A NOVEL METHOD FOR STUDYING POPULATION HEALTH IMPACTS OF SPATIOTEMPORAL OZONE DISTRIBUTION

This work is concerned with the development of a method to study the i mpact of ozone exposure on human health. The analysis is based on rand om field representations of exposure variation and health damage uncer tainty in a composite space/time continuum, which previous studies did not allow. Ozone exposure-health damage is considered as a spatiotemp oral holistic system, by looking at the whole picture, not just certai n isolated parts. Ozone maps over the eastern United States provide th e basic framework for studying exposure-health relationships, that foc us on a community wise basis. Composite space/time maps of health dama ge indicators associated with the ozone exposure levels are obtained. These maps constitute an important part of many health studies, offeri ng a valuable description of the data and an important basis for furth er analysis. Health damage maps can identify, for example, regions ove r the eastern United States that will respond in certain ways to varia tion of ozone levels or the application of health management practices . Application areas are identified for future study. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.