Search

I'm interested in better understanding the ongoing geological processes that shape St. Louis and the Mississippi Valley region. So far, I've been looking into the history of seismicity in the region, focusing on the fascinating but little known history of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 -- the most devastating earthquakes to have hit the US east of the Rockies. I've also been exploring how St. Louis and surrounding areas are dealing with the possibility of another earthquake occurring in the future. According to one article I read, one of the biggest uncertainties is what would happen to the heavily engineered Mississippi River in the case of another major tremblor. The shaking could break the levees, flooding wide areas along the river and creating cascading effects. The flow of the river might also reverse completely, as occurred during the New Madrid earthquakes.

On these possibilities and the lack of scientific consensus surrounding intraplate seismicity in this zone, see this article in The Atlantic.

On current efforts to create earthquake hazard maps in St. Louis, see this overview on the US Geological Survey site.

For a deeper dive into the history of the New Madrid earthquakes, see this book by historian of science Conevery Bolton Valencius. 

The film points out that there is a clear need for more public health infrastructure. Procedures to combat outbreak should be enacted but also increasing the education of the masses on disease spread and how to act preventatively, as well as effectively. 

The methods utilized in this paper are not necessarily new or inventive, yet this doesn't detract from its effectiveness. The data used for this study was collected from surveys of 1,569 people and the data was then analyzed using statistical methods of logistic regression.

There was very detailed recounting of investigations of three historical cases. The similarities between those cases and the World Trade Center investigations were then compared. Methods used include data collection, analysis and comparison. The author utilizes expert testimony and cites documents and the media often as well.

The author, Didier Fassin is an anthropologist and sociologist who works overseas in Sengal, Ecuador, South Africa, and France. He is a physician and has a background in public health and global health as well. He is a professor of social science at the Institute for advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He has focused on the AIDS epidemic as well as humanitarian efforts.  

https://www.ias.edu/scholars/fassin

https://www.sss.ias.edu/faculty/fassin

On the website, it mentions that the program was started and located in Tulane due to actions that occurred post- Katrina in New Orleans. The program began due to "failures in disaster leadership" after Katrina. Tulane University was chosen due to the fact that it has exemplified such resiliency and leadership after Hurricane Katrina and portrays and provides an excellent setting for a program such as this. 

This policy was established in 1965 and set down protocols for the Medicaid program. The medicaid program provides funding for medical and health related services to people who have a limited income. This policy specifically denotes what defines an institution, determining whether or not an institution is IMD and other aspect such as ages, costs and the definition of IMD are also set forth. Ultimately proving to set parameters and expectancies to those people and institutions that find themselves operating within this policy or referencing it. 

I read up on what constitutes people who can classify as peri-disaster personnel, I found the concept interesting and didn't realize there was a specific name to classify those people, I always wondered about the people who were indirectly effected by a disaster or partially effected due to proximity. I also researched comorbidity and common forms of mental illness that arise in post disaster survivors. 

The report shows that there are obvious measures of fallout and exposure due to the disaster. The numbers show a clear effect of the disaster on the environment, animals and humans surrounding the area. Due to this, this puts technical professionals in a position in where they must take obvious precautions, and proceed with this data ethically and attempt to combat it and increase the preservation of the environment as well as areas and people surrounding the area of disaster. Professionals now must with this data and these findings apply their degrees and background to help improve the conditions ad fallout. They now have a duty in their respective fields to work with these findings and use them to better the situation to the best of their abilities. 

Technical professionals can use this data to perhaps launch other studies to analyze the true effects of the disaster in Japan on thyroid cancer rates in adjacent areas. This study and data finings from this can be used to show the need for further studies on the matter in order to determine the correlation between cancer rates and the disaster. The study overall shows that there were high screening rates for thyroid cancer after the disaster, yet attributes it to the possibility of over diagnosis. This study can open the doors for numerous more studies on this matter. This study can also be used down the road as a reference for anyone who wishes to study the degree of fallout and cancer rates caused by a nuclear disaster. Methods used in this study can be modeled down the road for other disasters, with adjustments accounting for the possibility of over diagnosis.