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

Outline

• Health Surveillance• Environmental Surveillance• Education and Outreach• Press Inquiries• Questions?

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

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.

Program Activities: Environmental Surveillance

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

Program Activities: Responding to Press Inquiries

Questions?

Michael Celonamike.celona@state.ma.us(617) 624-5757