USEPA’s National Air Toxics Assessment: Emissions and Cancer Risk Analysis in Illinois and Cook County

Details

• Personal Author:
  Barrett R ; Benitez J ; Calhoun E ; Chukwudozie I ; Erdal S ; Kim S ; Osiecki K ; Pagone F
• Description:
  Objective: The USEPA's National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) is an ongoing comprehensive evaluation of 178 Clean Air Act toxics in the US. NATA includes national emissions data from outdoor sources, estimations of ambient exposure concentrations, human exposures, and characterization of public health risk due to inhalation. This study is designed to characterize emissions estimates and cancer risks developed by the 2005 NATA in the state of Illinois and Cook County. By analyzing the chemical emissions and cancer risk data, geographical areas, pollutants, and emissions sources can be evaluated to assess spatial and temporal trends. More importantly, chemicals that should be targeted for further reduction can be delineated to guide future public health policy and reduce the health risk burden on specific locations. Methods: The 2005 NATA data was downloaded from the USEPA website for all counties in the state of Illinois. The most populated county, Cook County, was examined at the census tract level to determine the location of the highest contributors to air emissions and cancer risk. Results: Cook, DuPage, Lake, and Will counties had the highest emissions estimates in Illinois, but the major sources of emissions (Point, Non-Point, Mobile, and Non-Mobile) were different in each county. The highest cancer risk estimates were located in Cook County and, more specifically, in the City of Chicago. Benzene and Formaldehyde were the key contributing pollutants to cancer risk, and their concentrations and risks were highest in Downtown Chicago and along major highways. Urban areas tend to have a higher cancer risk then rural areas due to a greater number of mobile sources. Conclusions: The findings may guide future environmental management policies/rules/regulations for cancer-causing chemicals, assess effectiveness of the current emission controls, identify areas with a high exposure and cancer risks, and provide input to public health agencies about environmental justice areas. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution Benzene Formaldehyde Neoplasms Occupational Health Public Health Risk Assessment Safety
• Keywords:
  Air Pollution Cancer Rates Emission Sources Environmental Health Monitoring Public Health Risk Analysis
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  196-197
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062501
• Citation:
  AIHce 2013: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 18-23, 2013, Montreal, Quebec. Falls Church, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2013 May; :196-197
• CAS Registry Number:
  Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of Illinois at Chicago
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  AIHce 2013: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 18-23, 2013, Montreal, Quebec
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6e6c79aef31151a1f33f1ed176c896e0f96cca5c631d523c275d1a74bb1c68371ae9e76f6de8766252cde2fc47c974095ded90413dd33609b8586f3dc2b3cf90
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225736/cdc_225736_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1022.71 KB ]