Using Environmental Factors to Determine Where One will Live in the 21st Century

Using a data set constructed from multiple agencies, the U.S. was divided into four regions, nine divisions, 50 states plus Washington, DC, and 100 cities. Thirty-four environmentally friendly variables were selected from the data set and used to rate each city, state, division, and region. Since several states plus DC only had one city cell, statistically the researcher could not analyze the data by city and state. The 34 environmentally friendly were analyzed by regions and divisions to answer the research question.

Is there a significant difference in the environmental factors that will influence where people might choose to live in the U.S. in the future? The analysis indicated that the regions and [divisions]would be the North East [New England], the Midwest [West North Central], and West [Mountain and Pacific].  Conclusion: environmentally friendly and healthy Regions and Divisions exist in the U.S. in which people could, in the future, reside.

Assessing Health Impacts within the Minnesota Environmental Review Process

Actions and policies that affect the natural environment also have impacts on public health. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) believes health consequences should be considered in projects involving state land or action, like an environmental review.  To inform the Minnesota Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW), MDH conducted a review of: 1) 20 state and local environmental review processes for examples of public health measures; 2) literature on Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) in legislation or the environmental review process; and 3) the Minnesota EAW from a health perspective generally. Based on the review described above, MDH conducted a desktop HIA on a Mixed-Use EAW in Minnesota. 

MDH found that health indicators have limited presence in state and regional environmental reviews. Health indicators were most frequently found under the topics of air quality, noise, and hazardous materials. MDH then identified barriers to and produced recommendations for incorporating health indicators into the EAW. Results discuss both why and how health indicators should be included within the environmental review process. The presentation will introduce the process and value of Health Impact Assessments, report on the purpose and scope of work undertaken, and present recommendations for overcoming barriers to incorporating health in the environmental review process. This session is recommended for local public health, government agencies involved in the environmental review process, and consultants who contract with local and state governments on environmental impact assessments.

Using Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) for Comprehensive Plan Updates

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will review the process and the results from the following Health Impact Assessments that evaluated comprehensive plans.

• In 2010, MDH received funds from the Centers for Disease and ControlPrevention (CDC) to conduct an HIA on public health and climate change.  MDH collaborated with the Metropolitan Council to evaluate the comprehensive planning process used for the Twin Cities metro area.  The HIA provided a clearer understanding on how comprehensive plans can more fully incorporate public health and climate change.  MDH reviewed the developed community plans(66 plans) submitted to the Metropolitan Council using a modified assessment tool.  MDH then generated a series of recommendations for the Metropolitan Council to consider as they change the comprehensive planning process.

• In 2009, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and CDC contracted with MDH to further expand capacity related to HIAs and built environment projects by supporting three HIAs: 

1. Douglas County Comprehensive Plan HIA - Douglas County was in the process of updating their comprehensive plan and wanted to evaluate the draft from a public health perspective.  The HIA outlined additional health language and policy statements to be included in the comprehensive plan update. The Comprehensive Plan Task Force unanimously approved the recommendations for inclusion into the County’s Comprehensive Plan. 
2.  Duluth’s Complete Streets Resolution, Mobility in the Hillside Neighborhoods & the Schematic Redesign of Sixth Avenue East HIA – The purpose of the HIA was to determine: 1) the potential health impacts of the Sixth Avenue East Schematic Redesign Study, 2) if the redesign rmbracrf Duluth's Complete Streets Resolution, and 3) how the redesign study could be improved to provide additional health benefits to users of the corridor. 
3. St. Louis Park Comprehensive Plan HIA – MDH conducted a desktop HIA using 20 health indicators.  Geographical Information Systems (GIS) served as a foundation for assessing the quantitative indicators.  The City adopted the HIA as a planning tool for future comprehensive plan updates.

Community Engagement and Health Impact Assessments

Why, to what extent and how should the community be involved in environmental health impact assessments? This lecture focuses on what it means to have meaningful community participation, the benefits from community participation and the possible means by which these benefits are conveyed. The lecture will use several theories on community engagement to explore the range of possible tools for participation and propose a formula and specific methods for short and long term projects.

Tox in a Box: a Concise Training on the Health Assessment of Environmental Hazards [Learning Lab]

Have you had to interpret environmental data and make a public health determination? Have you been asked to give advice on how to reduce or eliminated exposure to a hazardous substance or condition?

Have you had to provide input on environmental sampling for an exposure investigation? If so, this 3-hour interactive session been designed for persons needing to learn how to apply exposure evaluation and risk assessment principles and methods to environmental health practice.

Attendees will learn how to evaluate environmental sampling data, discern exposure pathways, determine potential health hazards, and formulate methods to reduce or eliminate exposures. After covering basic hazard identification and exposure evaluation techniques, students will use case-studies of real environmental exposure situations to calculate health risks. The session is divided into four parts:

Part 1 – an overview of risk and public health assessment, including valuable tools of the field

Part 2 – estimating exposures including pathway identification and calculations

Part 3 – evaluating doses for potential responses using available guidelines and establishing guidelines when none are available

Part 4 – tying it all together with case studies