Loose-coupling an air dispersion model and a geographic information system (GIS) for studying air pollution and asthma in the Bronx, New York City

Abstract

This study developed new procedures to loosely integrate an air dispersion model, AERMOD, and a geographic information system (GIS) package, ArcGIS, to simulate air dispersion from stationary sources in the Bronx, New York City, for five pollutants: PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO_x, CO, and SO₂. Plume buffers created from the model results were used as proxies of human exposure to the pollution from the sources and they modified the commonly used fixed-distance proximity buffers by considering the realities of air dispersion. The application of the plume buffers confirmed that the higher asthma hospitalization rates were associated with the higher potential exposure to local air pollution. The air dispersion modeling exhibited advantages over proximity analysis and geostatistical methods for environmental health research. The loose integration provides a relatively simple and feasible method for health scientists to take advantage of both air dispersion modeling and GIS by avoiding the need for intensive programming and substantial GIS expertise.

Keywords:

• asthma
• air pollution
• geographic information system
• air dispersion model
• proximity analysis
• loose coupling

Acknowledgements

This research was partially supported by grant number 2 R25 ES01185-05 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Center (NOAA-CREST) also provided critical support for this project under NOAA grant number NA17AE162. The statements contained within this paper are not the opinions of the funding agencies or the US Government, but reflect the authors' opinions.