Background: A petroleum leak into the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system on Oahu, Hawaii in November 2021 contaminated the drinking water of approximately 93,000 users, causing many to relocate for months. Perceptions of health and wellbeing were captured using the Centers for Disease Control/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) Assessment of Chemical Exposures (ACE) cross-sectional survey in collaboration with the Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH).
Methods: Responses from the ACE online survey of community members, businesses, schools, health care and veterinary care organizations during the contamination event, containing quantitative questions and qualitative information from an open text field, were analyzed.
Background: In 2021, a large petroleum leak contaminated a water source that supplied drinking water to military and civilians in Oahu, Hawaii.
Methods: We conducted an Assessment of Chemical Exposures (ACE) survey and supplemented that information with complementary data sources: (1) poison center caller records; (2) emergency department visit data; and (3) a key informant questionnaire.
Results: Among 2,289 survey participants, 86% reported ≥1 new or worsening symptom, 75% of which lasted ≥30 days, and 37% sought medical care.
Objective: The aim of the study was to assess occupational health effects 1 month after responding to a natural gas pipeline explosion.
Methods: First responders to a pipeline explosion in Kentucky were interviewed about pre- and post-response health symptoms, post-response health care, and physical exertion and personal protective equipment (PPE) use during the response. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between several risk factors and development of post-response symptoms.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
January 2020
On April 25, 2019, a farm tractor towing two 2-ton ammonia tanks on a county road in Lake County, Illinois, experienced a mechanical failure that resulted in the release of anhydrous ammonia, a colorless, pungent, irritating gas that can cause severe respiratory and ocular damage (1). Approximately 80% of anhydrous ammonia produced in the United States is used as a fertilizer in agriculture (1). Eighty-three persons, including first responders, motorists, and neighborhood residents, were evaluated at area hospitals because of exposure to the gas.
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