The Human Health Impacts and Environmental Implications of Floods in Northern Ireland (Poster)

Flooding is now the most frequent type of major disaster globally. During the past 30 years, floods have resulted in 200,000 fatalities and affected more than 2.8 billion others worldwide. It should be recognised that flood events do not necessarily need to be large in scale or be physically destructive to have a detrimental impact on homes and livelihoods, as minor floods can still have potentially large cumulative effects. Estimates suggest that if no preventative measures are taken, flooding will affect 250 000–400 000 additional people annually in Europe by 2080.

Flooding has become a major problem in the United Kingdom, as demonstrated in 2007 in England which resulted in flooding of 55,000 properties, evacuation of approximately 7,000 people and 13 fatalities. The problem extends to Northern Ireland, where climate change is likely to result in higher average temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events, such as floods. In recent years, in Northern Ireland, there have been numerous flooding incidents that have caused devastation to local communities.

The environmental impacts of flooding can be quite wide-ranging, from the dispersion of low-level household wastes into the fluvial system to contamination of community water supplies. The impact of floods on human health is under-researched even though flooding has obvious direct impacts i.e. morbidity, injuries, diseases and also more indirect impacts such as mental health conditions due to the long-term consequences of flooding. This study will undertake measurements and characterisation of water contaminants, after a flooding event, with a view to evaluating the impact on water quality. It will also explore the human health impacts of floods, using surveys and interviews to investigate the physical and psychological health problems inflicted on individuals, subsequent to flooding.

The results will assist agencies to mitigate the long-term health impacts of flooding, provide beneficial information on the risk to water quality from flooding and help agencies response efficiently during the recovery stage of a flooding event, providing the community with an appropriate level of support.

Meeting the Challenge in Time of Crisis (50m Lecture)

When a disaster occurs, it is essential that public and environmental health understands its role in assuring the public's health. This workshop will examine the role of public and environmental health in emergency response. From environmental concerns to threats to community health, we will discuss the threats in a disaster recovery environment. Lastly, the workshop will examine what resources and expertise that public and environmental health bring to a crisis and examine a vision of how we interfaces with existing incident management structure.

Incorporating Emergency Preparedness into Retail Food Facility Inspections (50m Lecture)

As a regulator, what can you do now to make food facilities stronger and capable of moving forward after a disaster? Decreased time, increased inspection numbers, and relating food safety risk factors to operators have raised the challenges regulators need to meet. Integrating emergency preparedness into the communication phase of the inspection process is significant. While discussing good retail practices with the operator, include additional activities such as securing equipment and maintaining an emergency kit for each employee. While handing out food safety tips, include templates for an Emergency Response Plan or Business Continuity Plan (www.ready.gov/business). The extra time taken with the operator may decrease the time spent assessing the facility after a disaster occurs. The goal of this presentation is to assist you, the regulator, in accomplishing the objective of incorporating disaster preparedness with food safety in food facilities within your jurisdiction.

To Tweet or not to Tweet: Leveraging Social Media for Environmental Health (1h 50m Learning Lab Hands-On Demonstration)

Social media is becoming increasingly pervasive for immediate information sharing, especially among millenials—who now comprise nearly a quarter of the US population. During Superstorm Sandy, for example, 21 million tweets were shared, compared to only 100,000 four years earlier during Hurricane Gustav. 

But all social media users are selective about which media they use, which thought leaders they follow, what messages they share. As channels proliferate and audiences become increasingly selective, how does a local environmental health professional decide whether, where, and how to connect?

image: www.earthlink.net

CDC’s exploration of many social media avenues over the past five years and has yielded practical knowledge about how to advance environmental health messages in a manner that fits into a typical work day. Whether it’s a natural disaster, an emerging issue, or standard public health protection messaging, CDC has identified tips, tricks, and tools that make it easier for resource-lean public health departments to engage their audiences effectively through social media. 

This session presents evidence-based practices that can easily be adapted to multiple environmental health issues. Learners will learn how to differentiate social media options based on the population in question. Participants will engage in hands-on exercises in message design for a variety of platforms and receive checklists to help in designing a social media outreach plan.

Enhancing Planning and Preparedness: Development of an e-learning tool for chemical incidents (Learning Lab Hands-On Demonstration)

Chemical incidents can occur at any time and any place. Incidents include chemical accidents such as fires, explosions, leakages and spills, resulting in potential widespread contamination of air, water, soil and food. This may result in community exposure, public anxiety and potential health implications as demonstrated by incidents in Seveso (Italy, 1976), Bhopal (India, 1984), Enschede (Holland, 2000), Toulouse (France, 2001), Baton Rouge (USA 2003),Neyshabur (Iran, 2004) and recently in Lac-Megantic (Canada, 2013) . Such incidents reflect huge societal dependence upon chemicals, many of which are toxic (toxic industrial chemicals, TICs) and which are produced in vast quantities (high production volume chemicals; HPVs). The toxicity of chemicals is further underlined by their deliberate release, as demonstrated by  the Tokyo Sarin incident (1995) and alleged recent release in Syria.

The presentation will provide an overview of the e-learning tool developed by the WHO Collaborating Centre for chemical incidents. Comprising lectures, case studies, audio-visual materials, exercises and self -assessment  questionnaires, the presentation will provide a practical overview of this freely-available module. It will be of benefit to a multi-disciplinary audience, including policy makers, emergency personnel, public health and emergency physicians, emergency planners , environmental health officers and toxicologists alike. In accordance with the International Health Regulations (2005) it provides a basis for enhancing capacity and resilience for chemical public health emergencies, thereby contributing to planning and preparedness and safeguarding the public. It will culminate in the presentation of an exercise based upon a true incident involving widespread air pollution and subsequent public health concern.

Emergency planning/ preparedness for marine transport of noxious chemicals: a rational approach (Poster)

image: www.noaa.gov

Over 2000 hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) are transported by sea with a bulk trade of 165 million tonnes worldwide; this is expected to grow to 215 million tonnes by 2015. Incidents involving spillage, leakage and fires have occurred regularly, with over 100 reported in European waters alone. Such incidents may have a significant impact upon public health. With larger container ships and greater transportation of HNS, an increase in number and scale of incidents may be expected. Based upon the Joint Group of Experts Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Pollution (GESAMP) composite list of 2500 HNS, a semi-quantitative risk prioritisation matrix has been developed. The approach considers the acute human toxicity (LC50) of selected HNS and their physico-chemical properties. Acute inhalational toxicity is arbitrarily divided into 5 groups (0-4) according to established LC50 values. HNS were also arbitrarily scored according to their physico-chemical properties, with the most volatile compounds scoring the highest, as inhalation was considered to be the most significant route of exposure.  The product of the score of toxicity and physic-chemical behaviour was referred to as the “severity”. The matrix is further defined by the likelihood of an incident occurring, with annual transport tonnage serving as a proxy. The risk was subsequently defined as the product of severity and risk with the subsequent prioritisation of said risks.

This approach may be utilised by policy makers, port authorities, emergency planners, environmental and public health professionals alike for enhancing emergency planning and preparedness through the development of tailored plans, exercises, scenarios and training. This approach has been piloted in Europe for the development of case studies, scenarios and risk and crisis communication strategies, distributed through an e-learning medium. Collectively, this risk prioritisation tool serves to mitigate the impact of maritime incidents, thereby protecting public health.