Chicago 'CHEERS' water-quality study
News stories about lakes and other bodies
of water being unsafe for swimming are
familiar fare. The process is straightforward:
when established levels of pollutants deemed
dangerous are reached, swimming is prohibited.
But what about boaters and fishermen?
Logically it's not as dangerous to paddle around
on polluted water, but there are no standards or
thresholds of danger for anyone but swimmers.
This situation will change, thanks to a study
UIC School of Public Health researchers have
begun. "CHEERS," the Chicago Health,
Environmental Exposure and Recreation
Study, is a $3.75 million contract from the
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of
Greater Chicago.
"The idea is to come up with a water-quality
standard for the waterways," said project leader
Dr. Samuel Dorevitch, research assistant
professor of environmental and occupational
health sciences. Dorevitch has both an M.D.
and a master's degree in public health and
so brings both medical and environmental
expertise to the project. "In order to establish a
water-quality standard, there has to be a scientific
standard . for people doing secondary activities
on Chicago-area waterways, in other words,
activities other than swimming," he said.
Over 18 months, CHEERS is surveying 9,000
boaters and anglers using the Chicago and
Calumet river systems and then following up and
determining their subsequent rates of intestinal,
skin, eye, respiratory and ear infections
or symptoms. A nurse or doctor may visit
participants for more in-depth information.
"I think everyone wants to see local water quality
get better, and the public will benefit from a
better understanding of how recreational water
quality affects health," Dorevitch said. "That's
something this project will address."
People will also know not only when it's safe to
go in the water but also when it's OK to go on
the water.
Reporting: Sherri McGinnis Gonzalez, UIC News Bureau
