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Environmental Health
Environmental health hazards include air pollution, infectious agents
associated with food and water, diseases transmitted by insects and
rodents, hazardous chemicals, wastes, occupational exposures, ionizing
radiation, as well as factors that produce psychological stress such
as noise and urban crowding. Humans introduce the majority of these
hazards into the environment. Generally the environmental quality of
Travis County and the Central Texas Area is good.
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Generally the environmental quality
of Travis County and the Central Texas Area is good.
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Several different federal, state and local public health agencies
are responsible for overseeing and ensuring environmental quality.
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Water Quality
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- The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) is the
principle agent responsible for reviewing all Texas drinking water
sources. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations ensure
that tap water is safe to drink. The Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) provides the same protection for bottled water (Texas Natural
Resource Conservation Commission [TNRCC], September 2000).
- There are numerous drinking water suppliers in the Central Texas
area, including many municipal utility districts, city and county
utilities, and public and private wells operated under the direction,
guidance, and review of TNRCC. The EPA requires that all drink water
suppliers provide a water quality report to their customers on an
annual basis.
- Customers of the City of Austin Water and Wastewater Utility receive
their drinking water from three water treatment plants that rely
on surface water from the Colorado River. The City of Austin treats
and filters the water from these lakes according to federal and state
standards to remove any possible harmful contaminants. Contaminants
that may be present in the source water include:
- Biological contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria
- Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals
- Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety
of sources such as agriculture, storm water runoff, and residential
uses
- Organic chemicals from industrial or petroleum use and
radioactive materials.
- On October 26, 1999, the Texas Department of Health and the Austin-Travis
County Health Department lifted the public health advisory against
eating fish from Town Lake. The advisory was prompted in 1987 by
the presence of chlordane in fish samples. Used for termite control,
the chlordane chemical compound was banned in the United States in
1988 because it is suspected of causing cancer in humans (City of
Austin Watershed Protection, September 2000).
*The results presented here are
from the most recent testing done in accordance
with regulations. There were over 50 other substances
tested for in 1999 that were not detected.
Source: Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
- In spite of efforts by multiple agencies to ensure safe drinking
water, incidences of contamination still occur, emphasizing the importance
of public health monitoring and surveillance systems.
On July 13, 1998, a lightning
strike during a thunderstorm shorted the
controls of a sewage lift station near the
Brushy Creek Municipal Utility District (MUD).
Brushy Creek MUD serves a number of neighborhoods
in the Brushy Creek-Cat Hollow area adjacent
to Round Rock near the Williamson County-Travis
County line. Following the lightning strike,
approximately 167,000 gallons of raw sewage
spilled into Brushy Creek, contaminating
drinking supplies.
Water samples from five Brushy
Creek MUD wells tested positive for Escherichia
coli which is indicative of fecal contamination.
Travis and Williamson County health officials
assisted by TDH investigated 189 households
in the area. Ninety (47%) of those households
reported one or more family members ill.
The most commonly reported symptom was diarrhea.
Laboratory reports confirmed cryptosporidiosis
in 89 Brushy Creek residents. Approximately
6,000 people were exposed to contaminated
drinking water from July 14 through July
21. It is estimated the 1,440 residents became
ill during the outbreak.
Cryptosporidium parvum is
a single-celled parasite that can live in
the intestines of humans, farm animals, wild
animals, and household pets. The parasite
cysts are shed in the feces of infected animals
and people, and can be transmitted to the
next host when fecal contaminated food or
water is ingested. Intestinal cryptosporidiosis
causes a self-limiting watery diarrhea that
lasts from a few days to a few weeks. Patients
also frequently experience abdominal cramps,
headaches, nausea, and occasionally vomiting.
There is no treatment for cryptosporidiosis.
A variety of exposures have been associated
with cryptosporidiosis outbreaks, including
attendance at daycare centers; consumption
of contaminated fruits, vegetables, or drinking
water; and exposure to sick animals. Prior
to 1998, the last major waterborne cryptosporidiosis
outbreak in Texas occurred in Braun Station,
near San Antonio, in 1983. (Texas Department
of Health, 1998, p.21)
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Solid Waste
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- A key component of the public health and environmental protection
agenda is solid waste control. The Texas Natural Resource Conservation
Commission (TNRCC), which has statewide regulatory oversight, considers "solid
waste" to include:
- Garbage
- Refuse
- Sludge from waste treatment plants, water
supply treatment plants, or air pollution control
facilities
- Other discarded material including solid,
liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material
resulting from industrial, municipal, commercial,
mining, and agricultural operations and from
community and institutional activities.
- Solid waste is categorized as hazardous, industrial non-hazardous,
and municipal.
- There were no local facilities for the disposal of industrial non-hazardous
waste or for the recycling, treatment, or disposal of commercial
hazardous waste. Therefore, the major issue is the safe transport
of hazardous waste out of and through our metropolitan area. The
Travis County Local Emergency Planning Committee has undertaken a
roadway commodity flow and risk comparison study as part of its emergency
preparedness responsibilities. The study may be completed by the
end of 2000 (Austin City Connection, September 2000, Hazardous Waste
Disposal for Small Businesses).
- The TNRCC estimates that the local region landfill facilities are
19 to 27 years away from reaching capacity depending on:
- Amounts of solid waste received from other parts of the
state
- Future population increase
- Enhancement of recycling programs (Austin City Connection,
September 2000, Hazardous Waste Disposal for Small Businesses).
- Paper and yard waste, which together account for 56% (by weight)
of the materials disposed of at Texas landfills, represent the most
productive targets for recycling and waste reduction efforts. Accordingly,
the City of Austin has implemented aggressive programs to address
these targets (Austin City Connection, September 2000, Hazardous
Waste Disposal for Small Businesses).
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Sewage/Wastewater Disposal
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- Sewage/wastewater and solid waste disposal issues overlap, particularly
with regard to the disposal of certain varieties of non-hazardous
liquid waste.
- Operated by the City of Austin Water and Wastewater Utility, several
large wastewater treatment plants with an extensive collection network
serve the City of Austin and certain nearby areas. These plants discharge
to the Colorado River with regulatory oversight by the TNRCC.
- Smaller "package" wastewater treatment plants serve suburban
areas, typically Municipal Utility Districts. In an effort to protect
its water supply, the City of Austin monitors approximately 50 package
wastewater plants within Travis County on a quarterly basis.
- Rural areas are generally served with on-site sewage facility systems
(OSSFs). Generally OSSFs are designed to treat discharges of less
than 5,000 gallons per day (in most cases far less). More than 30,000
OSSF systems are now in place within Travis County, approximately
6,000 of which are inside the City of Austin (City of Austin Watershed
Protection, September 2000). Many OSSFs are in environmentally sensitive
areas where it has not been feasible to extend collection lines from
centralized treatment systems.
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Air Quality
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- Air quality in the Austin-San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area
(MSA) (Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties)
has been declining in recent years as a result of increased polluting
activities in this area and the regional airshed.
- In 1999, the amounts of ground-level ozone recorded at regional
monitoring sites exceeded the maximum amount allowed under the Federal
Clean Air Act. For violating this standard, the Central Texas region
is now subject to a non-attainment designation by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (TNRCC, September 2000).
- Ø The Central Texas region has evolved from a medium-sized
city surrounded by rural land and distinct small towns into a metropolitan
area of more than one million people. Local activities that pollute
the air have also increased. These activities include the number
of vehicle miles traveled, the use of polluting landscaping machinery,
the construction of buildings and infrastructure, industrial emissions,
and power generation by fossil fuels.
- The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)
that combine in the air to form ground-level ozone come from various
sources. In some cities industries are major polluters, but in Central
Texas the culprit is vehicles on the road. A January 2000 poll by
the Sustainability Indicators Project of Hays, Travis, and Williamson
Counties reported that 92 percent of area residents commuted in private
passenger vehicles for an average 21.4 minutes each way. Off-road
engines, such as those in construction equipment or motorboats, are
also a major source (TNRCC, September 2000).
- Current estimates show that as much as 75 percent of the ground-level
ozone in the greater Austin area is due to motor vehicles. It is
also estimated that ten percent of vehicles produce 90 percent of
vehicular pollution. The APD enforces the State statute concerning
smoking vehicles (TNRCC, September 2000).
- Area-wide agencies and organizations have developed a coalition
called the CLEAN AIR Force (CAF) to keep Austin air clean. The CLEAN
AIR Force is an independent, non-profit group of government agencies
and environmental and business organizations in Travis, Hays, and
Williamson Counties. The mission of the group is to create programs
consisting of educational and voluntary actions that citizens can
take to reduce pollution. Programs include Ozone Action Days, a voluntary
trip reduction program called Commute Solutions, a 1996 air pollution
emissions inventory, and analysis of options for long-term pollution
reduction (Austin City Connection, September 2000, Air Quality Program).
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Ozone Is a Health Hazard
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- The biggest concern with high ozone concentration is the damage
it causes to human health, vegetation, and to many common materials
we use.
- High concentrations of ozone can cause shortness of breath, coughing,
wheezing, headaches, nausea, eye and throat irritation, and lung
damage. People who suffer from lung diseases like bronchitis, pneumonia,
emphysema, asthma, and colds have even more trouble breathing when
the air is polluted.
- Each year in the Central Texas area there are between 1,500 and
2,000 hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases,
which include chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma.
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Lead
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- Lead poisoning is entirely preventable. However, nearly one million
children living in the United States have lead levels in their blood
that are high enough to cause irreversible damage to their health
(National Center for Environmental Health [NCEH], September 2000).
- Lead exposure in young children is of concern because their developing
nervous system is particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects
of lead. In addition, children absorb lead more readily than adults
do.
- One of the most important risk factors for lead exposure is the
age of the residence. Over 80 percent of all homes built before 1978
in the U.S. have lead-based paint in them. The older the house, the
more likely it is to contain lead-based paint and a higher concentration
of lead in the paint (NCEH, September 2000).
- In November of 1997, the CDC issued new guidance for the prevention
of childhood lead poisoning. The CDC called for greater public health
leadership at the state and local levels and discussed the need for
state health officials to examine local conditions that can contribute
to lead hazards and to design a data-driven screening recommendation
based upon their findings. Several steps are outlined as to how to
undertake this process including forming a professionally diverse
advisory committee and assessing existing lead exposure and screening
capacity (NCEH, September 2000).
- In Travis County, there were 29 children reported with blood levels
greater than the mandatory reporting level of 10 micrograms per deciliter
and 20 reported in 1999. Any children with a blood lever greater
the 15 micrograms per deciliter are assigned a case medical manager
to follow their progress until the levels falls below 10 micrograms
per deciliter. Travis County routinely maintains approximately 30
children on case management.
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Food Safety
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- Food safety experts are calling for increased education about safe
food handling because of the following factors that make controlling
foodborne pathogens particularly challenging:
- Emerging pathogens demand even greater food safety vigilance.
- The food supply has become global with many different
countries supplying food products to the U.S.
- More food is prepared and consumed away from home.
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The Causes of Foodborne Illness
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- Because harmful microorganisms are present everywhere in the environment,
any food can become contaminated if not properly handled before consumption.
Consider these facts:
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists
four sources of foodborne illness: disease-causing bacteria,
viruses, parasites, and toxins. Some are very common and
account for the majority of reported illnesses.
- Half of all foodborne outbreaks reported to the CDC have
no identifiable cause. However, most of the outbreaks are
due to microorganisms in food. At least 30 pathogens are
commonly associated with foodborne illness.
- E. coli O157:H7, salmonella enteritidis, listeria monocytogenes,
and campylobacter jejuni have been targeted by the CDC as
the four bacterial pathogens of greatest concern. Also of
concern to the CDC are other bacterial pathogens such as
vibrio vulnificus and yersinia enterocolitica, clostridium
perfringens, and staphylococcus aureus.
- Most cases of foodborne illness in healthy adults are
self-limiting and of short duration. Diarrhea, cramps, and
vomiting are the most common acute symptoms of many foodborne
illnesses and can range from mild to severe.
- The National Center for Health Statistics estimates the
number of deaths per year from foodborne illness to be 9,100.
While the likelihood of serious complications is unknown,
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that about
two to three percent of all foodborne illness cases lead
to secondary long-term illnesses. For example, e. coli O157:H7
can cause kidney failure in young children and infants; salmonella
can lead to reactive arthritis and serious infections; listeria
can cause meningitis and stillbirths; and campylobacter may
be the most common precipitating factor for Guillain-Barre
syndrome (Partnership for Food Safety Education, September
2000).
- Each food establishment in Travis County is evaluated for compliance
with food handling regulations an average of 1.46 times per year.
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