|
What is a
Health Assessment?
A health assessment is an
evaluation of a chemical release and how exposure to that release might affect
people’s health. A health assessment is an evaluation of information related to
a hazardous chemical being released into the environment, usually at
a hazardous waste site. The evaluation determines whether exposure to that chemical
might cause harmful health effects. The Health Advisor, who prepares the assessment,
looks at past, present, and future exposures. Once the evaluation is completed, the
assessment will have specific recommendations on how to protect public health. There
are three sources of information used to evaluate a site:
• Environmental data:
• Health data:
Information on exposure effects (toxicology) and
community-wide rates of disease compared with national and state rates.
• Community health concerns: Information from community members about how the site affects their
health or quality of life.
Information Needed to Conduct
a Health Assessment
The Health Advisor needs very specific
information to conduct the health assessment in order to determine whether the public has
been impacted by hazardous chemicals being released from a site.
The following information is used to
make that determination:
• The site location;
• Who has used the site and for
what purpose;
• What concentrations of
chemicals were found in air, soil, and water;
• How might exposures to those
hazardous chemicals occur; and
• Would there be any health effects from those exposures.
Who Conducts Health Assessments?
The Washington State Department
of Health has a cooperative agreement with the Agency for
Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry, a federal public health agency, to conduct assessments of hazardous
waste sites in Washington State. The Department of Health has formed a team, made up of
four Health Advisors; a Toxicologist; an Epidemiologist; and a Community Educator, to
determine possible public heath problems caused by chemicals released into the environment
at hazardous waste sites around the state.
Types of Health
Assessment Reports
The following list of reports are
prepared by our assessment team. The type of report
prepared will depend on whether an exposure has occurred.
• Public Health Assessment
- an
evaluation of a hazardous waste site.
• Health Consultation
(pdf) -a
response to a specific question on a chemical(s) found at a site.
Please check the DOH
Viewer Page to locate the appropriate free viewer or converter to
download these documents to your computer.
• Exposure Investigation - usually additional sampling is done by an assisting agency. The
results are evaluated to determine health effects due to exposure to known chemicals from
a site.
How to Get
Involved in a Health Assessment
Our goal is to keep community members,
appropriate agencies, and health professionals informed of our assessment recommendations
and site activities. We do that through community education
and involvement such as: public information meetings,
medical conferences, press releases, fact sheets, and reports. Two-way communication between affected
community members and our assessment team is necessary for a successful evaluation, and
helps us improve our services. We welcome the involvement of Washington residents
and encourage questions and comments about sites. To contact us, call toll free at
1-877-485-7316 or contact the
local health
jurisdiction in your county.
Input from affected
community members helps identify:
• What health affects or
concerns they are experiencing;
• What they think about our
activities and recommendations;
• Ways that we can communicate
better;
• Ways that we can more
effectively address their needs.
What to Expect from a Health Assessment
The assessment
conclusions identify whether there is a public health hazard associated with site-related
chemical exposures. Based on our conclusions, we make recommendations that advise
federal, state, and local agencies on actions to prevent or reduce people's exposure to
any hazardous chemicals released at those sites. Protective measure are also
presented in the assessment for affected community members to take action to protect their
own health. The following are examples of assessment recommendations:
• Residential drinking water is found to be contaminated at levels of health
concern:
• Chemicals are found in
the soil at levels of health concern:
The Department of Health follows-up on recommendations that require actions by agencies
such as the Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, to ensure that public health is protected from harmful chemicals released into the
environment from a hazardous waste site.
The Site Assessment
Section team can conduct health assessments at any hazardous waste site or suspected site,
so long as there is data to evaluate. An assessment can be requested by federal, state, or
local entities as well as local health jurisdictions or concerned citizens. To find out
more information about requesting a health assessment, please contact the
Site
Assessment Section or call toll free at
1-877-485-7316.
|
