Children Exposure-Related Behavior Patterns and Risk Perception Associated with Recreational Beach Use

Alesia Ferguson, Courtney Del Donno, Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi, Kristina Mena, Tanu Kaur Altomare, Rosalía Guerrero, Maribeth Gidley, Larissa Montas and Helena M. Solo-Gabriele
Additional contact information
Alesia Ferguson: Built Environment, North Carolina A&T, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
Courtney Del Donno: Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72111, USA
Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi: Built Environment, North Carolina A&T, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
Kristina Mena: School of Public Health, University of Texas, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
Tanu Kaur Altomare: School of Public Health, University of Texas, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
Rosalía Guerrero: School of Public Health, University of Texas, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Maribeth Gidley: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Miami, FL 33149, USA
Larissa Montas: Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
Helena M. Solo-Gabriele: Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-19

Abstract: Background: Oil spill chemicals (OSCs) result not only from the crude oil components but also from dispersants used in the clean-up activities, where some may result in adverse health effects under certain exposure and dosage conditions. One of the main populations of concern for exposure to OSCs are children, who are frequent beach users. Activities such as ingestion of and digging in sand can increase dermal and ingestion exposure. Longer times spent at the beach can also increase exposures for all routes. Objectives: The Beach Exposure and Child Health Study (BEaCHeS) was initiated to evaluate the risk of exposure to children from oil contaminants. Reported here are results for surveys collected, as a part of the project, to address exposure-related behavior patterns and risk perception for parents or guardians who visit the beach. Methods: Over 400 parental surveys were collected at four beaches, two in Miami and two in Texas, to evaluate children’s exposure related activities. Surveys consisted of three general sections: demographics, exposure, and risk perception. Surveys were analyzed in REDcap and Stata to evaluate demographic and regional differences on activities related to beach behavior and potential exposures to oil contaminants (e.g., how much time spent on beach, cleaning habits following beach activities). The statistical analysis included the mean and standard errors, along with regressions to evaluate associations between parameters. Results: Overall, the data showed high variability in how children play on the beach, influenced more by age and less by gender. Variations were also seen in certain variables by beach region (e.g., hygiene practices). By race, variations were seen in income, distance of travel to beach, and preferred method of communication for beach warning. Other important findings are reflected in the article. Discussion: The data presented here may prove useful for those evaluating children exposures to a variety of contaminants, chemical, or bacterial in origin. In addition, coastal managers may find the risk perception and general behaviors useful for planning and maintenance of beach areas.

Keywords: beach surveys; oil spill chemicals; children exposure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/15/2783/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/15/2783/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:15:p:2783-:d:254566

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().