Assessing the Effects of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill on Human Health A Summary of the June 2010 Workshop (2010) / Chapter Skim
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5 Overview of Health-Monitoring Activities: State and Federal Perspectives
5 Overview of Health-Monitoring Activities: State and Federal Perspectives
Pages 87-104
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From page 87... ...
STATE RESPONSES All five states reported two types of active public health surveillance: syndromic surveillance and reporting surveillance. Syndromic surveillance involves collecting data on sets of symptoms that may be exposure related (e.g., respiratory symptoms)
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From page 88... ...
Alabama's hospital syndromic surveillance includes tracking visits to 8 hospital emergency rooms and 20 high-volume urgent care centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers in two spill-affected counties. Exposure-related data are collected daily and collated weekly.
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From page 89... ...
x The current syndromic surveillance system has yet to differenti ate between resident and worker status, although efforts are under way. x Worker health surveillance also needs improvement, with more information being communicated from BP to the state health departments.
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From page 90... ...
As in Louisiana and Alabama, the state has been conducting both syndromic and reporting surveillance, using similar data sources. Hospital syndromic surveillance includes tracking visits to participating emergency rooms for illnesses that may be related to oil or smoke exposure.
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From page 91... ...
Risk and Health Communication Florida has also initiated a robust effort to manage public information, with health information being communicated to the public at the regional, county, and local levels in English, Spanish, and Creole. Additionally, the state government has enacted a rumor-control program to respond to health-related rumors; established an integrated Deepwater Horizon response website to serve as a single access point for information, with a real-time map showing places where oil-related health advisories have been issued; launched a toll-free, spill-related information hotline; and briefed the personnel at Florida's four poison control centers about potential exposures and potential adverse health effects of exposure.
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From page 92... ...
Reporting Surveillance At the time of the workshop, Louisiana was in its third week of reporting surveillance. The state health department has been monitoring complaint data from the public and from health care providers about potential exposures (e.g., through odors, fumes, or dermal contact)
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From page 93... ...
The monitoring under way is very similar to what the other Gulf States are doing with respect to acute health effect surveillance, with both syndromic and reporting surveillance systems in operation. At the time of the workshop, none of the surveillance data indicated any increases in human illness related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
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From page 94... ...
Reporting Surveillance The state has been collecting data from the Mississippi Poison Control Center on the number of calls related to the oil spill, differentiating between exposure and informational calls. At the time of the workshop, the poison control center had received a total of 13 calls on the oil spill, including 8 informational and 5 exposure-related calls.
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From page 95... ...
Texas Bruce Clements, Director of the Community Preparedness Section, Texas Department of State Health Services At the time of the workshop, Bruce Clements reported that Texas had been spared direct damage from the Gulf oil spill. Nonetheless, the state had been preparing itself in the event that a response to direct impact would become necessary.
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From page 96... ...
PANEL DISCUSSION The Need for a Sustained Federal Commitment to Building Surveillance Capacity Although mental health and chronic health surveillance were both identified as major areas for improvement, Clements' remark about the challenge posed by the reactionary nature of the political agenda prompted some heated discussion. Some panelists agreed that directing federal funds toward specific public health threats weakens the overall public health preparedness infrastructure, which affects all disaster response efforts.
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From page 97... ...
Federal Government Health Response 2 John Howard, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health As John Howard explained, the Department of Homeland Security is in charge of the overall Deepwater Horizon response (under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5)
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From page 98... ...
, with real-time monitoring data being posted on the EPA website. According to Howard, the federal government health response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster has four primary goals: 1.
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From page 99... ...
. For example, the Coast Guard is responsible for protecting Coast Guard personnel by monitoring exposures through established occupational safety and health programs; providing senior safety officials to assist other local, state, and federal clean-up efforts; ensuring port and tanker safety; monitoring the safe operation of all U.S.
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From page 100... ...
; and collaborating with states, OSHA, and BP to identify acute and potential chronic health effects. NCEH has been helping the Gulf States collect surveillance data from health facilities and poison control centers (see the earlier summaries in this chapter of state-level surveillance activities)
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From page 101... ...
The Office of Health Affairs is also involved with workforce health protection and has been working closely with Rear Admiral Mark Tedesco.4 As Alexander Garza explained, Secretary Napolitano recently convened a meeting with all the various federal agency stakeholders (e.g., the CDC, OSHA, the EPA) to ensure that she understood how the Gulf oil spill's potential effects on human health could impact national security.
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From page 102... ...
Public Health Service Commission Corps officers were deployed to the Gulf region on May 27, 2010. Local Medical Research Corps volunteers also are working with the affected communities and achieving a comfort level that would take outside groups months to achieve.
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From page 103... ...
However, the current scientific literature is inconclusive with regard to the potential hazards resulting from the oil spill, with some scientists predicting little to no toxic effect and others expressing serious concerns about the potential short- and long-term effects on responders' and residents' health. She ended with a quote from President Barack Obama: "Science is more essential for our prosperity, our security, our health, our environment, and our quality of life than it has ever been before."
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