Lead concerns

Public drinking water has been in the news recently due to the crisis in Flint, Michigan. It is important for the people of Maine to know that their public drinking water is well-regulated and safe to drink. Kenneth Albert, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Maine CDC, recently wrote an op ed about lead in Maine. Read it at https://www.centralmaine.com/2016/03/28/maine-is-not-flint-michigan/

Maine CDC, DEP Lead Training Exercise to Respond to Chemical Spill Impacting Drinking Water

In early February, 43 people participated in a full-scale tabletop training exercise where the scenario was a chemical spill Into the Androscoggin River. The event took place at the Topsham Public Safety Building. 

Participants included: Maine CDC Drinking Water Program; Maine Department of Environmental Protection; Maine Emergency Management Agency; Cumberland and Sagadahoc County Emergency Management Agencies; the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection; the Brunswick/Topsham Water District; the Maine Rural Water Association; the Brunswick and Topsham Fire Departments; the Brunswick Sewer Department; Topsham Public Works; the Bath Water District; the Topsham Police Department; the U.S. Coast Guard and Mid Coast Hospital.

In this scenario, a fuel tanker and a truck containing compressed natural gas cylinders were involved in a traffic accident and spilled diesel fuel into a small stream near water supply wells of the Brunswick/Topsham Water District, threatening the wells and the nearby Androscoggin River.  Release of propane gas created a dangerous situation at the crash scene, delaying cleanup of the spilled fuel.  Later in the day, another hypothetical traffic accident occurred in a different part of town, which resulted in a water main break near Mid Coast Hospital.  This combination of unexpected events created challenges to protect public safety, maintain service to water customers and mitigate impacts to the environment.

The origin and planning of these exercises resulted from collaboration between the Maine CDC Drinking Water Program and Maine DEP’s Division of Technical Services and Division of Response Services following the January 9, 2014 Elk River chemical spill in West Virginia.  The recent Flint, Michigan water supply lead contamination incident was also highlighted at the training to emphasize the importance of risk communications during any incident that may threaten drinking water quality.

For more information on this training, contact Michael.Abbott@maine.gov or Erika.Bonenfant@maine.gov.

In-office blood testing

The Maine Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program is pleased to announce rules adopted Nov. 5 now allow providers two options for blood lead testing:


1. Continue to submit blood lead samples to the State Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory; or

2. Perform capillary blood lead analysis using a CLIA waived in-office blood lead testing device, such as a LeadCareII, and directly report all test results to Maine Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

Providers must have approval from the Maine Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program before they can begin in-office testing.

The intent of the law is to increase blood lead testing of children under age 6 years by removing barriers to testing, such as travelling to an off-site location to have blood drawn. Using a direct-read blood lead analyzer, providers will be able to perform a capillary blood lead test and within minutes report the result to the patient’s parent/guardian. (Note: All elevated blood lead levels will require a venous confirmation through the State Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory.)

For more information, visit http://go.usa.gov/YhnT

Lead-free kids for a healthy future – National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week

Nearly a quarter of a million children living in the United States have blood lead levels high enough to cause significant damage to their health, estimates the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on data from a 2003–2004 national survey. If high blood lead levels are not detected early, children with such high levels of lead in their bodies can suffer from damage to the brain and nervous system. They can develop behavior and learning problems (such as hyperactivity), slowed growth, hearing problems, and aggressive patterns of behavior.

To raise awareness of the consequences of lead poisoning among parents and pregnant women who live in homes built before 1978, Maine CDC is participating in National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (NLPPW) October 23–29. Maine CDC joins US CDC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in encouraging parents to learn more about how to prevent lead poisoning.

This year's NLPPW theme, "Lead-Free Kids for a Healthy Future," underscores the importance of testing your home, testing your child, and learning how to prevent lead poisoning’s serious health effects.

Established in 1999 by the US Senate, National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week occurs every year during the last week in October. To mark the week, Maine CDC is offering parents of all children born in Maine in 2010 a free home lead dust test kit.

The offers for free tests come with an educational brochure that is being mailed to more than 11,000 families as part of Maine’s effort to eliminate childhood lead poisoning. Instructions on how to schedule a test are included in the mailer.

"The goal of the mailing is to prevent lead poisoning. The test kits we are offering can help parents find out if their home has a lead dust problem," said Dr. Sheila Pinette, Director of Maine CDC. "Then they can address any problems and keep their children safe from lead."

Exposure to dust that comes from lead paint in homes built before 1950 is the most common way children are poisoned by lead in Maine. Lead paint is often found in homes built before 1950 and sometimes in homes built before 1978. Lead poisoning can cause behavior problems, learning disabilities, speech and language delays, and lower intelligence.

Made possible by the Lead Poisoning Prevention Fund, this is the second annual mailing of its kind. Nearly 300 families in Maine took advantage of the prior mailing and tested their homes for lead dust. About one quarter of those families identified lead dust problems in their homes and received education to properly address the problems.

"We hope parents who live in older homes will take advantage of the offer for a free lead dust test kit, especially if they live in a house or apartment built before 1950," said Dr. Pinette.

For more information, go to www.maine.gov/healthyhomes.

Public Health Updates 12/13/10

NOROVIRUS GASTROENTERITIS

Maine CDC has recently investigated five reports of gastroenteritis outbreaks from Cumberland, Oxford, Kennebec, and Hancock counties. Four outbreaks occurred in long-term care facilities and one occurred in a school setting. Norovirus infections typically increase during the winter months, and Maine CDC routinely receives numerous reports of suspected outbreaks each year. Last winter season, December 2009-March 2010, there were 12 suspect and confirmed norovirus outbreaks reported, compared to 56 reported during the same time period the year before. Public health partners are encouraged to consider norovirus when assessing clusters of gastroenteritis and to act promptly to prevent the spread of illness. All of the above facilities have implemented preventive measures to control further spread of illness.

For more information, see this Health Alert: http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=DHHS-HAN&id=163688&v=alert

HEALTH REFORM UPDATE

This 9-minute non-partisan animated video produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation explains health reform – what it does, what it proposes to do in the coming years, its challenges and opportunities: http://healthreform.kff.org/the-animation.aspx

Funding Opportunities

Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship (http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&oppId=58907) applications are due by Dec. 22.

Teaching Health Center (THC) Graduate Medical Education (GME) Payment Program (http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&oppId=58913) applications are due by Dec. 30.

Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) Program (http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&oppId=59020) applications are due by Jan. 21.

OTHER UPDATES

· The Federal Plain Language Guidelines have been updated and are available at http://www.plainlanguage.gov

· Beware of lead hazards in some toys when holiday shopping: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/LeadInToys/?s_cid=tw_cdc250