EPA Beach Conference March

							       EPA Beach Conference
          15 March 2011
       By Fran W. Marshall, J.D., M.S.P.H.
State Toxicologist & SC EPHT Program Manager
The Environment Has Always
Been Related to Health:
“If you want to learn about the
            population,
health of a population look at the
air they breathe, the water they
d i k and th places where th
drink, d the l          h     they
live.”
        Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine,
        in the Fifth Century BC


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My Perspective:
                                yg
• MSPH – Focus: Industrial Hygiene
• Certified Industrial Hygienist in
  petro/chemical industry for 13 years
  –   Certified Hazardous M t i l S
      C tifi d H       d                     i li t
                             Materials Specialist
  –   Certified Interior Structural Firefighter
  –   Certified Medical Responder
  –   Trained in Wildlands Fire Fighting
• Juris Doctor / Trial Attorney
• State Toxicologist & SC EPHT
  Program Manager
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            What i
            Wh t is EPHT?
  “CDC’s N ti      lE i          t l P bli Health
• “CDC’ National Environmental Public H lth
  Tracking Program is building a nationally
  integrated environmental and public health
  information system that supports national efforts
  to standardize and facilitate the electronic
  exchange of information. Linking environmental
  and health data will enable a timely response to
  potential health problems related to the
  environment.”
                              [Emphasis dd d ]
                              [E h i added.]
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       EPHT = Surveillance
• Environmental public health tracking is a
  type of surveillance. It is a way of
  incorporating data for analysis and
  reporting.
  CDC s
• CDC's National Environmental Public
  Health Tracking Network is a website that
  brings together data concerning some
  health and environmental problems.

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              Why
              Wh EPHT?
     1988                     F t re P blic
• In 1988, in its report “The Future of Public
  Health,” the Institute of Medicine noted that
     [there                   responsibility
  …[there was] fragmented responsibility, lack of
  coordination, and inadequate attention to the
  health dimensions of environmental problems.
                                        p
• In January 2001, the Pew Environmental Health
  Commission issued the report “America’s
  Environmental Health Gap: Why the Country
  Needs a Nationwide Health Tracking Network.”

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Need for Nationally C
N d f N ti             i t
                ll Consistency
• At the time of the Pew Report, existing
  environmental hazard, exposure, and disease
  t ki systems were not linked t
  tracking     t                           th
                              t li k d together,
  making it difficult to study or monitor potential
                  them.
  links between them




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“Infrastructure is rarely at the top of the
“I f t t        i      l t th t       f th
public's agenda, yet it is essential to
improve health care in the United
States. Unless you can pull together
environmental data and measures of
population health, fundamental
p p                ,
questions won’t be asked and can’t be
answered.
answered ” [emphasis added.]]
                     added.]

              ,
Thomas Burke, Ph.D.,,
Professor, John Hopkins University
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             fill th      d
        EPHT fills the need…
• Environmental public health tracking is the
  ongoing collection, integration, analysis, and
  interpretation of data about the following factors:
   – Environmental hazards
   – Exposure to environmental hazards
   – Health effects potentially related to exposure to
     environmental hazards




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Nationally Consistent Data and Measures
(NCDMs)
(NCDMs) Domains:
•   Air Quality (Ozone and PM 2 )
    Ai Q li (O               d    2.5)
•   Birth Defects
•   Drinking Water
•   Cancer
•   Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
•   Childhood Lead Poisoning
•   Hospitalizations (asthma and MCI’s)
•   Vital Statistics (low birth weight, etc.)
•   Coming Soon: Pesticides and Climate Change
    indicators (we have a seat at the table on these)
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Final Product f
Fi l P d t of EPHT = DATA
                                              p
• Stakeholders can then use the data for multiple
  purposes.
• Stakeholders include:
   – Policy makers
   – Public Health Practitioners
   – Physicians
   – Researchers
   –C         ii
     Communities
   – The Public

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            Goal of EPHT
• The goal of this network is to provide
  information to help improve where we live,
  work,      play.
  work and play
• CDC provides funds to 23 state and local
  health departments to develop local
  tracking networks. These networks feed
                             Network.
  into the National Tracking Network


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      in Action:
 EPHT i A ti
• EPHT will allow federal, state, and local agencies,
  and other stakeholders to:
   – Monitor and distribute information about
     environmental hazards and disease trends;
   – Advance research on possible linkages between
        i        t l hazards and di
     environmental h      d     d disease
   – Develop, implement, and evaluate regulatory
          public                  prevent
     and p blic health actions to pre ent or control
     environment-         diseases.
     environment-related diseases

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Coastal Environmental Health
 Initiative in South Carolina
Coastal Environmental Health
• In South Carolina, our coast is one of
  our most valuable resources.
• We consider providing our residents as
  well as visitors easier access to
  environmental data that may impact
  their health or the health of the coastal
  environment an important part of our
  SC EPHT program.

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DRAFT of our SC
Coastal
Environmental
Health landing
page.

This page is being
created to provide
easy access to
coastal data in an
interesting,
appealing, and fun
way. We are
partnering with NOAA
and other state
coastal data stewards
    its d   l
on it development. t
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                                                               It is important
                                                               to be aware of
                                                                 any type of
                                                               advisory when
                                                                 visiting the
                                                                     coast.


       Click on the topic below to get information about current advisories.

National Weather Service‐ (NOAA) Weather information and current storm advisories by location.

Swimming (SC DHEC) Information on being safe and staying healthy in coastal waters.

Beach Monitoring (SC DHEC) Current advisories for beach water quality.

          ( O )
Red Tides (NOAA) Learn about these types of harmful algal blooms (HAB), and their impacts.
                                    yp                g          (   ),             p

Tide Tables (SC DHEC) Daily tide information for the South Carolina coast.

Shellfish/fish- (SC DHEC) Information on shellfish sanitation, state regulations, harvesting, and shellfish
closure updates.



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“I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society
   k           f d     it     f th lti t            f    i t
but the people themselves; if we think them not enlightened
enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion,
the remedy is not to take it away from them but to inform
           y                      y
their discretion.”
                                            - Thomas Jefferson




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    Online Orientation Course
• EPHT 101 Course is available on the
  NEHA web site:

  – http://www.nehacert.org/catalog/index.php?m
    ain_page=index&cPath=28&zenid=0ad3a2c6
    ain page=index&cPath=28&zenid=0ad3a2c6
    0b4a4bd2d2071b0bf3d2718c




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      Questions/Discussion
  Just                             doesn t
 “Just because nobody complains doesn’t
 mean all parachutes are perfect.” – Benny Hill

• We welcome inquiries and feedback on
            epht@dhec.sc.gov
  our site: epht@dhec sc gov




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