Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) is the statewide, standards-based assessment. AIMS measures the performance of students, schools, and districts on academic standards in reading, writing, and mathematics and is administered to students in grades 3, 5, 8, and high school. The central components of standards-based education include a curriculum aligned to the Standards, instructional materials aligned to the Standards, and the evaluation of teachers to ensure the Standards are integrated into instructional practices. These components are the organizational foundation for successful student achievement of the skills and knowledge of the Standards.

The Team Nutrition Grant Project began in 2003 with the goal to guide and assist schools to create and maintain a coordinated, comprehensive school health program. Such a program integrates a school’s child nutrition programs, with the classroom, the community, and entire school environment. A coordinated, comprehensive school health program (CSHP) can be implemented to create a healthy school environment through a “model” nutrition policy. Using the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service Team Nutrition’s Changing the Scene, A Guide to Local Action, the project proposed to implement the model at a state level by forming a state level coalition of key decision makers within the school environment.

In view of the increased prevalence of overweight and obesity in American youths, the Arizona Department of Education’s Health and Nutrition Services has taken the initiative to evaluate the nutritional content of competitive foods and beverages sold on school campuses in Arizona. This study also intends to evaluate the financial implications to schools when replacing foods and beverages found to be less nutritious with healthier choices.

A massive pile of wood debris caught fire and burned from October 27 to October 31, 2001, in northern Pinal County, Arizona. The fire consumed wood debris from citrus trees that had been stored in an approximately 25-acre area in Pinal County near the Queen Creek area. The fire generated a large quantity of smoke. Persons reported smelling the smoke up to 40 miles away from the fire. Meteorological conditions during the fire intermittently created conditions that limited lift, especially at night, causing smoke to settle in residential neighborhoods in the Queen Creek area. The Arizona Department of Health Services issued public health advisories for the evenings of October 29 and 30. This report summarizes the events that occurred during the fire and analyzes the data collected by the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to determine the extent of the public health threat from the fire.

The Rodeo-Chediski Fire Complex began as a small blaze in a remote region of east-central Arizona and within days erupted into the largest wildfire in Arizona history. Fortunately, no lives were lost. However, from June 18, 2002 to the time of its containment on July 7, 2002, the Rodeo-Chediski fire destroyed over 490 structures and 467,000 acres of ponderosa pine and pinyon-juniper woodland—an estimated 500 million to 1.3 billion board feet of timber. Jurisdictions involved included the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, the Tonto National Forest, and private lands adjacent to Highway 260, from the Town of Forest Lakes east to the City of Show Low. Virtually all of the acres burned were in Navajo County, with some damage in the contiguous counties of Coconino, Apache, and Gila Counties. This health assessment describes the fire events and summarizes the resulting public health impacts from the fire.

The Arizona Department of Health Services Cancer Registry has identified 7 cases of childhood leukemia in the Sierra Vista, Arizona area since 1995. Five of the childhood leukemia cases were identified as a class of lymphoid leukemia and 2 of the cases were a class of myeloid leukemia. Based on random variation, a total of 6 or fewer cases of leukemia would have been expected over those seven years. An analysis of the data suggests that the number of cases is statistically elevated for the time period 1995 to 2001. The objective of this report is to determine whether there are any documented environmental exposures from drinking water, ambient air or waste sites that may have placed residents of the Sierra Vista, Arizona area at greater risk of developing childhood leukemia.

The Arizona Department of Health Services completed this health consultation at the request of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. This consult evaluates whether soil vapors from volatile organic compounds in the subsurface near the Silver Creek Subdivision in Tucson, Arizona are present at levels that may cause adverse health effects.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has asked the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Environmental Health, to conduct a health assessment for the off-site residential area located adjacent to the Tucson Industrial Center, also known as the 3 Hangars site, within the larger Tucson International Airport Area Superfund site, in Tucson, Arizona. Previous investigations found that elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the drainage areas at the TIC site had migrated off-site into residential areas presenting a health threat to residents. The purpose of this Public Health Assessment is to evaluate if a public health hazard still exists since the remediation activities have been conducted at the off-site El Vado residential area. ADHS concludes that no current public health hazard exists as a result of ingestion, dermal, or inhalation exposures by residents, children, or transients to the post remediated soil in the residential areas on El Vado Road. Replacement of the top soil with certified clean soil has removed all contact with the soil containing PCBs eliminating any future public health hazard.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency asked the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Environmental Health, to provide an evaluation of the health hazards that may result from exposure to soil and soil gas contaminants present on the West-Cap site, located just north of the Tucson International Airport. Improper waste disposal practices from previous industrial activities at the site have resulted in contamination of on-site soil and soil gas. The objective of this health assessment is to assess the potential adverse health impact to on-site workers from exposure to the on-site contaminated soil and soil gas. Community exposures are not presented in this public health assessment.

This public health assessment evaluates the potential public health hazard from exposure to contaminated groundwater in the vicinity of the Tucson International Airport. The Tucson International Airport Area superfund site consists of a main plume of contaminated groundwater and three smaller areas of groundwater contamination east of the main plume. This report focuses on one of these areas of contamination called Plume B and evaluates the public health hazard posed by Plume B to residents of the area of south Tucson bounded by Valencia Road, Campbell Avenue, Irvington Road, and 6th Avenue.