Contra Costa County Health Department Website
The Contra Costa Health Services website has a tab
that lists a number of health topics related to wellness/prevention,
illnesses/diseases, healthcare, and public health issues. Under each topic,
there are links that provide up to date information, reports, videos, and
further resources for the public to view. Under the “Wellness & Prevention”
section, I looked more into the topic of mold. Here, they provide information
on what mold is, how it causes health problems, how it can be tested for, and
how we can get rid of it.
There is also an environmental health link under the services tab, which lists some of the latest information in the county. One thing that caught my eye was the article on food inspection and safety. The article talks about a new app that can be downloaded on iPhone/Android devices, which provides free restaurant inspection in certain counties in the Bay Area. I actually spent a great deal of time reading through some of the articles that were listed on this website. All provided great information related to public health.
There are many different programs and services in the county, relating to communicable diseases, family/maternal/child health, HIV/AIDS/STDs, and so much more. One area I focused on was the linguistic access service. This service provides medical interpretation to all patients of Contra Costa Health Services 24/7, whether it is in a clinic or hospital setting. As healthcare providers, I think it is important to have such services available to the public because it helps to minimize barriers and properly address healthcare needs.
There is also an environmental health link under the services tab, which lists some of the latest information in the county. One thing that caught my eye was the article on food inspection and safety. The article talks about a new app that can be downloaded on iPhone/Android devices, which provides free restaurant inspection in certain counties in the Bay Area. I actually spent a great deal of time reading through some of the articles that were listed on this website. All provided great information related to public health.
There are many different programs and services in the county, relating to communicable diseases, family/maternal/child health, HIV/AIDS/STDs, and so much more. One area I focused on was the linguistic access service. This service provides medical interpretation to all patients of Contra Costa Health Services 24/7, whether it is in a clinic or hospital setting. As healthcare providers, I think it is important to have such services available to the public because it helps to minimize barriers and properly address healthcare needs.
EPA/EnviroFACTS
I was born and raised in Alameda County, where I have spent at least 18 years of my life. I am curious now to see how the rankings are…Who and what are the top polluters?
-Top polluters: New United Motor Inc., Arch Mirror West, Pacific Galvanizing Inc., and Acme Fiberglass Inc.
-Major Pollutants: Glycol ethers, xylene (mixed isomers), n-butyl alcohol, toluene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, methanol, ammonia…
What percent of the homes in your zipcode have lead-based paint?
-3% of houses in Alameda County have a high risk of lead hazards
SuperFund Sites:
-A superfund site is a polluted location requiring long-term response to cleaning up hazardous material contaminations.
-Sites:
- Alameda Naval Air Station: Polychlorinated biphenyls found on surface water
- AMCO Chemical: A number of hazardous contaminants found in the air
- Lawrence Livermore Lab Site 300 (USDOE): 1,2-Trans-Dichloroethylene, Beryllium compounds, Chloroform, Lead, Tetrachloroethylene, Trichloroethylene, Uranium found in ground water
Air Quality:
-In 2003, this county ranked among the dirtiest/worst 10% of all counties in the U.S. in terms of person-days in exceedance of national air quality standard for ozone (8-hour).
-According to the pollutant standards index, 86% of days contain good quality air.
-Mobile sources including both onroad vehicles (such as cars, trucks and buses) as well as offroad equipment (such as ships, airplanes, agricultural and construction equipment) contribute significantly to air pollution. Diesel emissions are the predominant source of cancer risk in Scorecard's assessment of hazardous air pollutants.
Water Quality:
-Many of the rivers, streams and creeks contain pesticides, mercury, metals, dioxin, PCBs, salinity/TDS/chlorides, and sediments. At least 80% of the waterbodies are contaminated with pesticides.
-Some of the leading sources of water quality problems come from urban runoff/storm sewers, resource extraction, agriculture, and municipal point sources.
-In comparison to other counties, Alameda ranks as one of the dirtiest/worst counties.
“Climate 911” By Wendy Ring
The video "Climate 911" by
Wendy Ring was both interesting and informative. One thing that really caught
my attention was the issue of water contamination. According to Ring, combined
sewer overflow occurs when the same pipes that carry raw sewage also carry away
our rainwater. When we have heavy rain, those systems become overwhelmed. The fail
safe in the sewer dumps the overflow to the nearest river, lake or ocean.
I have recently conversed with a friend who is a civil engineer specializing in water/wastewater management. He told me about a project he was involved in, which addressed this exact issue Ring mentions. My friend helped design a storage system (specific to a storm event), which diverts excess wastewater that cannot be treated by the wastewater treatment plant until the storm event subsides and the wastewater treatment plant can resume again.
This is a picture of the storage system they designed. It can hold up to 5 million gallons of water!
I have recently conversed with a friend who is a civil engineer specializing in water/wastewater management. He told me about a project he was involved in, which addressed this exact issue Ring mentions. My friend helped design a storage system (specific to a storm event), which diverts excess wastewater that cannot be treated by the wastewater treatment plant until the storm event subsides and the wastewater treatment plant can resume again.
This is a picture of the storage system they designed. It can hold up to 5 million gallons of water!
It is fantastic knowing individuals who are addressing these issues we read about. It provides minute doses of hope that perhaps we can reverse these trends, we just have to hope it isn't too late. I'd be very interested to hear more of his thoughts on the water situation both in California and as it pertains to Wendy's video.
ReplyDeleteDid you think that Alameda would rank that poorly in regards to pollution? It's hard growing up in an area and having your opinion flipped. It also is hard because this doesn't necessarily paint a perfect picture because counties tend to be mishmashes of affluent neighborhoods and impoverished ones. Since the data provided tends to be an average, is that all concentrated in the poor areas?