Human Health
The goal of the Human Health project team was to develop recommendations for a system within which the effects of air contaminants on human health can be monitored and addressed.
OBJECTIVES
- Develop a proposal and recommendations for a monitoring system with the potential to identify, manage and address human health effects caused by air contaminants.
- Evaluate the proposed monitoring system.
- Make recommendations for implementation.
- Ensure that the proposed monitoring system is sufficiently robust for appropriate implementation.
- Report to the CASA board at key milestones.
If you’d like more information, please email info@awc-casa.ca.
The Human Health Resource Group proposed a framework within which a comprehensive human health monitoring system could be operated in Alberta. The framework is intended to integrate a series of components, including air quality and health effects data, special studies for specific issues, and a health complaint collection service, together with administrative mechanisms for analyzing, sharing and communicating information.
In early 1997, the CASA board approved the framework. In 1998, the board endorsed the formation of a multi-stakeholder subgroup of the Human Health Project Team to develop an implementation plan and to solicit an independent evaluation report on the proposed monitoring system. The framework was evaluated against the Alberta Oil Sands Community Exposure and Health Effects Assessment Program (the Fort McMurray Study), and an expert independent evaluation concluded that the framework is sound.
A proposal for implementing the Framework for a Human Health Monitoring System was presented to the Alliance Board in June 1999, with specific recommendations, timelines, costs and a work plan. The Board accepted the implementation plan and supported the proposed framework. It also endorsed the creation of a multi-stakeholder operations steering committee to oversee and review the operation of the proposed framework on a quarterly basis.