Public Health


Led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NASA and other partners (Federal, state, local, and academic) have joined to create Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange, Atlanta (HELIX-Atlanta).

Part of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, National Center for Environmental Health within CDC, this is creating a public health surveillance system, a bridge between health and the environment.

Purpose

  • Provide information regarding the 5-county Atlanta Area: Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett
  • Integrate environment & public health data into a local network that is part of a national network
  • Take action to prevent & control environmentally-related health effects


Data from scattered EPA monitoring sites were used to make daily surfaces of PM2.5 concentrations. High concentrations of PM2.5 are associated with adverse health reactions, e.g. respiratory and cardio-vascular problems.

Focus Areas

  • Birth Defects - Integrate data for air & birth defects
  • Developmental Disabilities & Lead - Integrate data for housing age, blood lead biomonitoring, & developmental disabilities
  • Cancer - Integrate data from traffic & childhood cancers
  • Asthma - Select a standardized classification system & evaluate existing data sources
  • Water - Identify data gaps & strengths

Applications of NASA Technology

The use of NASA technology creates value – added geospatial products from existing environmental data sources to facilitate public health linkages. MODIS data will also be combined in the future with the EPA data. Additional environmental and technology data products, such as ozone and surface temperature, are being developed to provide information to the national Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (EPHTN).

Additional Information

CDC:
National EPHT Program (epht@cdc.gov)
NASA:
Dale Quattrochi (Dale.Quattrochi@nasa.gov)
Doug Rickman (Douglas.L.Rickman@nasa.gov)
EPA:
Solomon Pollard(Solomon@epamail.epa.gov)
Web:
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/tracking/helix.htm

Presentations & Publications

Use of Satellite Remote Sensing for Public Health Applications: The HELIX-Atlanta Experience (Powerpoint File)

Linking Astma Exacerbation and Air Pollution Data     abstract

Utility of MODIS Aerosol Optical Depth for Estimating PM2.5 Exposure in Public Health Surveillance     abstract

HELIX Atlanta    abstract
   
Technical Contact: Dr. Dale Quattroci (dale.quattrochi@nasa.gov)
Responsible Official: Dr. James L. Smoot (James.L.Smoot@nasa.gov)
Page Curator: Diane Samuelson (diane.samuelson@nasa.gov)