HISTORY OF THE CHE INSTITUTE:
Asthma Reduction Campaign

El Puente's Asthma Environmental Justice Research was conducted in collaboration with New York University School of Medicine and Woodhull Hospital and the North Brooklyn Asthma and Environment Consortium.  This was a national research investigation looking at harmful exposures that exacerbate asthma within the homes of local asthmatic families. This research was designed to be applied to understanding preventative measures that could impact the reduction of the very high asthma prevalence in North Brooklyn. El Puente worked extensively with Community Information and Epidemiological Technologies (CIET) to document the asthma prevalence rate in the Southside or Williamsburg and Bushwick. For detailed information on our survey findings and publications, check out the CIET web site.

NBAEC Asthma Study (1995-2003)

Is Williamsburg and Bushwick making people sicker with its terrible air quality (60 times worse than any part of the USA) due to the BQE and Williamsburg Bridge traffic, Brooklyn's largest bus terminal, waste transfer stations, lack of green space, toxic ecological footprints left over from the industrial past, not to mention the 17 million gallon oil spill creeping into the basements of the trendiest of salons, spas, and lofts, and apartments, moldy apartments, truck traffic on your street.

Since we all spend up to 75%- 90% of our time indoors and several asthmatic triggers are found within our apartments El Puente felt it was time to look at the indoor environment because a large amount of the outdoor contaminants were found to eventually make their way inside and usually remain there for a long period of time. This area was of great interest to the people of the North Brooklyn Community and the U.S. government; as the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health) took great interest in the field of environmental justice, community driven research, and the effects of the environment on asthma prevalence in North Brooklyn. Many exposures within the home that have been linked to asthma that many families are unaware of such as: NO2 gas used in most of our stoves, particulate matter (have you ever wondered what that black dust on window sill does to the inside of your lungs over time), invisible mold spores that can be found in bathrooms, behind wet radiators, or under leaky sinks, carbon monoxide, ventilation rates all important factors that can affect your breathing.

The North Brooklyn Asthma & Environment Consortium sought out families to enroll in a new study that will examine the role of the indoor environment on asthma in North Brooklyn. Free air quality tests were given to families with at least one asthmatic (doctor diagnosed), Spanish or English speaking, who lived in either Williamsburg or Bushwick. The NBAEC was a community partnership effort driven by El Puente Community Health & Environment Office, NYU School of Medicine, and Woodhull Medical Center. All of the exposures listed above and more were measured in homes and collected via survey and assessments by experienced bilingual research personnel from El Puente and the NBAEC. Small incentives were given to participants in the 3-phase study.