Urban asthma and the neighbourhood environment in New York City.

Asthma is now the leading cause of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and missed school days in New York City's poorest neighbourhoods. While most research focuses on the influence of the indoor environment on asthma, this study examines the neighbourhood effects on childhood asthma, such as housing and ambient environmental hazards. Using Geographic Information Science (GI Science) we identify neighbourhoods with elevated concentrations of childhood asthma hospitalizations between 1997 and 2000 in US census tracts, analyze the sociodemographic, housing characteristics, and air pollution burdens from stationary, land use and mobile sources in these areas.

Risk assessment for asbestos-related cancer from the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.

Objective: We sought to estimate the lifetime risk of asbestos-related cancer for residents of Lower Manhattan attributable to asbestos released into the air by the 9/11 attack on New York City's World Trade Center (WTC).

Methods: Exposure was estimated from available data and reasoned projections based on these data. Cancer risk was assessed using an asbestos risk model that differentiates asbestos fiber-types and the US Environmental Protection Agency's model that does not differentiate fiber-types and combines mesothelioma and lung cancer risks.