Policy brief health issue: Summary, Effect, & Proposed Solution

Policy Brief Health Issue: Summary, Effect, & Proposed Solution
Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Policy Brief Health Issue: Summary, Effect, & Proposed Solution
Introduction
In recent years, different individuals and populations in the United States (U.S.) face varying challenges of healthcare in their given environment. As such, it is necessary to develop policies that will help people overcome their various healthcare challenges in a particular environment. Notably, the American Public Health Association has identified environmental health as a component of U.S. public health. Environmental health focuses on how the relationship between human beings and their environment affects their health well-being. In the U.S., there are various environmental factors such as air, water, soil, and food that impact Americans' health in particular areas. This paper will discuss air pollution from oil and gas activities in Texas and its environments and the health impacts on the residents.
Population Affected
Air pollution from the oil and gas industries is a huge health problem for Texas and its surroundings. Hazardous air pollutants or HAPs have become a significant problem in most cities across the U.S. In Texas, harmful air pollution caused by oil and gas-related activities results in the formation of smog or ozone. In the U.S., smog has resulted in more than 23 million people have asthma, with 6.1 million being children (Franklin et al., 2019). According to Franklin et al. (2019), about 400,000 of these children live in Texas. Each year, the continued increase in ozone smog levels, especially during warm summer months, led to nearly 750,000 asthma attacks among children. More so, the problem results in 500,000 missed school days and about 2000 asthma-related hospital visits. As a result, this problem affects all populations, with children being the worst hit (Franklin et al., 2019). Apart from asthma, the smog also leads to other health problems such as reduced lung function, coughing, sneezing, and inflammation problems (Franklin et al., 2019). In this sense, the continued air pollution due to oil and gas activities is a health threat to adults and children in the U.S., especially in Texas, where air pollution is highly prevalent.
State Level Issue
Air pollution and toxins are a huge health concern in the state of Texas. In the U.S, the oil and gas industry emits millions of tons of air pollutants annually (Hollingsworth, Konisky & Zirogiannis, 2019). These toxic pollutants are causing hazards that have resulted in worsened health conditions in different parts of the U.S. In essence, more than one-third of the U.S. oil and gas wells, compressor stations, and gas processing facility plants are located in Texas (Zirogiannis, Hollingsworth & Konisky, 2018). As a result, Texas is a state where its residents have to bear high health risks resulting from air pollution caused by oil and gas activities. In 2017, a report by the Environmental Integrity Project indicated that more than 275 companies in Texas emitted about 63 million pounds of h...