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By Scott G. Knowles: As part of the STL Anthropocene Field Campus the research team visited the Wood Refinery Refinery History Museum on March 9, 2019. This museum is located on the grounds of the Wood River Refinery, a Shell Oil refinery built in 1917 and today owned by Phillips 66. The site is Roxana, Illinois, just upriver from Granite City, and just over two miles from the convergence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Sitting on the actual grounds of the refinery, the museum is an invitation to think across the micro, meso, and macro scales of the Quotidian Anthropocene, in terms of geography and also in terms of time. This refinery was built at the crux of the WWI, at a time when United States petrochemical production was entering an intensive phase of production, invention, corporate structuring, and global engagement. The museum is an invitation to think across temporal scales, backwards to the start of the refinery--through the individual lives of the workers and engineers whose lives defined the refinery--and forward to indeterminate points of future memory. This photo captures a key moment in an informal interview we did with one of the history guides. He had worked in the museum for decades before retiring. He explained to us that the museum sits in the former research facility of the refinery--and the glass plat he is showing reveals a beautiful artifact, a photograph made of the complex when it was built. Our guide only showed us this collection of slides after our conversation had advanced, perhaps after he was sure we were truly interested in his story, and the deeper history of the refinery. The pride in the place, the community of workers, and the teaching ability of the museum was manifest. The research team felt impressed, but also concerned about the health impacts (and naturally the environmental impacts as well) of the refinery. There was a mismatch in the scales--the memory of the individual tied to emotions of pride and knowledge of hard work done there--and the Anthropocene, global scale of petrochemicals. How do we resolve this mismatch? The glass plate is somehow a clue.

Many studies used as references for this article have to do with the biosocial aspects of diseases. Many of the articles trace the spread of disease in different populations and analyze the population's demographics.  Health care utilization and social aspects are all themes that are seen in most of the references in this study. There are also many epidemiological studies. The dates of studies date back as early as the 80s and as recent as the year the article was written in 2006. This shows an extensive and thorough amount of research. The articles are also taken from reputable sources and journals and written by experts as well, showing a great deal of care and effort gone into research aspects of this article. 

Looking at the references, it is very clear that an extensive amount of work and research went into writing this article. Many of the references are from reputable books on sexual violence and gender based violence and its role in society. Many research articles and studies on gender persecution are cited, as well as works written by other experts in the field on human rights, women rights and sexuality and violence of women are cited. The citations also cover a broad range of time showing depth and span of the information that was used to produce this article. 

Emergency response was completely lacking in man power and containment efforts. There wasn't much structure to the efforts taken by emergency response in terms of containment and education of the public. There were far too many of those in need and way too few emergency response teams. Hospitals closed due to lack of personnel as well as doctors getting infected themselves. People were dying left and right and being left on the side of the street. Responders weren't able to get to people in time in some cases. Locals began to take out aggressions and frustrations on emergency responders, despite them working at full capacity. The lack of man power, communication and education lead to the emergency response being sub par in this situation. 

This article has been cited in one other paper entitled "Documenting Attacks on Health Workers and Facilities in Armed Conflicts" according to Google scholar.

I researched current protocols and strategies in place in terms of biosafety. I also researched current microbial threats in terms of organisms and the ways in which we have currently developed to help prevent those specific forms of bioterrorism. I also read up on past bioterrorism events and the effects it had on global protocols as well as the development of emergency response. 

This health registry relies heavily on collaborations and other organizations. There is actually an entire section of the website dedicated to listing all the organizations that collaborate and work together in order to provide this information for the registry. The registry is a collaborative effort between the US Department of Health and Human Services and NYC. 

There are 3 advisory groups that work with WTC health Registry, they are the Community Advisory Board, the Labor Advisory Board and the Scientific Advisory Board. The following organizations are also listed as organizations that this registry depends on for research, number and data:

Government

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Scientific 

• Albert Einstein College of Medicine
• Boston University – School of Public Health
• City University of New York – Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy
• City University of New York - Hunter College
• City University of New York - Queens College
• Columbia University - Mailman School of Public Health
• Columbia University – Medical Center
• Columbia University - New York Psychiatric Institute
• Cornell University
• Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) - Bureau of Health Services
• Fordham University
• HHC WTC Environmental Health Center at Bellevue Hospital Center
• Hospital for Special Surgery
• Johns Hopkins University - Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Mount Sinai Medical Center
• New School University
• New York City Police Department - Chief Surgeon's Office
• NYU Medical Center
• New York State Department of Health
• Rutgers University
• San Francisco State University
• State University of New York – Albany – School of Public Health
• State University of New York - Stonybrook
• State University of New York -Stonybrook University Medical Center
• University of California – San Francisco – School of Medicine
• University of Greenwich (United Kingdom)
• Weill Cornell Medicine

The main point of this article was to display the inner workings of Rikers and what it is like within the walls. Factors such as weather conditions, solitary and its effects on mental and physical health, mistreatment, pollution and other environmental aspects, internal dangers and abuse are some of the things discussed and revealed within this article. These overall main points are supported through facts and figures, as well as first hand testimony from those that have spent time at Rikers, recounting their stay there and the conditions in which they lived in. 

The article utilizes first hand testimony from those living in new Orleans that lived through the disaster and were evacuated, documenting their hardships faced. The article also cited different government agencies as well as different papers and organizations for statistics on post disaster government funding, emergency response and preparedness.

"Health care service delivery may be challenging in the post-disaster environment and often requires coordination and cooperation among levels of government, health services programs, schools, media, and community organizations  "

"The first challenge lies in identifying the correct sampling frame, which generally comprises all persons affected by the disaster. The sampling frame may be even more difficult to identify in natural disasters, when the geographic area of impact is larger and less defined."

"The second challenge lies in finding potential participants and completing interviews. Widespread displacement and communication breakdown may make it difficult to reach per- sons who have experienced the disaster, and if they can be reached, they may be consumed with recovery efforts and may not agree to participate in research .  "

"Psychological first aid (PFA) has become the preferred post-disaster intervention, with three goals: Secure survivors’ safety and basic necessities (e.g., food, medical supplies, shelter), which promotes adaptive coping and problem solving; reduce acute stress by addressing post-disaster stressors and providing strategies that may limit stress reactions; and help victims obtain additional resources that may help them cope and regain feelings of control.  "