Data source & Background

Data source: CalEnviroScreen (CES) 4.0 dataset calenviroscreen40resultsdatadictionary.xlsx Background: The data for the two visualizations comes from the CalEnviroScreen (CES) 4.0 dataset that the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) oversees. OEHHA first began releasing CalEnviroScreen in 2013, with CalEnviroScreen 4.0 being the most recent version, updated in October 2021. The data set includes communities across California and how they are affected by different types of pollution. The research question this dashboard is guided by is: What is the relationship between traffic volume and asthma rates in Southern California counties and select Central California counties? With many people suffering from asthma, whether from more mild symptoms to more severe symptoms, it is important that the public is knowledgeable about areas where extra precautions may be necessary. Since various types of pollution that come from different sources can impact asthma, it is important to explore different pollution sources to understand how they may be contributing to asthma rates, such as traffic volume.

Average Traffic Volume

Asthma Rate by Select Southern California Counties

Results

The visualizations show that in counties like Los Angeles County and Orange County, which have higher traffic volumes, that the asthma rate is not reflective of that, where Orange County has the lowest rate of asthma and Los Angeles County has the fourth highest asthma rate among the selected counties. With the two more rural counties, Kern County and Imperial County, having the highest asthma rates, but lowest traffic volume, it is likely that traffic volume may not be as pertinent of a contributor to asthma as some may believe.