UD researchers develop nation’s first asthma warning system

UD President David Roselle opens the news conference to announce the EPA grant. Seated, from left, are U.S. Rep. Michael Castle, EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman and Laurence Kalkstein, UD professor of geography who is leading the project.

The nation’s first asthma warning system is being developed by a University of Delaware research team, through a $39,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. The UD research team is led by Laurence S. Kalkstein, professor of geography.

EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman announces the new asthma warning system, as Don Welsh (left), administrator of EPA Region III, and U.S. Rep. Michael Castle look on.

EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey, announced the grant at a news conference, held Thursday, March 28, in front of Old College on the Newark campus.

Those participating in the new conference were U.S. Rep. Michael Castle (R-Del.), Don Welsh, Region III EPA Administrator; Kalkstein; and UD President David P. Roselle.

The asthma warning system will begin operation this fall in Philadelphia, tracking weather and air quality conditions that can have a negative impact on the health of asthmatics in the city.

Kalkstein, who is associate director of the University’s Center for Climatic Research, said the system will provide advance notice that conditions are in place to aggravate asthma.

The city will then issue warnings so that people suffering from asthma can make preparations, arranging, for example, to remain indoors and to secure the proper medications.

U.S. Rep. Michael Castle

“The city of Philadelphia and the University of Delaware are doing great work to help the many people who suffer from asthma,” Whitman said, noting that asthma is “a critical problem” facing many Americans, especially children.

Asthma affects 5 million children and, because it is a leading cause of school absences, it is affecting their education as well as their health, she said.

“We don’t know what causes asthma, but we know what triggers it,” Whitman said. “By developing an early warning system for asthma–the first of its kind in the nation–you will help us prevent attacks and reduce trips to the hospital.”

That, in turn, will provide “enormous help to communities and to families,” she said.

Welsh said that in EPA Region III, which has headquarters in Philadelphia, children’s health has been identified as a priority. He said asthma is a growing problem and that in the last 20 years, the incidence has doubled. Today, one in 13 school children suffers from asthma.

“That’s why this joint effort between the University and the city of Philadelphia is so important,” Welsh said.

According to Castle, “The awarding of this grant to the University of Delaware shows what a fine institution of higher learning it truly has become.”

UD Prof. Laurence Kalkstein

Kalkstein thanked the EPA for “this generous grant” on behalf of the Center for Climatic Research, the Department of Geography and his research team. “This funding will augment our ability to develop systems that can forecast environmental conditions leading to debilitating health situations within the general population,” he said.

Kalkstein said EPA funding has already helped UD develop heat warning systems across the nation and internationally, adding of the asthma warning system grant, “We look forward to a successful collaboration with EPA and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.”

Kalkstein said he began working on the relationship between weather and asthma based on studies undertaken by one of his graduate students, Paul Jamason, who is currently working as a climate researcher at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego.

It is important research, he said, because “the number of asthma cases is increasing steadily, especially among the young.”

The fall launch will coincide with an autumn peak in asthma brought on by the first cold weather, he added.

March 28, 2002