Community Environmental Health Surveys

Florida International University
Miami, Florida

Instructor(s): Munroe, Norman
Subject area: Health / Medicine
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Level: Undergraduate
Learning objective: Develop Individual Skills, Provide Real-World Experience
Teaching style: Active Learning

Please note that the copyright for this course project is retained by the instructor.



Assisted by his students, local public school students, and their families, Dr. Munroe conducted community environmental health surveys. The study, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Environmental Equity Grants Program, assessed the local population's exposure to lead and other pollutants. The project involved the distribution of an "Enviro-Link" survey to elementary and middle schools and low income communities in the northern Dade County area. Students attending the selected schools were given the questionnaires to take home and fill out with the help of their family. In addition to completing the questionnaire, students were instructed to obtain samples from one of various locations around their residences and from various distances from the entrance and exit of the building.

Recognizing that human health, equity and environmental issues intersect, often to the detriment of marginalized populations, Dr. Munroe "anticipated that teachers, students, and parents would become more aware of environmental issues that actually effect their lives." Furthermore, he "envisaged that this project would be instrumental in increasing the number of minorities participating in all phases of environmental education and management." The issue of lead poisoning demonstrated clearly the interrelationships between health, equity and environment. Dr. Munroe reveals the importance of exploring such relationships when he asks us to consider that, "[p]oor, minority children in the inner cities, who are often already at a disadvantage by inadequate nutrition and other factors, are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning."


This document was last modified on 06/14/2000 03:07:51 PM



This resource was acquired by CEEM (Consortium for Environmental Education in Medicine), a program of Second Nature, under the auspices of a NIEHS grant to gather and disseminate environmental health educational resources over the internet in order to help medical and allied health sciences faculty identify, locate and use resources for incorporating environment and health perspectives into their curricula. CEEM has authorized the use of these materials on this website for archival purposes. Please note that the copyright for this material is retained by the instructor and/or contributing institution.