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INNOVATIVE RESEARCH FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
COMMUNITY-BASED CUMULATIVE RISK ASSESSMENTS
Tools for understanding
community-based health
risks
EPA researchers are making a
visible difference in communities,
providing them with the information,
data, and tools they need to protect
public health and take action to
become more resilient and
sustainable. One important activity
is the use of Cumulative Risk
Assessments (CRAs), which allow
communities to simultaneously
evaluate the many social,
environmental, and economic factors
that may contribute to adverse health
effects.
Community-Based Cumulative Risk
Assessments (CBCRAs) are used to
address high-priority local needs by
focusing such efforts on a particular
geographic area and the population
within it, such as a neighborhood or
specific community group, as
defined by a particular trait such as
income level, ethnicity, etc.
CBCRAs also include some level of
community engagement, ranging
from outreach and informing
residents, to empowering them to
develop risk-reduction actions based
on the findings.
How to conduct a CBCRA
Researchers and others tailor
CBCRAs to the particular
community they are assessing,
incorporating specific factors such
as: population; local health concerns
and perceived risks; assets that
contribute to positive health
outcomes;financial, technical, and
political resources; and overall
project scope and objectives.
CBCRAs often share a common
goal: to characterize multiple health
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy (in red) meets with EPA
colleagues, and citizens from the Ironbound district in Newark,
N.J., to view one of the Citizen Science Air Monitoring units
being used by the community to gain greater understanding of
their air quality.
concerns and prioritize solutions
based on their effectiveness and
feasibility.
Because of such common goals,
CBCRAs often share a number of
similar steps:
• Form a collaborative
partnership
• Identify concerns and as sets
and gatherdata about them
• Determine how each concern
contributes to community
health
• Prioritize solutions to address
concerns
• Evaluate success of risk-
reduction actions
How is EPA helping
advance CBCRAs?
EPA is advancing CBCRAs by
working with communities to study
the newest scientific approaches, and
developing methods that can be used
by communities to analyze a wide
variety of situations.
EPA's Regional Sustainable
Environmental Science (RESES)
research program provides a
platform for EPA researchers to
partner with communities. The goal
of RESES is to promote healthy and
sustainable communities by using
scientific methods to assist with
decision making, while involving the
community throughout the process.
RESES projects include quantitative
data and community values to
develop tools that enable effective,
efficient, and socially responsible
solutions to real-world problems.
Below are five RESES projects
where EPA is partnering with
communities to address
environmental concerns and advance
the science and application of
CBCRAs.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
EPA/601/F-15/002
June 2015
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Newport News, Va.
The economy in Newport News is
strongly based in ports and maritime
commerce, military operations, and
industrial activities. EPA is working
with a community in southeastern
Newport News that has multiple
ports and industrial sites in close
proximity to residential areas.
CBCRA considerations include:
• Commercial port operations
• Coal exports
• Air and water quality
• Crime rates
• Access to nutritious foods
• Chronic diseases
• Expansion of interstates
• Vacant lots
Newark, N.J.
EPA is working with a community
group in the Ironbound district of
Newark, a community bordered by
three railways and a major airport.
The location has facilitated a
booming industrial economy since
the 1800s, putting many industrial
areas adjacent to residential homes
and neighborhoods. CBCRA
considerations include:
• Air, soil, and water quality
• Contaminated sites
• Contaminated fish species
• Respiratory, cardiovascular,
and mental health
• Access to healthcare
• Access to nutritious foods
• Crime rates
Chicago, III.
In the greater Chicago area, EPA is
working with partners in the
Roseland community to collect
information and develop potential
actions to address:
• Air quality
• Contaminated sites
• Truck and railway traffic
• Lead, mold, and asbestos in
homes
• Crime and poverty rates
• Scrap metal recycling
• Vacant lots
• Access to healthcare
Charleston, S.C.
Charleston is one of the largest port
cities on the east coast. In this
partnership, EPA is developing air
quality models for the ports and
highways to evaluate near-source air
quality. This project is largely
focused on port operations and the
potential effects of port expansion
on the local area. Considerations
include:
• Future expansion of
international and domestic
ports
• Shipping routes and rail
yards
• Pollution reduction actions
such as converting diesel-
powered machinery to
electric
North Birmingham, Ala.
While the city of Birmingham has
transitionedfrom its historically
industrial economy, communities in
North Birmingham still face the
legacy of those industries, and the
environmental and social is sues they
left behind. EPA is developing a
collaboration with a seven-
neighborhood area located just north
of downtown. CBCRA
considerations include:
• Air, soil, and water quality
• Contaminated sites
• Cancers
• Respiratory illnesses
• Unemployment rates
• Access to healthcare
• Access to nutritious foods
• Vacant lots
• Highway and railway
traffic
How will this research
benefit communities?
As part of this work, EPA is
developing new approaches,
strategies and solutions to help
communities evaluate environmental
stressors and prioritize courses of
action to address them New tools
and methods are being developed
that focus on local-scale
(community) applications, such as
near-road air quality models and
decision support tools that foster
interdisciplinary collaborations.
Additionally, EPA is working with
ourRESES community partners to
develop applications that can later be
used in a variety of local
applications in communities across
the country.
CO NTACT: Timothy M. Barzyk
U.S. EPA Research Physical Scientist
Barzyk.timothy@epa.gov
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
EPA/601/F-15/002
June 2015
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