BackgroundAlthough public concern has focused on the environmental impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the public health impact on a broad range of coastal communities is minimally known.ObjectiveWe sought to determine the acute level of distress (depression, anxiety), mechanisms of adjustment (coping, resilience), and perceived risk in a community indirectly impacted by the oil spill and to identify the extent to which economic loss may explain these factors.MethodsUsing a community-based participatory model, we performed standardized assessments of psychological distress (mood, anxiety), coping, resilience, neurocognition, and perceived risk on residents of fishing communities who were indirectly impacted (n = 71, Franklin County, Florida) or directly exposed (n = 23, Baldwin County, Alabama) to coastal oil. We also compared findings for participants who reported income stability (n = 47) versus spill-related income loss (n = 47).ResultsWe found no significant differences between community groups in terms of psychological distress, adjustment, neurocognition, or environmental worry. Residents of both communities displayed clinically significant depression and anxiety. Relative to those with stable incomes, participants with spill-related income loss had significantly worse scores on tension/anxiety, depression, fatigue, confusion, and total mood disturbance scales; had higher rates of depression; were less resilient; and were more likely to use behavioral disengagement as a coping strategy.ConclusionsCurrent estimates of human health impacts associated with the oil spill may underestimate the psychological impact in Gulf Coast communities that did not experience direct exposure to oil. Income loss after the spill may have a greater psychological health impact than the presence of oil on the immediately adjacent shoreline.
Erosion can damage the site and pollute waterways with sediment. The need for mechanical stabilization can be reduced through careful site gradings that divert or slow the velocity of runoff and by avoiding disturbances to stable, natural streambanks. This chapter addresses site lighting as a component of site electrical utilities. Architects can use several on‐site measures to control runoff in development projects. Ditches are typically excavated along the upslope portion of the site or around the perimeter, to intercept water before it reaches the site. Through the process of grading and earthwork, the designer adapts a building program from a two‐dimensional drawing board to the dynamics of an actual site. The chapter concentrates on access and safety design issues. There are differences in the design requirements between local, state, and federal accessibility and safety regulations. Identifying and determining the relevant regulations for a project requires research and discussion with the project client.
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