Last data update: Apr 29, 2024. (Total: 46658 publications since 2009)
Records 1-7 (of 7 Records) |
Query Trace: Gerhardstein B[original query] |
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Community health impacts after a jet fuel leak contaminated a drinking water system: Oahu, Hawaii, November 2021
Miko S , Poniatowski AR , Troeschel AN , Felton DJ , Banerji S , Bolduc MLF , Bronstein AC , Cavanaugh AM , Edge C , Gates AL , Jarvis M , Mintz NA , Parasram V , Rayman J , Smith AR , Wagner JC , Gerhardstein BG , Orr MF . J Water Health 2023 21 (7) 956-971 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. Most (n = 1,653, 72%) reported new mental health symptoms. Among equally observable symptoms across age groups, proportions of children ≤2 years experiencing vomiting, runny nose, skin rashes, and coughing (33, 46, 56, and 35%, respectively) were higher than other age groups. Poison center calls increased the first 2 weeks after the contamination, while emergency department visits increased in early December 2021. Key informant interviews revealed themes of lack of support, mental health symptoms, and long-term health impact concerns. DISCUSSION: This event led to widespread exposure to petroleum products and negatively affected thousands of people. Follow-up health surveys or interventions should give special consideration to longer-term physical and mental health, especially children due to their unique sensitivity to environmental exposures. |
Notes from the field: Self-reported health symptoms following petroleum contamination of a drinking water system - Oahu, Hawaii, November 2021-February 2022
Troeschel AN , Gerhardstein B , Poniatowski A , Felton D , Smith A , Surasi K , Cavanaugh AM , Miko S , Bolduc M , Parasram V , Edge C , Funk R , Orr M . MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022 71 (21) 718-719 In late November 2021, the Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH) received reports from Oahu residents of a fuel-like odor coming from their drinking water (1), which was later determined to be related to a November 20, 2021, petroleum (jet fuel) leak at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. The petroleum leak contaminated the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system,* which supplies an estimated 9,694 civilian and military households (2), in addition to schools and workplaces. HDOH issued a drinking water advisory on November 30, 2021 (1), which was not lifted for all affected zones until March 18, 2022.† Persons in thousands of households were offered temporary housing, and alternative drinking water was provided to users of affected water. HDOH requested epidemiologic assistance (Epi-Aid) from CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to assess the incident’s impact on civilian health in the affected area; this was later expanded to include military-affiliated persons. |
Chronic environmental contamination: A narrative review of psychosocial health consequences, risk factors, and pathways to community resilience
Sullivan D , Schmitt HJ , Calloway EE , Clausen W , Tucker P , Rayman J , Gerhardstein B . Soc Sci Med 2021 276 113877 A body of psychological and social scientific evidence suggests that the experience of technological disaster or long-term exposure to environmental contamination can be psychologically stressful. Addressing the psychosocial impact in communities living with chronic contamination is therefore a vital part of improving their resilience. Guided by a synthetic theoretical model of the unique psychosocial impact of chronic environmental contamination (in contrast to natural and technological disasters, and background pollution), we undertook a narrative review to assess the current research on this important social problem. Relevant qualitative peer-reviewed studies and grey literature were examined to derive a model identifying likely factors increasing risk for distress in chronic contamination experience and actions that may be taken by public health professionals and local leaders to enhance community resilience and take health-protective actions. Based on our initial theoretical model and the literature reviewed, we emphasize the importance of considering both the material and social dimensions of chronic environmental contamination experience. For instance, our review of the qualitative literature suggests that individuals who attribute material health impacts to contamination, and who have the social experience of their concerns being delegitimized by responsible institutions, are most at risk for psychological stress. Psychological stress in the context of chronic contamination is an important potential public health burden and a key area for additional research. |
Chronic environmental contamination: A systematic review of psychological health consequences
Schmitt HJ , Calloway EE , Sullivan D , Clausen WH , Tucker PG , Rayman J , Gerhardstein B . Sci Total Environ 2021 772 145025 We sought to undertake a systematic review to assess the current research and to provide a platform for future research on the psychological health impact of chronic environmental contamination (CEC). CEC is the experience of living in an area where hazardous substances are known or perceived to be present in air, water, or soil at elevated levels for a prolonged and unknown period of time. We employed a systematic review approach to assess the psychological health impact of CEC in literature from 1995 to 2019, and conducted a meta-analysis of available findings (k = 60, N = 25,858) on the impact of CEC on anxiety, general stress, depression, and PTSD. We also present a narrative synthesis of findings that suggest risk factors for the experience of psychological health impacts in the wake of CEC. Likely factors increasing risk for elevated psychological health impact from CEC experience are institutional delegitimization of community concerns and the real or perceived presence of health effects from CEC. The meta-analyses observed small-to-medium effects of experiencing CEC on anxiety, general stress, depression, and PTSD. However, there was also evident risk of bias in the data. Our review suggests that psychological health in the context of CEC is an important potential public health burden and a key area for future improved research. 2021 Elsevier B.V. |
Exploring community psychosocial stress related to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Contamination: Lessons learned from a qualitative study
Calloway EE , Chiappone AL , Schmitt HJ , Sullivan D , Gerhardstein B , Tucker PG , Rayman J , Yaroch AL . Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 17 (23) The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure experience and associated stressors, to inform public health efforts to support psychosocial health and resilience in affected communities. Semi-structured interviews (n = 9) were conducted from July-September 2019 with community members and state public health department representatives from areas with PFAS-contaminated drinking water. Thematic analysis was completed and themes were described and summarized. Reported stressors included health concerns and uncertainty, institutional delegitimization and associated distrust, and financial burdens. Interviewees provided several strategies to reduce stress and promote stress coping capacity and resilience, including showing empathy and validating the normalcy of experiencing stress; building trust through visible action and sustained community engagement; providing information and actionable guidance; discussing stress carefully; fostering stress coping capacity and resilience with opportunities to build social capital and restore agency; and building capacity among government agencies and health care providers to address psychosocial stress. While communities affected by PFAS contamination will face unavoidable stressors, positive interactions with government responders and health care providers may help reduce negative stress. More research on how best to integrate community psychosocial health and stress coping and resilience concepts into the public health response to environmental contamination could be helpful in addressing these stressors. |
A fresh look at stress and resilience in communities affected by environmental contamination
Gerhardstein B , Tucker PG , Rayman J , Reh CM . J Environ Health 2019 82 (4) 36-38 From toxic waste in Love Canal, New York, to lead in Flint, Michigan, environmental contamination can cause chronically elevated psychosocial stress (see sidebar) in individuals and across families and communities (Cuthbertson, Newkirk, Loveridge, & Skidmore, 2016; Edelstein, 2004; Levine, 1983). Stress is a normal reaction to environmental contamination, not a mental health disorder. Still, stress can affect people’s health and quality of life. | | Environmental contamination can cause psychosocial stress among affected community members for many reasons, including: | | Uncertainty: At the individual level, people might not know whether, at what level or for how long, they were exposed. Moreover, scientists and physicians might be uncertain about the possible health effects of exposure. | Health and safety concerns: At a family level, parents might worry about their children’s health. They might feel their home is not a safe place anymore. | Social conflict: At the community level, there can be discord between community members who have differing beliefs about the seriousness of the threat. |
Bicyclist deaths associated with motor vehicle traffic - United States, 1975-2012
Vargo J , Gerhardstein BG , Whitfield GP , Wendel A . MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2015 64 (31) 837-841 Physical activity, including bicycling, is linked with multiple health benefits. However, although bicycles account for only about 1% of trips across all modes of transportation, on a per trip basis, bicyclists die on U.S. roads at a rate double that of vehicle occupants. In 2009, an estimated 392 billion trips (across all modes) were taken in the United States, including 4.1 billion bicycle trips, and 33,808 deaths occurred on U.S roadways (across all modes), including 630 bicyclist deaths. This report examines mortality trends among cyclists using national collision data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for the period 1975-2012. Annual rates for cyclist mortality decreased 44%, from 0.41 to 0.23 deaths per 100,000 during this period, with the steepest decline among children aged <15 years. In recent years, reductions in cyclist deaths have slowed. However, age-specific cyclist mortality rates for adults aged 35-74 years have increased since 1975. Multifaceted approaches to bicyclist safety have been shown to be effective in increasing bicycling while decreasing traffic injuries and fatalities. With U.S. adults choosing to walk and cycle more, implementation of these approaches might help counter recent increases in adult cyclist deaths. |
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