Understanding Local Health Impact
Understanding and Managing The Local Environmental Health Impact
In an industrial society, there is pollution where we live, work and play. These hazards can be identified, measured and controlled by understanding the risk to the local population or by quantifying their “Local Environmental Health Impact” (LEHI).
LEHI impacts at the WTC
LEHI concerns have never been so closely studied as in lower Manhattan following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) site on September 11, 2001. We now know that the dusts, aerosols, fumes, vapors, noise and other contaminants spewing from this site after this catastrophe and during the prolonged recovery operation affected the health of workers and the public.
Today the sixteen-acre WTC site is an active construction zone with building and transportation projects scheduled through 2017. As just one aspect of the LEHI at the site, over 40,000 gallons of diesel fuel per month fuel the heavy construction equipment that labors alongside hundreds of construction workers. Because of these types of LEHI concerns, this site and others like it, must meet Environmental Performance Commitments (EPCs) established by the federal government for noise, dust, vibration and other toxic contaminants.
LEHI Impacts at Home
There is an increased awareness of LEHI concerns everywhere as people connect the dots between activity at hazardous sites near their neighborhoods to possible increases of asthma, cancer, and other health issues.
The measure of the LEHI from any site or activity (such as from construction projects, commercial and industrial operations, transportation corridors, hazardous waste operations, or emergency actions) is the potential to create hazardous or toxic contaminants that can travel beyond their own boundaries and affect the surrounding area. In many of these activities, if the LEHI concern is not understood or managed, it can create risk for anyone who is subject to exposure.
Managing LEHI
The Greenlight System was designed specifically for the purpose of qualifying, quantifying and measuring these goals in real-time, offering customers the latest advances in detection innovation, digital technology, computational power, and Internet-enabled communications. Thousands of sites and activities can benefit from the Greenlight System to monitor, manage and control the physical and chemical hazards which may be affecting health, safety and welfare. Results? Workplaces and communities can meet their project environmental monitoring goals and effectively control or even eliminate their LEHI concerns.
