Health Impact Assessment of an oil drilling project in California

• Authors: Lindsay C. McCallum , Kathleen Souweine , Mary McDaniel , Bart Koppe , Christine McFarland , Katherine Butler , Christopher A. Ollson

Abstracts

EN

Objectives The Health Impact Assessment (HIA) was conducted to evaluate the potential community health implications of a proposed oil drilling and production project in Hermosa Beach, California. The HIA considered 17 determinants of health that fell under 6 major categories (i.e., air quality, water and soil quality, upset conditions, noise and light emissions, traffic, and community livability). Material and Methods This paper attempts to address some of the gaps within the HIA practice by presenting the methodological approach and results of this transparent, comprehensive HIA; specifically, the evaluation matrix and decision-making framework that have been developed for this HIA and form the basis of the evaluation and allow for a clear conclusion to be reached in respect of any given health determinant (i.e., positive, negative, neutral). Results There is a number of aspects of the project that may positively influence health (e.g., increased education funding, ability to enhance green space), and at the same time there have been potential negative effects identified (e.g., odor, blowouts, property values). Except for upset conditions, the negative health outcomes have been largely nuisance-related (e.g., odor, aesthetics) without irreversible health impacts. The majority of the health determinants, that had been examined, have revealed that the project would have no substantial effect on the health of the community. Conclusions Using the newly developed methodology and based on established mitigation measures and additional recommendations provided in the HIA, the authors have concluded that the project will have no substantial effect on community health. This approach and methodology will assist practitioners, stakeholders and decision-makers in advancing the HIA as a useful, reproducible, and informative tool.

Keywords

EN

oil production; air quality; Health impact assessment; HIA; health effects; social determinants

• Publisher: Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. dra Jerzego Nofera w Łodzi
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 229-253

Dates

published

2016

Contributors

author

Lindsay C. McCallum

• University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences)
• Intrinsik Environmental Sciences, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

author

Kathleen Souweine

• Intrinsik Environmental Sciences, Venice, California, USA

author

Mary McDaniel

• Intrinsik Environmental Sciences, Venice, California, USA

author

Bart Koppe

• Intrinsik Environmental Sciences, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

author

Christine McFarland

• Intrinsik Environmental Sciences, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

author

Katherine Butler

• Intrinsik Environmental Sciences, Venice, California, USA

author

Christopher A. Ollson

• Intrinsik Environmental Sciences, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Identifiers

DOI

10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00551

Biblioteka Nauki

2177071