Commentary: Improving Community Health: Brownfields and Health Monitoring

Abstract

This commentary highlights efforts to promote health moni­ toring in brownfields communities. Both the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) recognize how public health may be improved by including a holistic approach to redevelopment that includes community health monitoring activities. Health monitoring goes beyond testing blood samples to address potentially toxic exposures and can be implemented to assess overall community health status throughout the course of community revitalization efforts. Examples of health monitoring activities include asthma or blood lead level screening, reviewing health statistics, envi­ ronmental testing, and evaluation of community-specific health concerns. While health monitoring is encouraged as an ac­ tivity within US EPA Brownfields funding, the number of communities that implement health monitoring programs is low. To encourage more communities to implement health monitoring activities, with or without Brownfields funding, this paper describes several projects by health agencies and communities to represent best practice examples. To facili­ tate more community health monitoring projects, the ATSDR has created and continues to create tools and resources to assist brownfield and land-reuse communities. In addition, the ATSDR and the US EPA are working together to build internal as well as community capacity to monitor commu­ nity health through redevelopment activities. Environmental Practice 11:190–195 (2009)