| Course | MPH 506 Environmental Health in Public Health |
|---|---|
| Week | 8 |
| Paper type | Policy brief (memo) |
| Length | About 840 words, 4 pages |
| Format | Memo with APA 7 citations |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Public Health (MPH) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MPH 506 Week 8
Memorandum
To: Brennan County Board of Supervisors
From: MPH student, Environmental Health Division, Brennan County Health Department
Date: May 4, 2027
Re: Policy brief: Move the Harmon Field run-up area and offer unleaded fuel by October 2027
Recommendation
The board should direct the airport manager to take two steps by October 1, 2027: relocate the primary run-up area for Runway 27 from its current position, about 300 meters from Eastgate homes, to a new pad on the airfield's south side at least 700 meters from any residence; and add an unleaded 100-octane aviation fuel to the county-owned fuel farm, priced at parity with leaded fuel for its first two years. Both steps fall within the county's authority as owner and operator of the airfield, and neither restricts which aircraft may use it.
The Problem in Brief
Piston-engine aircraft burning leaded aviation fuel now account for most of the airborne lead released nationwide (Gilbertson et al., 2023), and EPA found in 2023 that these emissions endanger public health (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2023). At Harmon Field, the highest exposures arise where planes run their engines at full power before takeoff. County sampling found that yards near that spot hold more than twice the soil lead of yards farther away, and the air monitor at the fence recorded lead well above typical background. Eastgate, next to the fence, has about 240 children under six. Studies at other airports found that children's blood lead rose with closeness to the runway and with piston traffic (Miranda et al., 2011; Zahran et al., 2023). There is no safe blood lead level for children (Ruckart et al., 2021).
Authority and Instrument
The county owns Harmon Field and decides where on the field aircraft may perform engine run-ups, which is an operational rule set by the airport manager under the county's airport rules and regulations. Moving the run-up area requires a new pad, signage and a change to the airport's published procedures, but no federal approval beyond the normal review of airfield construction funded with federal grants.
Adding unleaded fuel is also within county authority, because the county runs the fuel farm. An FAA-approved unleaded 100-octane fuel is now on the market for most of the piston fleet. This brief does not recommend banning leaded fuel. Santa Clara County did so at Reid-Hillview Airport in 2022, and federal aviation officials responded with an investigation into whether the ban was consistent with the county's federal grant obligations (Cabrera, 2022). Offering an alternative, rather than removing the current fuel, avoids that conflict while still reducing lead emitted on the field.
Neither step needs new local legislation. The board acts as owner, through direction to staff, and the airport commission reviews the run-up relocation as a change to the airfield layout.
Cost of Doing Nothing
If the county does nothing, lead will keep settling in Eastgate soil, where it does not break down, so each year adds to a deposit that later remediation would have to remove. Children who grow up next to the fence will continue to absorb small amounts, and because losses in cognitive development are permanent, the cost falls on them for life. The county also bears legal and political risk as the owner of a source it knew about: the endangerment finding and the county's own data make it hard to argue the problem is unknown. Against these, the run-up pad is a modest one-time construction cost, and price parity for unleaded fuel is a two-year subsidy whose size depends on demand.
Table 1
Options for Reducing Lead Exposure From Harmon Field
| Option | Exposure reduction for Eastgate | County cost | Federal conflict risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do nothing | None; soil lead keeps rising | None now; remediation later | None |
| Relocate run-up area | Large near the fence, where exposure is highest | One-time pad construction | Low |
| Offer unleaded fuel at parity | Grows as pilots switch | Two-year price subsidy | Low |
| Ban leaded fuel sales | Largest, if pilots do not fuel elsewhere | Lost fuel revenue | High |
Note. Note. Qualitative comparison prepared for this brief.
Equity
Eastgate's residents did not choose to live next to the run-up pad. The neighborhood was built for wartime workers on land made cheap by the airfield, and it now carries several environmental burdens at once, from old housing to a truck route. Its households have lower incomes than the county as a whole, and fewer than half of its young children had a blood lead test last year. The same exposure does more harm where burdens stack, which is why this step should come first here (Morello-Frosch et al., 2011).
The Request, Restated
Direct the airport manager to relocate the Runway 27 run-up area at least 700 meters from homes and to offer unleaded 100-octane fuel at price parity for two years, both by October 1, 2027, with a report to the board on fuel sales and air monitoring results in April 2028. Questions may be directed to the Environmental Health Division, Brennan County Health Department, which can provide the full sampling data and exposure assessment.
References
Cabrera, Y. (2022, February 15). A California county moves to protect children from lead poisoning, but some aren't ready for the solution. Grist. https://grist.org/transportation/california-county-bans-toxic-aviation-fuel-at-its-airports/
Gilbertson, R., Friedman, E., Nguyen, V. T., Stahl, S., & Ireland, R. (2023). The role of physician advocacy in supporting policy change that reduces leaded aviation gasoline emissions. Journal of Community Health, 48(3), 446-449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-023-01186-9
Miranda, M. L., Anthopolos, R., & Hastings, D. (2011). A geospatial analysis of the effects of aviation gasoline on childhood blood lead levels. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119(10), 1513-1516. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003231
Morello-Frosch, R., Zuk, M., Jerrett, M., Shamasunder, B., & Kyle, A. D. (2011). Understanding the cumulative impacts of inequalities in environmental health: Implications for policy. Health Affairs, 30(5), 879-887. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0153
Ruckart, P. Z., Jones, R. L., Courtney, J. G., LeBlanc, T. T., Jackson, W., Karwowski, M. P., Cheng, P.-Y., Allwood, P., Svendsen, E. R., & Breysse, P. N. (2021). Update of the blood lead reference value: United States, 2021. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 70(43), 1509-1512. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7043a4
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2023). Finding that lead emissions from aircraft engines that operate on leaded fuel cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health and welfare (Final rule, 88 FR 72372). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/10/20/2023-23247/finding-that-lead-emissions-from-aircraft-engines-that-operate-on-leaded-fuel-cause-or-contribute-to
Zahran, S., Keyes, C., & Lanphear, B. (2023). Leaded aviation gasoline exposure risk and child blood lead levels. PNAS Nexus, 2(1), Article pgac285. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac285
The Chamberlain MPH 506 Week 8 instructions
The final week asks you to write a policy brief that turns your environmental analysis into a specific recommendation. Put the recommendation first, specific enough to be drafted or ordered. Compress the hazard, population and pathway into a short evidence section. Identify the level of government with authority and the instrument it would use, such as a permit condition, a monitoring rule or an operational change. Explain the cost of doing nothing. Address equity where it applies. Compare options briefly if that helps the decision. End by restating the request with a contact and, where useful, a date for reporting back. Keep the brief short, and cite the sources behind each claim.
Inside the MPH 506 Week 8 example
The brief is a memo to a composite county board of supervisors. Its first paragraph asks for two steps by October 2027: a new run-up pad at least 700 meters from homes and unleaded 100-octane fuel at price parity for two years. The evidence paragraph compresses national emissions, the federal finding, county soil and air results and two airport studies. The authority section explains that run-up location and the fuel farm are county decisions, and why a ban is not recommended after the federal response at Reid-Hillview. A table compares four options by exposure reduction, cost and conflict risk. An equity paragraph and a restated request with an April 2028 report close the memo.
MPH 506 Week 8 rubric: what full points look like
The heaviest loss in a policy brief is a technical report submitted under a brief's name, with the full pathway and risk analysis first and the recommendation on the second page. A second is misplaced authority, asking a body for something it cannot do, such as a federal standard from a county. Recommendations too vague to draft, such as reduce exposure, also cost points. Leaving out the cost of inaction weakens the case. Strong briefs lead with a specific recommendation, compress the evidence, name the authority and instrument, weigh doing nothing, address equity where it applies and restate the request with a contact and a date.
Common MPH 506 Week 8 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Policy briefs ask you to cut most of the work you have done, which many students find painful. If you share your analysis and the change you want, we can help you decide which body holds the authority, which instrument fits and how to compress the evidence into a paragraph or two. Two sections students often skip, the cost of doing nothing and a short options table, are ones we can help you build. The recommendation and its reasoning remain yours. If your instructor caps the brief at a single page, tell us and the custom sample will hold to that length. We can also check whether the body you are addressing really has the power to grant your request, which is the point graders test most often.
Get a MPH-506 Week 8 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 8 instructions with the format your section requires and your earlier analysis, and a custom example is built to that specification and returned inside 24 to 48 hours. The first one is free. Which change you press for stays yours to choose.
More MPH 506 papers and MPH samples
- MPH 506 Week 1: Located Hazard Post
- MPH 506 Week 2: Environmental Hazard Analysis
- MPH 506 Week 3: Exposure Pathway Analysis
- MPH 506 Week 4: Risk Assessment Write-Up
- MPH 506 Week 5: Case Study Analysis
- MPH 506 Week 6: Community Environmental Assessment
- MPH 506 Week 7: Risk Communication Plan
- MPH 505 Week 8: Campaign Presentation
- MPH 504 Week 8: Course Reflection
- MPH 503 Week 8: Advocacy Campaign Plan
- MPH 500 Week 8: Synthesis Presentation
MPH 506 Week 8 questions, answered
How do I work out which level of government to address?
From the instrument that would have to change. Ambient standards and major permitting usually sit federally or at state level, while zoning, siting, building standards and local nuisance powers sit locally. Checking whether the state has preempted local action is the step most briefs skip, and it is the one that decides whether the ask is even legal.
How much of my technical work should the brief carry?
A fraction. The pathway compressed to a sentence or two, one exposure figure and one health figure will usually carry more weight with a decision maker than pages of characterization. Everything else belongs in references or an appendix, and the discipline of cutting it is what the assignment is assessing.
Is cost really necessary?
Address it, since no office weighs a request without asking what it would take, and give the cost of inaction alongside the cost of acting. Environmental interventions frequently look expensive until continued exposure is priced, which is why briefs that give only the implementation figure tend to make their own case harder than it needs to be.
Where can I find a free MPH 506 Week 8 sample paper?
This page holds the full MPH 506 Week 8 policy brief asking a county board to move an airfield run-up area and add unleaded fuel.
Why does the MPH 506 Week 8 sample not recommend a leaded fuel ban?
Because a ban at Reid-Hillview drew a federal investigation over grant obligations, while moving the run-up area and offering unleaded fuel are clearly within county authority.