Environmental Health Sciences student to assess disease risk at Ohio's beaches

Jason W. Marion, a PhD student majoring in Environmental Health Sciences and with a minor in Epidemiology, received a $343,000 grant from the Ohio Water Development Authority to study water quality and assess the risk for infectious diseases at Ohio's inland beaches.

Marion will work on the study from January 2009 through December 2010 with Principal Investigator Timothy Buckley, associate professor and chair of the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, and co-investigators Jiyoung Lee and Song Liang, assistant professors in Environmental Health. Buckley also is Marion's academic advisor.

Ohio's inland lakes contain more than 63,000 acres of water and more than 36,000 feet of beach land. Ohio State Parks estimate that 2 million people visit Ohio's inland beaches each year. Marion, who worked for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for 10 years, says Ohio's lakes are vulnerable to contamination from agricultural runoff and sewage overflow, which makes them a public health threat.

"I am concerned when I see thousands using our lakes at times when data is not available and disease risk may be elevated," Marion said. "I think a lot of the knowledge gap regarding our beaches can be addressed by more frequent sampling and mathematical modeling of microbial risk."

The research team proposes a rapid and affordable method of screening Ohio's beaches. They will collect water samples weekly from lakes at seven state parks and measure the amount of bacteria, including E. coli, in each using a formula called the trophic state index. They also will survey beach users before and after exposure to lake water.