The data contained in this report were generated during collaboration between National City, the Sage project, and San Diego State University’s Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) in the spring of 2014. Fourteen students from the Environmental Health division of the GSPH who were enrolled in a course entitled ‘Air Quality’, taught by Professor Zohir Chowdhury, designed and implemented studies pertinent to the hypothesized Air Quality issues which may arise in National City. Dr. Chowdhury guided and directed the implementation of the studies, and instructed on ways to optimize the study designs.
In total, four studies were conducted, with students choosing to focus on various spatial and temporal components of air pollution, as well as demographics of interest within the city. This included a fixed-site, continuous monitoring study, a ‘hot-spot’ or multiple site monitoring study, a study focused on exposure to school-aged children, and an occupational exposure study.
As part of the course, students were trained on relevant instrumentation, as well as rel-evant software and statistical measures to employ in the analysis of the collected data. Each study was summarized and written up in the style of a peer-reviewed journal publication, and the results of each study are summarized in this report. The conclusion offers some suggestions for possible remediation steps to limit residents’ exposure to pollutants, as well as ideas for the scope and direction of future research efforts in the city.
The scope of this project as a whole can be considered that of an exploratory pilot study. The data sampling was extensive, but by no means should it be considered an exhaustive or final summary of pollutant dynamics throughout the city. Rather, this project rep-resents an important first step and primary assessment of the city’s pollutant levels. The data collected provide valuable baseline information to direct further studies which can in turn paint a more complete picture of the city’s air quality.
Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.
The Sage Project Contact Info
Kristofer Patron
Program Administrator
kpatron@sdsu.edu
(619) 594-0103
University Faculty Contact
Paul Maechler
Public Health
Local Government / Community Contact
Management