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Project Description
The goal of this study is to use existing information sources to assess and
prioritize local, urban, and regional threats to human health associated
with air toxics and criteria pollutants in the Pensacola area. Once this
initial risk assessment is completed, a research strategy will be developed
in full cooperation with all stakeholders and in consideration of all past
and present efforts in this regard, that seeks to identify the effects,
pathways, and origins of those pollutants that pose the greatest threats
to the community.
Specific tasks include:
- Identify and assess all existing air data and evaluations to determine
what is already known about air toxics and criteria pollutants in the Pensacola area.
- Determine and, if necessary and possible, enhance the quality of the
local and regional emissions inventories for toxics, directly emitted
criteria pollutants, and criteria pollutant precursors from anthropogenic and biogenic sources.
- For air toxics, perform screening level analyses of existing air
toxics data (e.g., National Air Toxics Assessment modeling, TRI Risk
Screening Environmental Indicators, mercury air deposition modeling, etc...)
and perform local screening level modeling with subsequent comparison to
conservative health based standards to identify a set of chemicals and areas
of potential concern for both direct and indirect exposure pathways.
- Complete a health impacts literature search that includes the most
recent findings, and in combination with criteria pollutant observations
in the Pensacola area, complete an assessment similar to task #3 above for the criteria
pollutants that identifies potential concerns for both direct and indirect
exposure pathways.
- In consultation with all stakeholders, and in particular those in the
Pensacola area, prioritize needs and desires, evaluate the uncertainties
and data gaps associated with the existing data and screening level analyses,
and design long-term studies to more accurately assess the levels of pollutants
in the environment, their sources, and their possible influence on adverse
public health outcomes. This could include monitoring, meteorology, emission
inventory and modeling studies, epidemiological, cohort and/or clinical studies,
and risk assessments.
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