Bureau of Pollution Control and Prevention (Houston) Profile

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  1. What person, group or organization is being profiled, and why are they of interest to this project?

    1. Within Houston's Health Department, The Bureau of Pollution Control and Prevention (BPCP) has the goal to protect public health by improving the quality of air, water, and land.They are a subsection of the health department that is focused solely on environmental health concerns. They conduct research, provide information to the public, and work directly in the community to address pollution issues.

  2. What have they done – through research, or a public health program or education forum, for example-- that illustrates how they have worked to improve air pollution governance and environmental public health?

    1. Some projects conducted as part of their Community Health Improvement Plan:
      1. Their Healthy Homes project: In response to higher instances of lead paint exposure in low income households, they partner with school districts in low socioeconomic areas to test pre-schoolers for lead.
      2. The Environmental Health project: A partnership with Air Alliance Houston, they have a grant to identify sources of air pollution emissions, data that can lead to lowering or eliminating emission of dangerous particles in the community.
    2. They conduct investigations of suspected pollution sources that they find through surveillance or complaint reports. This is to ensure compliance with the regulations put in place to protect Houston's environment, and the health of its citizens. If a location is not complying, they are able to enforce emissions regulations through fines. (Conducting Investigations)

  3. What timeline of events illustrates how this way of addressing environmental public health has developed?

    1. 2000 -- it emerged that Houston had been under reporting it's VOC levels. This prompted calls for more transparency in the air monitoring process. (underreporting)
    2. 2011 -- according to the census Houston is a fast growing city. This means there is more consumption overall, and to keep up with the population growth and increased exhaust from more cars, more air pollution governance is necessary. (population increase)

  4. Does this person, group or organization claim to have a new or unique way of addressing environmental public health? Does this approach point to or suggest problems with other approaches?

    1. One interesting thing is that they are a bridge between the Health Department and environmental agencies. Their program is dedicated to eliminating environmental health hazards. They really focus on the harm to humans that can come from laxly enforcing emission regulations.

  5. What data have they collected or used to support their approach to environmental public health? What visualizations of this data have been created?

    1. Research and reports created by/with the bureau can be found here. See section 6 for discussion of reports.
    2. Much of the air quality data used in creation of the above reports comes from the 10 air monitoring sites that the Bureau maintains. This data is used by the US EPA in the daily reporting of the air quality index. The Bureau also runs one mobile air monitoring laboratory, to get ground-level air quality data at specific places where higher emissions are suspected. (monitoring sites and data collection)
    3. Daily, monthly, and yearly reports of air quality data from these sites are available to the public. (monitor data)

  6. What research has the organization produce or draw on on in their initiatives – in the last year, and over the last decade?

    1. They have released many reports that make connections between air pollution and health issues, including one linking air pollution with heart attack frequencies. (Cardiac arrest research)

  7. What kinds of technology and infrastructure do they rely on in the production of environmental health care?

    1. They maintain 10 air monitoring locations around Houston, as well as a mobile air quality lab. These locations give them the data necessary to generate air quality reports, as well as to collaborate on air quality research projects. (What goes on at an air monitoring site)

  8. What social ecology does this person, group or organization work within, and how did it shaped their way of conceiving and engaging asthma?

    1. They are a part of the Department of Health, and as such are well supported. Two other groups exist within the Department of Health's Environmental Health Group, the Bureau of Consumer Health Services, and the Bureau of Community and Children's Environmental Health. These three organizations collaborate and support each other to work for a healthier environment.
    2. The Bureau also works with local NGOs such as the Air Alliance Houston to complete projects. Data the Bureau collects is useful to organizations such as these.

  9. What events or data seem to have motivated their ways of thinking about and engaging environmental health?

    1. They seem to have had success partnering with other organizations compiling data for research that explains why good air quality is so important for a healthy community. They also have a mobile air quality lab so they can quickly and accurately address complaints from residents.

  10. What funding enables their work and possibly shapes their way of thinking about environmental health?

    1. As part of the Department of Health, their funding comes from Houston's Taxpayers. As seen in the 2015 Houston Health & Human Services budget, the are funded as an Environmental Health Group. They also work through grants from the US EPA and Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

  11. What in the history of this person, group or organization likely shaped the way they conceived or and engage environmental health?

    1. As part of the Health Department, they really understand why air quality is so important for health of a community.

  12. What does this person, group or organization seem to find methodologically challenging or concerning in dealing with environmental health?

    1. Because they do have the power to enforce regulations, I think the air quality in Houston is the most difficult challenge for them to overcome. There are so many sources of emissions, from cars and trucks to indoor emissions from lead paint and other VOCs, and their regulations can only help the problem so much.

  13. What kinds of governance are (implicitly or explicitly) called for in the way they think about environmental health?

    1. As a government organization, they need the funding to set up and maintain monitoring sites, as the data collected there is crucial to doing their job well.
    2. They also need the power to enforce emission regulations, as of now they must send a warning letter, then can take violators to court and fine them. (enforcement)

  14. How can The Asthma Files enable or supplement this way of thinking about environmental health, and the work of this person, group or organization?

    1. I think research similar to the Cardiac Arrest study are very convincing arguments for improving air quality. Surprising health affects such as that correlation are a convincing reason to change the way air pollution is handled.