The Health Effects of Hazardous Waste Sites: Evidence from Superfund Clean-Ups

描述(申请人提供)：项目摘要/摘要本项目有三个目标。首先，我们将就暴露于危险废物场地污染与婴儿健康之间的关系提供新的统计证据。其次，我们将努力确定对婴儿健康最有害的特定化学物质和途径。第三，我们将量化超级基金计划对婴儿健康的影响。这项研究将实施几项研究设计，以减轻遗漏变量的影响。首先，分析将利用超级基金清理时间的特殊差异来比较清理前和清理后的健康结果，同时根据时间趋势进行非参数调整。清理时间的变化允许进行事件研究风格的分析，将清理前后的几年进行比较。其次，该项目将利用选择规则的知识，该规则确定了最初计划由超级基金清理的690个危险废物地点中的第一个400个。选择规则是一个连续和有噪声的风险度量的非线性函数，它允许实施准实验回归间断设计。第三，有可能使用我们将获得的机密生命统计数据来确定清理前后同一名妇女的出生情况。识别兄弟姐妹的能力使我们能够控制固定的母体特征(例如，遗传混杂因素)，如果清理工作导致移民，这可能特别重要。母亲识别符还将用于直接评估清理工作是否导致个人迁徙到以前受污染的地点周围地区。这项分析将使用超级基金网站和婴儿健康方面有史以来最全面的数据进行。Superfund数据文件包含每个Superfund站点的详细信息，包括它们的经度、纬度和清理完成的日期。重要的是，该项目还将汇编一个电子数据库，其中包括所有超级基金地点发现的化学品及其浓度，以及这些化学品可能影响婴儿健康的途径(空气、土壤、水)。超级基金的数据将与数百万个人级别的关于婴儿健康(例如，怀孕、出生体重、先天异常和APGAR评分)和死亡率的州生命统计记录进行匹配。数据将来自六个州(加利福尼亚州、佛罗里达州、密歇根州、新泽西州、宾夕法尼亚州和德克萨斯州)，占美国出生人口的近40%，涵盖不同的地理区域和人口。我们将使用生命统计数据的机密版本中的地址数据来确定每个母亲的住所与最近的超级基金地点之间的距离，以1/4英里为增量。总体而言，该项目旨在评估暴露在国家危险废物场地对婴儿健康的影响。宾夕法尼亚州的初步结果表明，我们将有能力检测婴儿健康结果的微小变化。这一结果将与正在进行的关于危险废物清理应在多大程度上受到对婴儿健康的危害的辩论具有极其重要的意义。其他项目信息--项目说明本项目将提供新的统计证据，说明暴露在危险废物场地的污染对婴儿健康的影响。这项分析是基于危险废物场地周围地区在超级基金计划下清理场地之前和之后的婴儿健康状况的比较。它将使用超级基金网站和婴儿健康方面收集到的最全面的数据进行。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Project Summary/Abstract This project has three objectives. First, we will provide new statistical evidence on the relationship between exposure to pollution from hazardous waste sites and infant health. Second, we will endeavor to identify the specific chemicals and pathways that are most deleterious to the health of infants. Third, we will quantify the benefits of the Superfund program in terms of its effects on infant health. This research will implement several research designs to mitigate the influence of omitted variables. First, the analysis will exploit idiosyncratic differences in the timing of Superfund clean-ups to compare pre and post cleanup health outcomes, while nonparametrically adjusting for time-trends. The variation in timing of the clean-ups allows for an event-study style analysis that compares the years immediately preceding and following clean-ups. Second, the project will exploit knowledge of the selection rule that determined the first 400 hazardous waste sites out of 690 that were initially slated for Superfund clean ups. The selection rule was a nonlinear function of a continuous and noisy measure of risk, which allows for the implementation of a quasi- experimental regression discontinuity design. Third, it is possible to use the confidential vital statistics data we will obtain to identify births to the same women before and after clean-ups. The ability to identify siblings allows us to control for fixed maternal characteristics (e.g., genetic confounders), which may be especially important if clean-ups induce migration. The mother identifiers will also be used to assess directly whether the clean-ups lead individuals to migrate to the areas surrounding the formerly polluted sites. The analysis will be conducted with the most comprehensive data ever assembled on Superfund sites and infant health. The Superfund data file contains detailed information on every Superfund site, including their longitude, latitude, and the date the clean-up was completed. Importantly, the project will also compile an electronic database of the chemicals and their concentrations found at all Superfund sites, as well as the pathways through which the chemicals might affect infant health (air, soil, water). The Superfund data will be matched to millions of individual-level state vital statistics records on infant health (e.g., gestation, birth weight, congenital abnormalities, and APGAR scores) and mortality. The data will come from six states (CA, FL, MI, NJ, PA, TX) representing almost 40 percent of U.S. births, and covering diverse geographic regions and populations. We will use the address data in the confidential versions of the vital statistics data to determine the distance between each mother's residence and the nearest Superfund site in 1/4 mile increments. Overall, this project aims to assess the consequences of exposure to the nation's hazardous waste sites for infant health. Preliminary results for Pennsylvania indicate that we will have the power to detect small changes in infant health outcomes. The results will be extremely relevant for the on-going debate about the extent to which cleanup of hazardous waste should be motivated by dangers to infant health. OTHER PROJECT INFORMATION - Project Narrative This project will provide new statistical evidence on the impacts of exposure to pollution from hazardous waste sites on infant health. The analysis is based on comparisons of infant health in the areas surrounding hazardous waste sites before and after the sites were cleaned up under the Superfund program. It will be conducted with the most comprehensive data ever assembled on Superfund sites and infant health.