A N E NVIRONMENTAL HEALTH D IAGNOSIS 10 th grade Guilderland High School By Katie Yang

A BSTRACT This research paper includes an assessment of Saint Lawrence County in upstate New York. It identifies numerous environmental health problems in the county, stakeholders who play a part in these problems, and ways to prevent or help solve these problems. The research comes from a number of different sources from the media to government websites.

B ACKGROUND St. Lawrence County is located in upstate New York Surrounded by the Adirondack Mountains to the east, St. Lawrence River to the NW, Population: 111,944  Geographic Size: 2685 sq miles  Largest county in New York State

R ATIONALE & M ETHODS It is important to study counties because they have jurisdiction over many of the laws and rules set to protect the environment within the county. The environment in the county affects the health of its residents; living in an area with poor water and poor air quality will can negatively affect your heath. Counties play an important role, however there is limited data for counties.

A BOUT E CO E D AND M ENTORS Krista Glanville, 5 th year student at RPI EcoEd is a secondary program for upper elementary grades

E NVIROINDICATORS C ONTINUED Superfunds Superfund site- a hazardous waste site that poses as a threat to the health of the environment and humans that the government has put onto a list to remediate. Massena, New York This Area of Concern around the river has been contaminated by numerous companies who have dumped chemicals and hazardous waste into the St. Lawrence River. Lisbon, New York This superfund site was originally a disposal site for hazardous wastes such as petroleum. Energy Type of Energy % of County Energy Composition % of National Energy Composition Renewable4.34 Hydroelectric Nuclear Oil0.81 Gas Coal

C OUNTY H EALTH I NDICATORS C ONT. Watershed Health St. Lawrence County is located in the St. Lawrence River Watershed. Major Problems in this county include: Acid Rain Atmospheric deposition of Mercury Agricultural Activities and Associated Runoff Hazardous Wastes in the Massena Area of Concern Air Quality St. Lawrence County did not have recent data available for the quality of air in the county. This indicates that the county government has not spent resources or does not have not the resources to monitor the air quality. Included is data from surrounding counties of St. Lawrence County. St. Lawrence River Watershed County Unhealthy Air Days for general population in 2012 Unhealthy air days for people with asthma in 2012 Since 2003, has air for asthmatics improved or gotten worse? Franklin County 05Improved Jefferson County 00Improved Herkimer County 00improved

E NVIROINDICATORS C ONTINUED Climate Smart Communities Climate smart community- a place that the state and local government have partnered up in to change it economically, socially, and environmentally. Climate smart communities in St. Lawrence County include: the city of Ogdensburg the village of Norwood Climate Smart Communities: reduce greenhouse gas emissions clean up local air pollution improving infrastructure increases economic growth Envirothon Competitions The Envirothon competition is an annual competition for high school students where the students compete for scholarships and recognition by showing their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource managements. Environmental Education helps the community by making more people aware about problems in their surrounding environment in their community.

C ASE S TUDY #1: L EAD P OISONING  Caused when an object that contains lead is consumed or when lead dust is inhaled.  Affects the nervous system, organs and other systems in the body.  47.1% of houses in St. Lawrence County were built before 1950.

C ASE S TUDY #1: L EAD P OISONING  In New York State it is mandatory to test all children for lead poisoning  Between the years of 2004 and 2007, 1% of children tested positive for lead poisoning  Between 2001 and 2004, only 43.7 percent of 1 yr. olds were tested. Only 20.5% of children at 2 yrs. old were tested.

C ASE S TUDY #2: A GRICULTURE  200+ types of Soil, 3 most uniqure are:  St. Lawrence River- Heavy clays & wet soils  Uplands- Mix of clays  Adirondack Mountains- Glacial till  Challenges in keeping the soil healthy:  Nutrient management  Drainage of Water in places with low elevation

C ASE S TUDY #3: S T. L AWRENCE R IVER  Industries built factories along the river side and dumped their hazardous waste into the river.  Chemicals dumped in the river include:  PCB’s  Mercury  DDE  Mirex  Nutrients  Metals

C ASE S TUDY #3: S T. L AWRENCE R IVER  Effects of the pollution include:  Loss of fish and wildlife habitat  Contaminated sediments  Deformities in birds, fish, other animals  Solutions in restoring the river include:  Remedial Action Plan between 3 governments  Large area remedial projects by private companies like General Motors

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