A Community Driven Initiative to Investigate the Health Impacts of Exposure to Outdoor Air

摘要

Aamjiwnaang First Nation is situated near the Sarnia-Lambton "Chemical Valley", an industrial complex of refining and chemical companies, with poor air quality, chemical spills and other environmental events. Residents of Aamjiwnaang are concerned about the health impacts of these environmental exposures. In past decades, Aamjiwnaang has been involved in approximately 20 environmental and health research studies. The aim of this project is to consolidate these data to describe a more complete account of exposure, in collaboration with the Health Committee at Aamjiwnaang to integrate academic tools with Indigenous knowledge. This initiative has three components: 1) a screening-level cancer risk assessment on the community's exposure to outdoor air; 2) a systematic review of the impact of environmental factors on health; 3) digital stories to portray community members' perspectives. We investigated current (2015-2016) and historical (1995-1996, 2005-2006) data from four nearby air monitoring stations to assess outdoor air exposures and to map air concentrations in the Sarnia area. The assessment found that air concentrations of several pollutants, including benzene, are improving overtime, however for all years investigated benzene levels are above the ambient air quality control (AAQC) target, which are set by Ontario's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC). The concentrations of several pollutants, including benzene, were higher in Sarnia than provincial annual averages. The systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature found that there was evidence of exposure to environmental pollutants in this community. This work will contribute to an enhanced understanding of environmental impact on health among Aamjiwnaang residents, and highlights the importance of partnership to create actionable recommendations and products for First Nations communities.