Environmental health inequality : a geographic information system-based platform to build exposure indicators
Résumé
Analyzing the relationship between environment and health has become à major issue for public health as evidenced by the emergence of the second French national plan for health and environment. These plans have identified the following two priorities: - Identify and manage geographic areas, where hotspot exposures are suspected to generate a potential hazard to human health - reduce exposure inequalities. The purpose of this project is the development of a coordinated integrated environment spatial information system within France, building a GIS-based (Geographic Information System) platform -PLAINE- able to map environmental disparities and detect vulnerable population. A multimedia exposure model (MODUL’ERS) was developed by INERIS to assess the transfer of pollutant from the environment (air, water, soil, food chain) to individual exposure through inhalation and ingestion pathways. This project adds a spatial dimension and linking the PLAINE platform to the model. Spatial data were used to implement the multimedia exposure model at a fine resolution. Tools have been developed, using modeling, spatial analysis and geostatistic methods to build and discretize variables and indicators from different spatial supports within the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region (France). By example, topsoil concentrations have been estimated by developing a kriging method, able to integrate surface and point spatial supports. Eulerian atmospheric dispersion model (CHIMERE) was used to simulate pollutant atmospheric deposition and concentration of the pollutant. The aim of this work is the presentation of the data and model development based on the example of trace metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Results enable to identify pollutant sources, determinants of exposure and vulnerable populations. Environmental and exposure datasets are integrated in the French coordinated integrated environment and health platform to map and analyze environmental inequalities.