Houston-Area Environmental Health Studies & Community Projects

Assessment of the Health Benefits of Improving Air Quality in Houston, TX
Sonoma Technology, Inc., Petaluma, CA; California State University, Fullerton, CA; and University of California, CA. April 1999. Study commissioned by the City of Houston [Pamela Berger, DrPH]

Study estimated the economic health benefits of reducing air pollution in the Houston region. The study estimated that attainment of the 1-hr ozone and PM2.5 standards would save the region approximately $3 billion, and would result in approximately 435 fewer premature deaths.

Assessment of Information Needs for Air Pollution Health Effects Research in Houston, Texas
Co-Principal Investigators: Beth Beloff, PhD , BRIDGES to Sustainability, and Craig Beskid, Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxic Research Center.

Funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Technology, this 2003 study assessed the current research available and projected needs. The summary tables include general research of air pollution on health as well as more studies that are specific to the 13-county area.

Houston Environment 1995
Report of the Science Panel of the Houston Environmental Foresight Program. Sponsored by the Houston Advanced Research Center.

Assessment of the Houston-region environment through identification and comparison of risks, development of a consensus plan for addressing environmental priorities, and the implementation of that plan. Summary of Rankings. Full text and purchase information.

Houston/Galveston Citizen Air Monitoring Project (HGCAMP)

A collaborative project of the EPA Region 6, TCEQ, Harris County, the City of Houston and area citizens. Citizens collect area air samples that are analyzed in the Houston EPA Laboratory for selected toxic chemicals. The collaborative process and toxicologic findings are recorded on the website.

Managing Pediatric Asthma: Emergency Department Demonstration Program
Principal Investigator: Charles Macias, MD (BCM). October 1, 2001 – September 30, 2004. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Part of a multi-city study that examines risk factors for ER visits, as well as the effect of an intensive education, personalized written asthma management plan and follow-up program (350 cases and 350 controls) on subsequent QOL, ER visits and asthma control. Approximately 10,000 children will be enrolled during the two-year retrospective and prospective enrollment period at four area hospitals (TCH, BTGH, LBJ and UTMB) which began January 1, 2002. Risk factors and pollution levels will be analyzed for the entire cohort. Each city will develop different methodology for managing pediatric ER visits for future comparison.

Oxygenated Urban Air Toxics and Asthma Variability in Middle School Children: A Panel Study
Co-Principal Investigators: George Delclos, MD, MPH (UTSPH), and Stuart Abramson, MD, PhD (BCM). December 1, 2001 – May 31, 2003. Funded by the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxic Research Center.

Prospective repeated measure design pilot study of 30 labile asthmatic children, age 10-13, in the Aldine school district, correlating multiple measures of lung function with measures of personal exposure to oxygenated air toxics, especially aldehydes. Confounders measured include other indoor and outdoor pollutants, air exchange rate, temperature, humidity and activity level.

Relationships between Indoor, Outdoor and Personal Air (RIOPA) Study
Co-Principal Investigators: Maria T. Morandi, PhD, CIH (UTSPH), and Thomas Stock, PhD (UTSPH). Funded by the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxic Research Center.

Part of a three-city study, measuring exposure to selected air toxics using personal monitors and correlating these with indoor and outdoor measurements. In final analysis stage.

Texas Air Quality Study 2000
Lead Investigators: Peter Daum, PhD (Brookhaven National Laboratory); James Meagher, PhD (NOAA); Fred Fehsenfeld, PhD (NOAA); James Price, PhD (TCEQ); and David Allen, PhD (UT Austin)

In 2000, some 250 researchers embarked on the largest air quality study ever done in the State of Texas, concentrating on the southeastern Gulf Coast region. This website publishes the initial findings of their research on the formation and transport of air pollutants.