South Region Health Concerns
ATSDR Exposures Survey (ACE)
Page originally published 10/18/2024. Last updated 11/25/2024.
From October 21 - November 22, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the County of San Diego conducted an online survey related to sewage and pollution in the Tijuana River Valley. This survey, called an Assessment for Chemical Exposures, or ACE, was another opportunity for people affected to share their experiences and help public health and emergency response leaders better understand the health status and needs in the South Region of San Diego County.
On this page:
What is an ACE?
The Assessment of Chemical Exposure (ACE) is an online survey carried out by the federal ATSDR. It is a way for local and state public health and disaster response agencies to quickly assess how many people were exposed to hazardous agents (chemical, radiological, nuclear, biological or other hazardous agent), and if they are experiencing symptoms or have any immediate needs.
An ACE may be requested when:
- A toxic substance was released at levels that may cause acute human health effects.
- People are exposed and experienced acute health effects.
How is an ACE Done?
An ACE asks people who may have been exposed detailed information on:
- exposure history,
- symptoms experienced,
- who was exposed,
- health services used,
- needs resulting from the exposure,
- medical history,
- how people received information about the release, and
- health impacts on pets.
What Will the Data be Used For?
Results from ACE help public health and emergency response
leaders:
- assess impact of the release on individuals as well as the community,
- direct the public health response,
- target outreach to prevent similar incidents,
- assess the need to modify emergency response procedures, and
- identify a group of exposed people that may need to be followed-for long-term effects.
How is This Different from the CASPER Survey?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) worked with the County to conduct a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response, or CASPER. This was done by:
- Using a two-stage sampling method designed to pick a representative number of households to interview in a certain block (cluster).
- Interviewing the randomly selected household face-to-face.
- Asking about the household’s health concerns, experiences, and impacts from sewage and pollution in the Tijuana River Valley.
The ACE was done using an online survey that any eligible
individual can take. Both the CASPER and ACE are assessments
and key to identifying community health concerns and prioritizing
solutions.
When Will Results of the Survey be Published?
While the data being collected belongs to San Diego County, we are working with ATSDR for data analysis and future publication. ATSDR will share early results back to the County.
County News Center:
- County Hears from More than 2,100 People on Impacts of Tijuana River Valley Sewage (November 25, 2024)
- County Hears from Nearly 2,000 People on Impacts of Tijuana River Valley Pollution (November 15, 2024)
- Tijuana River Valley Pollution Survey Completion Rate Passes 1,000 Mark (November 4, 2024)
- A Second Federal Tijuana River Valley Health Survey Starts Today (October 21, 2024)
- County Expands its Health-Focused Response to Tijuana River Valley Sewage Crisis (September 5, 2024)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
For more information, send an e-mail to the Epidemiology Unit.
