The Cost Of Pollution At Southern California Beaches

Main Category: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
Also Included In: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Article Date: 03 Aug 2006 - 16:00 PDT

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Removing fecal contamination from the waters off Southern California beaches could prevent up to 1.5 million cases of gastrointestinal illness among swimmers and other recreational water users annually, a new study has found. It is scheduled for publication in the Aug. 15 issue of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology.

Linwood H. Pendleton, of the University of California at Los Angeles, headed the study, which was conducted with colleagues from Stanford University. The researchers used beach attendance data, fecal coliform densities and two epidemiological models to estimate the risk of GI illness at 28 beaches that stretch along 99 miles of coastline in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

They found that anywhere from about 628,000 to 1,479,000 cases of GI illness -- which involves diarrhea, vomiting and other symptoms -- occur annually as a result of fecal contamination of the water. The researchers estimated that health care costs for those cases range from $21 million annually (based on very conservative assumptions) to $414 million.

The study, which includes data for individual beaches, concludes that water quality improvements in the region could have substantial public health benefits.

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ARTICLE #2
"Regional Public Health Cost Estimate of Contaminated Coastal Waters: A Case Study of Gastroenteritis at Southern California Beaches"

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CONTACT:
Linwood H. Pendleton, Ph.D.
University of California - Los Angeles
Email: linwood@ucla.edu

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