massachusetts department of public health harmful algae bloom project: update on 2013 season
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Massachusetts Department of Public Health Harmful Algae Bloom Project: Update on 2013 Season. Michael Celona, Chief, Water Toxics Unit Environmental Toxicology Program MDPH/Bureau of Environmental Health. Outline. Health Surveillance Environmental Surveillance Education and Outreach - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Massachusetts Department of Public Health Harmful Algae Bloom Project:
Update on 2013 Season
Michael Celona, Chief, Water Toxics UnitEnvironmental Toxicology Program
MDPH/Bureau of Environmental Health
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Outline
• Health Surveillance• Environmental Surveillance• Education and Outreach• Press Inquiries• Questions?
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Program Activities: Health Surveillance
• Active Health Surveillance– Visited 5 waterbodies with an existing advisory– Interviewed 14 individuals present
• Most reported not going into water• Four reported recent water contact with no negative effect
• Passive Health Surveillance– Mail-drops
• When conducting active health surveillance, letters were mail-dropped to area residences informing them of advisory, potential health concerns, and MDPH contact info
– Website information• HAB website: www.mass.gov/dph/beaches• List of current HAB advisories• Pamphlets • Posters • Presentations
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Program Activities: Environmental Surveillance
• 110 water samples were collected by MDPH at 18 waterbodies and analyzed by contract laboratory.
– Samples conducted for two types of activities: 1) routine collection at selected waterbodies and 2) rapid collection in response to reports of HABs.
• An additional 58 water samples were collected and analyzed by MassDEP and private consultants and submitted to MDPH for review.
• Based on a review of these data, MDPH recommended 14 separate advisories based on cell counts > 70k per ml.
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Program Activities: Environmental Surveillance
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Program Activities: Education and Outreach
• Presentations – Massachusetts Health Officer Associations meetings
• Four regional locations• Reached over 200 local health officials
– Joint EPA-New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission regional workshop on HABs
– Monponsett Pond Working Group• Working Group comprised of local and state officials and environmental
groups• Monponsett Pond is a complex waterbody (in terms of management) that
has lengthy HABs
• MDPH HAB brochures – Distributed to local health official and residents
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Program Activities: Responding to Press Inquiries