The purpose of this health consultation is to evaluate the air monitoring conducted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality at Mary McLeod Bethune School (Phoenix, AZ) and evaluate the potential impact on public health. The air monitoring data includes particulate matter and metals. The ADEQ’s primary objective of this air sampling is to provide an understanding of the hazardous air pollutants in the Phoenix area.

The objective of this assessment is to evaluate whether a public health hazard exists as a result of environmental exposures in Hayden and Winkelman, Arizona, located near a smelter operated by ASARCO, Inc. Some of the residents of these towns have expressed concerns that metals from smelter emissions over the years have been causing health problems. This report uses environmental data collected from water, soil, and air in the Hayden and Winkelman area to estimate environmental exposures. The study also evaluates available health outcome data from previous epidemiological and biological-monitoring studies conducted in the area. The report concludes that exposure to sulfur dioxide occasionally poses a short-term public health hazard to sensitive asthmatics. These episodes of higher levels of sulfur dioxide occur infrequently. They do not appear to pose a health hazard to persons without sensitive airways or asthma. Other environmental exposures do not appear to pose a public health hazard.

This report evaluates the potential exposure pathways associated with vermiculite concentrate processing activities at the Ari-Zonolite facility. The site is located in the near downtown area of Glendale, approximately ½ mile from the city hall, downtown shops, and other buildings. The former Ari-Zonolite facility received vermiculite from the Libby, Montana, mine. From 1951 to 1964, the site was leased the site to the Ari-Zonolite Company. Following the removal of the vermiculite concentrate processing equipment in 1964, several businesses have occupied the site. None of these businesses were involved in vermiculite processing activities. The last occupant of the former vermiculite processing building was an automotive restoration business, which vacated the site in 2002.

"Provides a comprehensive view of the health status, morbidity, and mortality among Arizonans 65 years of age and older. Designed to be a resource for those ... developing and implementing health policy for an increasingly aged populace, this report draws from multiple resources on the health, illness, and mortality of Arizona's older adults. Population estimates and projections were used to examine Arizona's current population composition by age and race/ethnicity as well as to estimate how Arizona's population structure will change over the next 40 years ... [T]he health behaviors and chronic disease burden experienced by Arizona's seniors were examined using the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) ... 2012 Hospital Discharge Data (HDD) was used to summarize emergency room (ER) and inpatient discharges by first-listed diagnosis separated by gender ... [T]he leading causes of death for Arizonans age 65 and older were identified separately by gender in 2012, with recent trends (2002-2012) ... also being analyzed ... In Arizona, the total population is expected to increase about 80 percent from ... 2010 to ... 2050, while the number of Arizonans age 65 and older is expected to increase 174 percent ... As the proportion of Arizonans age 65 and over increases, so will the racial/ethnic diversity ... [T]he findings of this report suggest that ... primary prevention strategies focused on reducing socioeconomic health disparities and increasing the availability and success of physical, intellectual, and social activities will become increasingly important as means of reducing the population health burden of chronic diseases associated with aging. Further developing our capacity to provide health services to older adults also will increase in importance, but the ability to prevent the development of costly chronic diseases and morbidities associated with aging will be the most successful method of reducing the overall costs of maintaining a healthy aging population"--Executive summary