Suffolk CountyNew York

An Environmental Health Diagnosis

By Sean Setzen10th grade Guilderland High School

Sources:• AirCompare Report. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://www.epa.gov/cgi-bin/broker?

condition=lung&citycounty=county&geocode=36031+36061+36083+36103&_debug=2&_service=aircomp&_program=dataprog.wcj_bymonthyearhealth.sas&submit=Compare+My+Air

• Atlantic Ocean/Long Island Sound Watershed - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2014, from http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/48375.html

• Childhood Lead Poisoning – Environmental Public Health Tracking. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2014, from https://apps.health.ny.gov/statistics/environmental/public_health_tracking/tracker/mapaction.map?activeTool=showLead&type=Poverty

• Guest Column: A legislator’s pitch for culling the deer population. (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2014/01/44658/guest-column-a-legislators-pitch-for-culling-the-deer-population/

• Rockland County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2014, from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/36087.html

• Sara. (2013, December 8). Long Island Weather & Climate: Rain, Sleet or Snow? Wouldn’t You Just Love To Know?! Long Island Weather & Climate. Retrieved from http://longislandweatherandclimate.blogspot.com/2013/12/rain-sleet-or-snow-wouldnt-you-just.html

• SoilWeb: An Online Soil Survey Browser | California Soil Resource Lab. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/

• St. Lawrence County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2014, from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/36089.html

• Suffolk County Stormwater Management Program > Best Management Practices > Residents > Artificial Wetlands. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2014, from http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/stormwater/BestManagementPractices/Residents/ArtificialWetlands.aspx

• Suffolk County, NY Population and Races. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://www.usa.com/suffolk-county-ny-population-and-races.htm• Water Quality « Long Island Sound Study. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2014, from • http://longislandsoundstudy.net/issues-actions/water-quality/a• http://huntington.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/bellone-save-our-water• http://www.arrowexterminating.com/contact/area-served.aspx• http://longislandsoundstudy.net/2010/08/area-of-hypoxia/• http://archive.longislandpress.com/2012/02/23/suffolk-county-septic-systems/

Location...

• Suffolk County covers the entire eastern half of the Long Island horn.

Background of Suffolk County...• History:

o Original county in the Province on New York.o One of twelve to be created in 1683. o From 1664 until then, it had been known as the

East Riding of Yorkshire. o In 1899, Nassau County was split into Nassau County and Suffolk

County.

• County Government:o Consists of many departments and agencies.o Has a County Council of Governmentso Very focused on Civil Service, Parks, and Health.

Steve BelloneCounty Executive

Analyzing Environmental Health Concerns of Suffolk County...

This research looks at the environmental health of Suffolk County and the different factors affecting it. The goal is to identify different key concerns about the health of Suffolk County and what can be done to alleviate varying disparities and to analyze the paths being taken by the county to become the best county it can be. This is done by analyzing different articles about various events that have occurred in Suffolk County, assorted figures and statistics relating to Suffolk County, and isolating the biggest environmental concerns contained within the county and the county’s approaches to solving these dilemmas.

Methods of Diagnosing a county...• Step 1: What is a county?

o A political and administrative division of a state that provides acertain governmental services.

• Step 2: Research the county...o You can use the county’s website to learn about the county. Also,

news articles and different websites can be used to learn about your county.

• Step 3: What are the environmental health concerns of the county?o These are things like the water quality, air quality, and the health of soil.

• Step 4: Develop possible causes...o These could be things like industrial pollutants, toxic substances being leaked,

weather conditions, or even technological advances and drawbacks.

• Step 5: Formulate solutions...o Develop different possible solutions to the health concerns in the county.

What is EcoEd and what are mentors...

• EcoEd...o RPI’s EcoEd is a program designed for students in grades 7-12 and

elementary students. o The idea of the program is for students to learn about different

environmental issues and how they can help to alleviate them.o Each year the geographic focus differs, this year, the focus was

based on New York State counties, their environmental health, and how that compares to those of others.

• Mentors...o RPI students who are assigned to the Upper Elementary students

and the Secondary School students.o They guide the younger students and help to teach them to

research.o They also help with the writing process and speech preparation.

Lead Case Study...• The point of this case study was to study the prevalence of Lead Poisoning in

Suffolk County.

• It was used throughout the United States until the 1970’s, but it was then

banned in 1978.

• It is often found in contractors supplies, mainly paint. Lead in paint is a huge

concern as it can be very dangerous and potentially life-threatening.

• It can also be found in many children’s toys.

• Lead Poisoning in Suffolk County:o Tests done in Suffolk County from 2004-2007 recently concluded that 40.3% of children born

in Suffolk County had lead poisoning at age 1.

o According to the Percent of Housing Units Built Before 1950 as of 2000, 16.3% of the housing

in Suffolk County was built during a time when lead based products were used most often.

o Based another statistic, the Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Children Tested before Age 6

in 2004-2007, children who were aged 6 had only 0.2% rise in their blood level.

Suffolk County Water Hypoxic Conditions

Lead Paint after years of wear.

Soil and Water Case Study...

• This case study was done to analyze the quality of the soil and the water in Suffolk County.

• Soil:o Relatively fertile and healthyo Varies by area within the county, but is stable throughout. o This is positive and evident as the county is a very agricultural county.

• Water:o Mostly from Long Island Sound or Atlantic Ocean. Polluted from those

sources.• Concerns Include:

o Hypoxia: a reduced oxygen content of air or a body of water detrimental to aerobic organisms.

o Leaking of pollutants from industrial factories.o Sewage mixing in with the water systems.

Deer Cull Case Study...

• The case study was conducted to analyze how Suffolk County is taking care of their exponentially increasing deer population.

• Causing an increase in the tick population.• There are no current numbers on what the population of white-

tailed deer is in Suffolk County.• Legislatures have passed bills to allow the USDA to hand

outhunting licenses to quickly decrease the population.• Farmers are upset because the deer are consuming all their

crops.• Many people are in protest at the idea of peopleeasily receiving hunting licenses.

Implications...

• Suffolk County is doing a good job at working out some issues.• Have many programs to clean out the Long Island Sound.• There need to be more studies conducted in the county and

they need to be done more regularly.• The county should reconsider there tactics of their deer

culling as it is rapidly decreasing the deer population.• The things they are doing are positive and they should keep

up their efforts as they are making changes!• This though can only be held up if people are educated about

the topics of health risks and what to do to fix the issues and to improve the health of the county.