The Galena Park community is surrounded by the ship channel, industry (particularly the Houston petrochemical industry; rail lines, and high traffic roadways. This subjects members of the community to an unjust level of health pollutants, and this study hopes to determine the magnitude of pollution as well as the health risk that comes with it.
2. Where do the authors work, and what are their areas of expertise? Note any other publications by the authors with relevance to the 6Cities project.
The report does not list authors, but an acknowledgement at the end reads "Thank you to the many contributors to this report, including Ira Arlook, Laura Campos, Dr. Mark Chernaik, Paul Duda, Denny Larson, Dr. Loren Raun, Dr. Thomas Stock, and Belinda Vasquez-St. John."
Laura Campos wrote a report that is included in the appendix of this report, titled "Are the current TCEQ PM2.5 Monitors representative of the Galena Park Community?" Campos is an Environmental Research Assistant at Rice University. She is one of four authors for a publication titled "Factos affecting ambulance utilization for asthma attack treatment: understanding where to target interventions." The report finds that ambulance use for asthma attack treatment varies spatially in Houston, given rates are 6 times as high in an area with specific socio-economic characteristics. source
Mark Chernaik, PhD, provided analysis and interpretation of the results of this report. He is on the Board of Directors and Advisory Board for Global Community Monitor, an organization that assists communities in the use and implementation of environmental monitoring tools to help individuals understand the impacts of industrial pollution on their health and the environment, which co-produced this report with Air Alliance Houston. Chernaik is also a Staff Scientist at ELAW, or the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide. There, he helps attournies and citizens make use of scientific information to defend the environment.
Denny Larson is the Executive Director of Global Community Monitor. He trained those using the monitoring equipment in this report and gave input on the results.
Dr. Loren Raun is a Faculty Fellow in the Department of Statistics at Rice University. He assisted Campos with her study.
Dr. Thomas Stock is an Air Alliance Houston board member. He is also an associate professor in the program of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences at the University of Texas School of Public Health. He provided suggestions and edits to Campos' independent analysis.
3. What are the main findings or arguments presented in the article or report?
Diesel pollution presents a serious and unacceptable health risk in the community, cancer risk due to diesel exposure may exceed 1 in 10,000.
Fine particulate matter may also exceed federal health standards.
Galena Park must take actions to reduce diesel emissions, like banning old and dirty trucks and diverting trucks from Galena Park roads.
Further testing of air quality in Galena Park is recommended.
4. Describe at least three ways that the argument is supported.
5. What three (or more) quotes capture the message of the article or report?
6. What were the methods, tools and/or data used to produce the claims or arguments made in the article or report?
Air Alliance Houston and Global Community Monitor partnered for a multiyear project in Galena Park. The 3 main components of this project were a community health impact survey, a community mapping workshop, and a community air monitoring project.
7. How (if at all) are health disparities or other equity issues addressed in the article or report?
8. Where has this article or report been referenced or discussed? (In some journals, you can see this in a sidebar.)
9. Can you learn anything from the article or report’s bibliography that tells us something about how the article or report was produced?
10. What three points, details or references from the text did you follow up on to advance your understanding of how air pollution science has been produced and used in governance and education in different settings?
*Completed Version in Week 9
1. Full citation and abstract?
2. Where do the authors work, and what are their areas of expertise? Note any other publications by the authors with relevance to the 6Cities project.
3. What are the main findings or arguments presented in the article or report?
4. Describe at least three ways that the argument is supported.
5. What three (or more) quotes capture the message of the article or report?
6. What were the methods, tools and/or data used to produce the claims or arguments made in the article or report?
7. How (if at all) are health disparities or other equity issues addressed in the article or report?
8. Where has this article or report been referenced or discussed? (In some journals, you can see this in a sidebar.)
9. Can you learn anything from the article or report’s bibliography that tells us something about how the article or report was produced?
10. What three points, details or references from the text did you follow up on to advance your understanding of how air pollution science has been produced and used in governance and education in different settings?