-5316; or visit the Web site (http://www.namcp.com).