Environmental Public Health Journal 2014 | BCIT Institutional Repository

Environmental Public Health Journal 2014

Air quality at bus stop microenvironments in a Metro Vancouver urban and suburban area
BACKGROUND Those commuters waiting in small-scale transportation microenvironments, such as bus stops, can be exposed to levels of pollution higher than what is registered by ambient air quality monitoring stations. In addition, historically, those commuting in urban areas experience greater exposure to air pollutants than those commuting in suburban or rural areas, due to the nature of the environment. Little quantitative research has been conducted in the Metro Vancouver area regarding air quality in small scale transportation microenvironments. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess the differences in commuter exposure during AM Peak and PM Peak periods between an urban (Vancouver) and suburban (Ladner) bus stop. Furthermore, results were to be compared to the Metro Vancouver 24 hour rolling average objective as well as nearby Lower Fraser Valley (LFV) Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network stations. METHODS The author measured particulate matter (PM) 2.5 (particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter), using the DustTrakTM Aerosol Monitor 8520 between January 6, 2014 and January 21, 2014 on 12 weekdays, from 6:30am to 7:00am and 5:00pm to 5:30pm, at Stop #55165 Northbound Harvest Dr at Ladner Trunk Rd in Ladner, BC and from Stop #50043 Burrard Stn Bay1 in Vancouver, BC. In addition, meteorological conditions, traffic density, bus volume, and other observations were taken during sampling periods. RESULTS The author found that average PM2.5 exposures were highest during the morning in Ladner (μ=34.38667μg/m3) and lowest during the morning in Vancouver (μ=13.44 μg/m3). In addition, there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between Vancouver AM and the other groups (Ladner AM, Ladner PM [μ=28.07778 μg/m3], and Vancouver PM [μ=30.16667 μg/m3]), but the other groups were not significantly different from each other. Furthermore, the author found that the Vancouver AM average (μ=13.44 μg/m3) was below the Metro Vancouver 24 hour rolling average (25μg/m3) while all other groups (Ladner AM, Ladner PM, and Vancouver PM) exceeded this average. Lastly, when comparing all groups to the AM and PM hourly averages of their respective LFV Air Quality Monitoring Network stations (Ladner AM and PM vs. Tsawwassen AM and PM and Vancouver AM and PM vs. Kitsalano AM and PM), the author found that all groups averages exceeded the hourly averages of their respective stations. CONCLUSION Commuters’ peak hour exposures were significantly influenced by different microenvironments and were found to be higher than the ambient PM2.5 levels registered by the respective LFV Air Quality Monitoring Network stations. In order to address this, Metro Vancouver should implement personal exposure assessments, especially near roadways, to obtain actual levels of exposure to pollutants, such as PM2.5, by their residents. In this way, acute and chronic health outcome risks to air pollution can be better understood., Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014, Published., Peer reviewed, air pollution, PM2, bus stop, commuting, microenvironment, personal exposure, ambient air, urban, suburban, Metro Vancouver
A comparison of recreational water illness awareness and frequency of swimming
Objective: Swimming pools have potential to create health hazards that range from physical, chemical to biological. Biological concerns center on communicable diseases which can be spread through poor hygiene practices. To prevent the spread of disease, swimmers must be informed and practice appropriate hygiene. This study aims to determine whether the frequency of swimming had an influence on swimming pool hygiene knowledge. Method: Survey questions focusing on risk factors for communicable disease spread, and personal hygiene practices were developed using the pool operation handbooks, input from environmental health instructors at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, as well as past surveys from other studies. Pool patrons were surveyed at Hillcrest Community Centre in Vancouver. Scores from these tests were then analyzed in NCSS9 using one-way ANOVA tests and Two-Sample t-tests. Results: 167 validated surveys were analyzed. The most often incorrectly answered questions were in regards to the duration of avoiding swimming after diarrheal illness, pre-swim hygiene, and after bathroom use hygiene. No statistically significant difference in mean test score was found in individuals that swam more than once a week, more than once a month, or less than once a month. Statistically significant differences in mean test scores were found for individuals that read signs, and age group. Conclusion: From the data, it is observed that those who swam more frequently were not more informed on pool hygiene issues than those who swam less. The sample size (n=167) for this conclusion may be too small, since beta value was 87.5%., Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014., Peer-reviewed article, Published., Peer reviewed, Swimming, Pool, Hygiene, Knowledge, Survey
The effectiveness of ozone-chlorine treatment for reducing chloramine concentration compared to chlorine treatment in swimming pools and whirlpools
Objectives: Chloramines are by-products of chlorine disinfected swimming pools and are hazardous to people if chloramines evaporate into the air. There is evidence that chloramines cause upper respiratory tract and eye irritation. It was suspected that ozone treatment in addition to chlorine disinfection will reduce chloramine levels in the pool. The following study compared chloramine concentration in a strictly chlorine disinfected swimming pool and whirlpool (C.G. Brown) in Burnaby, BC with an ozone-chlorine disinfected swimming pool and whirlpool (Killarney) in Vancouver, BC. The study also compared each pool and whirlpool to the 1.0 mg/L combined chlorine concentration limit in the B.C. Pool Regulation. Methods: Chloramine concentrations were determined by using a Hach Pocket Colorimeter 2 Analysis System which used a DPD method of analysis. Chloramine was determined by subtracting total chlorine by the free chlorine. Thirty pool water samples were analyzed based on two samples per pool per day for fifteen days. A two sample t-test was used to compare the ozone-chlorine treated pools with the chlorine only treated pools using the Mann-Whitney U test. A z-test was used to compare all types of swimming pools and whirlpools to the 1.0 mg/L limit. Results: The chloramine concentration in both the ozone-chlorine disinfected swimming pool and whirlpool was not statistically significantly lower than in the chlorine disinfected swimming pool (p=0.263597) and whirlpool (p=0.523672). Both types of swimming pools were found to be statistically significantly greater than the 1.0 mg/L chloramine limit (p=0.000023 in the chlorine pool and p=0.00001 for the ozone-chlorine pool). Similarly, both types of whirlpools were determined to be statistically significantly greater than the 1.0 mg/L chloramine limit (p=0.000001 for the chlorine pool and p=0.000001 for the ozone-chlorine pool). Conclusion: It was determined that there was no difference between ozone chlorine treated pools and chlorine only treated pools. Environmental Health Officers can suggest other forms of secondary treatment instead of ozone since there is no significant difference compared to chlorine only treated pools in reducing chloramine concentrations. This information is also beneficial for pool operators because they can increase their flow rates for pools that use ozonation or strictly chlorination relative to what they were originally designed for., Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014., Peer-reviewed article, Published., Peer reviewed, Chloramine, chlorine disinfection, Ozone-chlorine disinfection, swimming pools, Whirlpool
The efficacy of ATP removal on gym contact surfaces with disinfectant wipes.
Background: Gym equipment surfaces are known to harbor a range of contaminants due to the wide range of community use of the equipment. Certain gym equipment undergoes daily sanitation, however many other equipment surfaces do not. This study measures the levels of contamination on certain gym equipment surfaces at an educational institute gym facility and determines the contamination levels after disinfectant wipes are applied. Methods: The method to obtain the data was determined by the use of the Hygiena Systemsure II ATP analyzer in conjunction with Hygiena Ultrasnap ATP surface swabs. Gym equipment (barbells, dumbbells, machine handles, cable attachments) and other surfaces (benches, floor mats) were swabbed subsequently after a random gym patron had used the equipment to capture an accurate representation of the cleanliness of the surfaces. Disinfectant wipes were then applied to the same area before being swabbed again to determine contamination levels after disinfection. Results: The results demonstrated a statistically significant difference in the reduction of ATP levels with the use of disinfectant wipes with a p-value of 0.00001 at α=0.05. Alpha error was highly unlikely with a p-value being that low. Power was 99.9%, therefore there is a strong likelihood that we are correctly rejecting the null hypothesis. Conclusion: The study can conclude that disinfectant wipes do make a significant difference in surface cleanliness levels. Equipment that does not undergo routine cleaning such as the equipment used by the hands carry a much higher contamination rate than the body contact surfaces. Gym patrons should disinfect all body contact surfaces prior to use to reduce the risk of getting an infectious disease., Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014., Peer-reviewed article, Published., Peer reviewed, Gym, Disinfection, Ultrasnap, Hygiene, ATP, RLU
Frozen foods and recommended packaging temperatures.
Background: Frozen foods have cooking instructions on their packaging, but due to foodborne illnesses resulting from consuming them, it brings the effectiveness of these instructions into question. The recommended cooking temperature on the packaging is a specific numerical value that is not open to interpretation and can be used to measure effectiveness. Methods: Temperatures were taken from 208 different meat products from different stores. The information recorded include: the store the products were found at, the type of meat, whether the product was uncooked or cooked, and if it had safe handling instructions. The data was compared to 3 different guidelines to see if they met the recommendations or not. The results of the comparison were then analyzed using Chi-squared tests. Results: A majority of T&T products failed in all 3 standards, the majority of products from Superstore passed using all 3 standards, and the majority of products from Costco failed using 2 standards. Conclusion: The amount of products that met recommendations is dependent on the store, the type of meat, the uncooked or cooked status, and the guidelines being used due to the recommended temperature of poultry being vastly different in one of the guidelines. The other products that did not meet recommendations were due to them being cooked products without a recommended reheating., Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014., Peer-reviewed article, Published., Peer reviewed, Temperature, microwave, Regulations, Food Code, meat product, guidelines
How do you sleep at night?
Background: Sacrificing sleep on a daily basis has become a lifestyle for a growing number of people. This habit has been found to decrease overall cognitive health and performance. Raising awareness about benefits of a good night’s sleep and the negative effects of inadequate sleep is pertinent to shaping a healthy public conscience about sleep. It is also an important factor to consider for public health professionals since they must think critically throughout the working day and their work impacts those in their care. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between cognitive performance and sleep-related habits in a population of 31 Environmental Health students at BCIT during the Winter 2014 semester. Methods: A survey that collected subjective data on sleep-related habits and a brief cognitive test were used to assess cognitive performance. The cognitive test scores were marked with an index out of 20 and analyzed with a paired T-test to explore any differences from two study trials in January and February. Results: There was a significant decrease in cognitive index scores over the four week period. This was confirmed by a paired T-test with a p-value of 0.000005, with a significance level of α = 0.05. Average index scores were 18.91993 in January, 15.87063 in February, and the rounded average decline in scores was 3.13. Conclusion: Using an electronic device prior to going to sleep was deemed to be the most likely factor behind a significant decline in cognitive performance between January and February. Excessive exposure to light during naturally dark hours of the evening may curtail physiological processes during sleep (i.e. hormonal activities) effecting cognitive health and performance., Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014., Peer-reviewed article, Published., Peer reviewed, Sleep, Cognition, Sleep deprivation, Mental health, Healthy sleep
Inspecting inspection reports, does the type of restaurant change the risk?
Background An estimated of 4 million Canadians (one in eight people) become ill every year from a food-borne illness (Thomas et al., 2013). The economic and social burdens of these illnesses are vast. As restaurants are a big sector of the food industry, improving their food safety would reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses. Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) are on the front line, educating restaurant operators in order to improve food safety. In Metro Vancouver there are many different types of ethnicities and types of restaurants; this provides a challenge for EHOs to know where to allocate their time and resources. Methods The author analyzed 150 Fraser Health inspection reports in the Burnaby, New Westminster and Surrey municipalities. The restaurants fell into three different categories: i) Independently owned ethnic, ii) Independently owned, non-ethnic and iii) chain non-ethnic restaurants. Hazard ratings, number of critical and number of non-critical violations from their latest inspection report were compared. Each violation code was also recorded to identify any infraction trends that exist. Results Analysis of the number of critical violations identified ethnic, chain non-ethnic, and independent non-ethnic restaurants as not being significantly different (p=0.09). The number of non-critical violations was different (0.033), with ethnic restaurants having the most. The number of critical violations, when treating each ethnicity as its own category, is however significantly different (p=0.044) between restaurant types. There was a significant association between hazard rating and restaurant type, with independent ethnic restaurants having the worst hazard rating (p=0.017). Conclusion The type of ownership (independent vs chain) and the restaurant type were not a factor when looking at number of critical violations that a restaurant commits. Independent ethnic restaurants had a slightly higher mean number of critical violations. Japanese restaurants had the highest number of critical violations out of the three ethnicities studied. These findings suggest a slight disparity in risk to public health between ethnic and non-ethnic restaurants., Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014., Peer-reviewed article, Published., Peer reviewed
Non-celiac consumer knowledge regarding gluten-free diets
BACKGROUND: With the rising trend in gluten-free diets, it is imperative that there is high consumer product literacy so that the public makes informed decisions in regards to their diet and health. Knowledge taken from reputable sources and recognizing unsubstantiated health claims regarding gluten-free diets is critical for a non-celiac consumer. METHODS: A survey was used to investigate why non-celiac consumers elect to follow gluten-free diets and why they believe that the elimination of gluten from their diet is healthy. This project also tested consumer knowledge regarding gluten. RESULTS: During a 2 month period, total of 376 individuals participated in the survey. Only 322 participants fell under the inclusion criteria of this study. Women who elected to participate in gluten-free diets (but did not have Celiac’s Disease themselves) had higher overall test scores and men in the general population had lower overall test scores (p = 0.000017). CONCLUSIONS: Based on overall test scores and percentages of correct responses for specific questions, there seems to be deficiencies in both the average consumer and non-celiac-gluten-avoider-consumer knowledge regarding gluten, gluten-free products and diets., Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014., Peer-reviewed article, Published., Peer reviewed, Survey, gluten, gluten-free, gluten-free diets, non-celiac gluten sensitivity
Safety and pH measurements of sushi rice in Japanese restaurants in Burnaby BC, Canada
Background and Purpose: The increasing popularity of sushi in Metro Vancouver raises public health concerns over the consumption of sushi rice being held out of temperature control. Although sushi rice is acidified to control growth of pathogenic microorganisms, there is no existing documented system to monitor the pH of sushi rice, and pH testing is rarely performed by Environmental Health Officers(EHOs)/Public Health Inspectors(PHIs) during routine inspections. The purpose of the study was to measure the pH of sushi rice samples collected from different sushi restaurants in Burnaby, BC and determine whether the pH meets the accepted standard of 4.6 or below. Methods: 30 sushi rice samples were collected from 30 randomly selected sushi restaurants in Burnaby, British Columbia. The samples were kept at room temperature and then tested for pH using the Waterproof Palm pH Meter. Results: The mean pH of the samples was 4.09; the median was 4.115; the standard deviation was 0.198; and the range was 0.82 with the minimum value of 3.71 and the maximum value of 4.53. 100% (30 out of 30 samples) had the pH less than 4.6. The statistical z-test resulted in a p-value of 0.00. Discussion: All of the sushi rice samples had pH values less than 4.6. Therefore, the samples were adequately acidified to inhibit the growth of pathogens. The low pH values indicate that the samples are not considered potentially hazardous food, thus safe to be stored at room temperature for extended periods of time. However, due to the nature of Bacillus cereus that can grow at a pH 4.3 or higher, the target pH of sushi rice is 4.3 or lower. Conclusion: Inadequately acidified sushi rice may pose a health risk if it is stored out of temperature control. The study shows that sushi rice being consumed by the public in Burnaby, BC is generally safe and has a low public health concern. Therefore, EHOs/PHIs can feel assured that sushi rice stored at room temperature is unlikely to cause potential foodborne illness., Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014., Peer-reviewed article, Published., Peer reviewed, sushi, rice, pH, acidity, food safety, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Burnaby, BC
A study of indoor air quality investigations in B.C health authorities
Canadians spend 90 percent of their lifetime indoors and are currently aware that poor indoor air quality (IAQ) can negatively impact human health. If there are any IAQ problems, the Health Authorities will conduct IAQ investigations to respond to the complainants or resolve the conflicts. An online survey to Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) and specialists was used to understand the frequencies that B.C. Health Authorities conduct IAQ investigations, the locations Health Authorities encountered most IAQ queries, the different types of pollutants that IAQ instruments are used for and the preference for instruments chosen. Five common indoor air pollutants, such as mould, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radon, particulate matters (PMs), CO and CO2, were chosen and the Chi-Square test was used to analyze the data in this study. This study showed that most EHOs had never conducted IAQ investigations since they had worked in the B. C Health Authorities. Mould problems between landlord and tenant were EHOs mostly encountered. The study found that EHOs referred to other agencies or consultants when they received complaints. The data showed that the method of managing IAQ problems was associated with the Health Authorities because few EHOs from Vancouver Coastal Health indicated they had used equipment to conduct IAQ investigations. The mostly encountered location and frequency of conducting radon investigations were significantly associated with the Health Authorities due to an on-going project in Northern Authority. Most EHOs and specialists had shown that they educated public regarding to the information of IAQ instead of monitoring the IAQ pollutants. The results of this study indicate that EHOs did not get involved in IAQ investigations often and also showed that mould problems were the mostly encountered IAQ problems between the Health Authorities. The most important role of EHOs and specialists in this area is to educate public to solve or prevent IAQ problems., Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014., Peer-reviewed article, Published., Peer reviewed, Indoor air quality, PMs, CO, CO2, Radon, mould
Testing for presence of radioactivity in BC Pacific Ocean’s seafood supply
Abstract: Due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant incident in March 2011, large quantities of contaminated water were released to the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The severity of contamination on the marine environment is unclear, therefore, the public is concerned with the possible internal radiation exposure from ingesting contaminated seafood products caught in the Pacific Ocean. This study was aimed to investigate the presence or absence of gamma radioactivity in commonly consumed seafood products from B.C. In total, ten different species of fish and three different species of shellfish were selected for analysis. For each species of fish, two samples were collected and each sample was from a different local seafood market. For each species of shellfish, ten samples were collected from three different sources. Using the portable GR-135 Plus gamma ray spectrometer, the samples were tested and analyzed for the presence of Fukushima radionuclides, particularly Cesium-137 (Cs-137) and Cesium- 134 (Cs-134).Based on the analyzed fish and shellfish, no gamma radiation was detected. The detector did not identify any gamma radiation over the normal background readings., Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2014. “The views expressed in this paper are those of author and do not necessarily reflect their official policy, position or views of BCIT, the Environmental Health Program or its faculty.”, Published., Peer reviewed, Fish, Shellfish, Fukushima, Radiation, Gamma, Pacific Ocean, Cesium-137, Cesium-134