As many as 1.5 million people are sickened by bacterial pollution on Southern
California beaches each year, resulting in millions of dollars in public health
care costs, a new study has found.
![A man and his young daughter play in the surf at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, Calif., Wednesday, May 26, 2004. As many as 1.5 million people are sickened by bacterial pollution on Southern California beaches each year, study finds. [AP Photo]](xin_580703201629603242973.jpg)
A man
and his young daughter play in the surf at Doheny State Beach in Dana
Point, Calif., Wednesday, May 26, 2004. As many as 1.5 million people are
sickened by bacterial pollution on Southern California beaches each year,
study finds. [AP Photo] |
The study prepared by researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles
and Stanford University is believed to be the first to examine illnesses at a
large swath of the nation's most popular beaches. Previous studies have linked
health problems to contamination at individual beaches.
"This helps us understand (the) risks and identify beaches where cleanup can
yield the most benefit," said Linwood Pendleton, an environmental economist at
UCLA and an author of the study.
The study, posted Monday on the Web site of the journal Environmental Science
and Technology, covers 100 miles of shoreline in Los Angeles and Orange
counties, which is visited by an estimated 80 million people annually.
The study found that between 627,800 and 1,479,200 "excess" cases of
gastrointestinal illness occur at the beaches each year. That is beyond the
number that would normally be expected.
Gastrointestinal illness is most commonly associated with swimming in
contaminated water and causes such symptoms as stomach cramps, diarrhea and
vomiting. The study did not examine the prevalence of other illnesses associated
with polluted water, including eye, ear and nose infections.
Healthcare costs for illnesses related to beach bacteria range from an
estimated $21 million to $414 million annually, depending on the method of
reporting used, researchers found. Those estimates include direct losses,
including missed work, medical treatment costs and doctor visits.
The study focused on 28 beaches during 2000. Researchers used bacteria
measurements from surf, considered beach attendance estimates and extrapolated
the health effects using two computer models, one favored by the US
Environmental Protection Agency and the other by the World Health Organization.
Pendleton said the wide range in health and costs estimates existed because
one method relies more on precise controls to account for illnesses and
environmental conditions and less on self-reporting.
The study is expected to be published Aug. 15.
