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Mayor Bill White Names Task Force
to Improve
Houston’s Air Quality
Houston Mayor Bill White has appointed a Task Force on Reducing Air Quality Health Risks, consisting of public health and medical experts from some of the region's most prestigious research and medical institutions.
UT Health Science Center at Houston President James T. Willerson, M.D., left, and Mayor Bill White announce the formation of a Task Force on Reducing Air Quality Health Risks. Photos by Nancy Hudgins
Ken Sexton, Sc.D., professor of environmental sciences, UT School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus, chairs the task force.
The panel's main goal is to assess risk from air toxics, chemicals linked to cancer and other serious health effects, and to report to the Mayor and Houstonians as soon as possible.
White was joined in making the announcement April 23 by James T. Willerson, M.D., president of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and president-elect of the Texas Heart Institute at St . Luke's Episcopal Hospital. Willerson helped form the Task Force.
"I didn't think three seconds about joining this effort when the Mayor asked me, because it's so critical to our overall health," Willerson said. "As both a Texan and a doctor, I wish we'd tackled the health risks of our air quality problems before now."
The scientific panel of eight experts from area institutions will look at the three major types of air pollution: ozone, particulate matter and toxics. Operational funding comes from a philanthropic source.
"Our region is blessed with great scientists, and we need their advice on health risks of pollution, so we have a road map to reduce those risks," said White, who promised earlier this year in his State of the City speech to take stronger actions to fight air pollution. "We're going to take on this problem and this is exactly the kind of expertise to help us draw up our battle plans."
Members of the Task Force are:
Task Force Chair Ken Sexton, Sc.D., professor of environmental sciences, UT School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus.
Task Force Coordinator and Staff Director Stephen H. Linder, Ph.D., interim director of the Institute for Health Policy and associate professor in three divisions, UT School of Public Health at Houston - Management, Policy and Community Health; Health Promotion and Behavioral Science; and Environmental and Occupational Health.
Thomas H. Stock, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental sciences, School of Public Health.
George Delclos, M.D., director of the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health and director of Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health.
Melissa L. Bondy, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology, and director of the Center for Childhood Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Jonathan Ward Jr., Ph.D., professor and director of the Division of Environmental Toxicology in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, as well as deputy director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Toxicology Center, UT Medical Branch at Galveston.
Stuart L. Abramson, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and immunology, Baylor College of Medicine; associate director for clinical research and health professional education at the Children's Asthma Center, Texas Children's Hospital; and director of the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Clinic, Ben Taub General Hospital.
Matthew P. Frasier, Ph.D., associate professor of engineering in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Rice University.