Citizen Science More Than a Century Later: Ordinary People Go Online to Track Gulf Oil Spill

Dec. 10, 2012

In the summer of 1854 a doctor named John Snow tracked London's deadly outbreak of cholera to contaminated water coming from a public well -- the now famous Broad Street pump. But Snow's observations had to wend their way through the annals of science and took years to make an impact on the public health. Now, more than a century later, ordinary people can go online and report observations about public health problems and disasters in real time.

In a just-published study a researcher at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) reports on this new form of "citizen science," concluding that it can help modern-day public health officials assess health and environmental threats, such as those posed by the 2010 Gulf oil disaster. The researcher studied reports to an online Oil Spill Map and discovered that citizen science can red-flag potential hazards quickly and offers very specific local information that often fails to make it into official scientific reports.
 
"Thousands of people logged onto the Spill Map in the days and months following the Gulf oil spill and reported smoke, tainted seafood, foul odors linked to the oil dispersant and other problems as they were occurring on the front lines," said the author of the study Sabrina McCormick, PhD, associate professor of environmental health at SPHHS. "This reporting by ordinary people promises to be a powerful new way of conducting research and helping officials respond appropriately to disasters." McCormick published the study online December 10, 2012 in the scientific journal Ecology and Society.

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Research, Response For Future Oil Spills: Lessons Learned From Deepwater Horizon

December 6, 2012

A special collection of articles about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill provides the first comprehensive analysis and synthesis of the science used in the unprecedented response effort by the government, academia, and industry. Papers present a behind-the-scenes look at the extensive scientific and engineering effort—teams, data, information, and advice from within and outside the government—assembled to respond to the disaster. And, with the benefit of hindsight and additional analyses, these papers evaluate the accuracy of the information that was used in real-time to inform the response team and the public.

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Failure of Shell spill-containment dome draws new attack from drilling critic

December 7, 2012

WASHINGTON -- Reports that Shell's oil spill response dome was "crushed like a beer can" during testing have heightened criticism of drilling in Arctic waters off Alaska.

Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey, top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, is arguing the test should make the Obama administration rethink its support of Shell's Arctic efforts.

"Shell's unsuccessful test in Puget Sound raises new questions about the company's ability to successfully drill offshore in the Arctic," Markey wrote on Wednesday to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

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Dichlorophenol-Containing Pesticides Linked to Food Allergies, Study Finds; Chemical Also Used to Chlorinate Tap Water

ScienceDaily (Dec. 3, 2012) — Food allergies are on the rise, affecting 15 million Americans. And according to a new study published in the December issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), dichlorophenol-containing pesticides could be partially to blame.

The study reported that high levels of dichlorophenols, a chemical used in pesticides and to chlorinate water, when found in the human body, are associated with food allergies.

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