GEOHAZARDS AND THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT: HIGHLIGHTING RESEARCH AT THE INTERSECTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH, OUTREACH, AND EDUCATION

Traditionally the fate and transport of earth materials in the urban environment and the resulting health consequences of exposure have been overlooked by the geological community. As the boundaries between geosciences, environmental engineering, and epidemiology blur, geoscientists may self-identify themselves as forensic geochemists or medical geoscientists. A new range of research, outreach, and educational opportunities are now being created that have the potential to highlight the relevance and importance of geology to a wider audience.

The research model brings together academics, policy makers, and the public to work on project activities involving a combination of research, education, and outreach. The formula for success in this arena relies on establishing a large network of multidisciplinary collaborators (e.g. graduate schools of public health) and on building long-term relationships with not-for-profit advocacy groups that effectively communicate research results to the community. Several case studies of geohazards in the urban environment will be highlighted including the challenge of sustainable urban gardening in the context of lead contaminated soils, the occurrence of elevated arsenic concentrations in urban playgrounds associated with the use of pressure treated wood, and the fate and transport of World Trade Center Ash in New York Harbor. By expanding research projects within geoscience departments to integrate earth materials and human health, students from a range of disciplines including chemistry, environmental studies, and biosciences are engaged and their concept of geology is challenged.