The

June 2021

 

 

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OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION

 

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

HEALTH ASSOCIATION

 

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The purposes of the Illinois Environmental Health Association are: To maintain and improve the environmental health protection of the public by fostering and encouraging research, education and the dissemination of information; To promote the highest degree of skill, efficiency and professional competence among sanitarians and others practicing in the various environmental health disci-plines through the mutual exchange of knowledge and experience; To publish, or cause to be published, technical and other useful information relating to environmental health; In both the public and private sectors, to promote the administration of environmental health programs for the maximum public benefit; To foster cooperation of the various branches and departments of government at all levels in activities directed toward the improvement of health and comfort of the public; To engage in other lawful activities which are appropriate for a professional association; Provided, that the Association shall not function as a collective bargaining agent for the purpose of fixing the compensation or conditions of employment for any of its members; provided further, that the Association shall not endorse or sanction the endorsement by any of its members of products or services of a commercial nature. Illinois Environmental Health Association, PO Box 7505, Rockford, Illinois 61126, Telephone (815) 977-5884, Fax (866) 760-6873. Email: iehaoffice@gmail.com, Web Site: http://www.iehaonline.net

Editorial Policy Goal - The Cardinal is to provide useful and profitable information to members and to act as a forum for member opinions and ideas.

Circulation - The Cardinal is the official publication of the Illinois Environmental Health Association. The Cardinal is published 4 times a year and is mailed or emailed free of charge to Association members.

Address changes - IEHA, PO Box 7505, Rockford, Illinois 61126, Telephone (815) 977-5884, Fax (866) 760-6873 Email: iehaoffice@gmail.com.

Manuscripts - Authors alone are responsible for opinions and views stated in their articles. FAX articles to (866) 760-6873. Email them to iehaoffice@gmail.com. Email submissions in electronic format are preferred. Mail paper or disk copies to IEHA, ATTN: Newsletter, Box 7505, Rockford, Illinois 61126. Articles and letters submitted may be edited for clarity or space.

Deadlines - All materials must be submitted to The Cardinal by the first working day of March, June, September and November. The next deadline for materials is September 1, 2021.

Advertising - Advertising copy must be submitted to the Advertising Manager in a form that is suitable for reproduction within the dimensions of the selected space. The copy may be submitted as original or good quality photo static reproductions. No plates are required. Computer graphics files in JPEG format are preferred. Note: Advertising rates have changed. Call (815) 977-5884 for details.

The Cardinal Staff Chairman, Publications Committee: Lenore Killam Editor: Paul Chase Circulation: Paul Chase Advertising: Paul Chase Production: Paul Chase

 

   

The

Cardinal Volume 51 Number 2 // June 2021

 

 

IN THIS ISSUE

Message from the President ................................................................................ 4 By Justin Dwyer

Important Notice Regarding Broadcast Emails ………………...…... 4 By Paul Chase

News of the Weird and Wonderful …………………….…..……….….…..…. 5 Compiled by Lenore Killam

Scaling Up to Address a Pandemic: Lubbock Health Department Rose to the challenge! …................. 6 By Katherine Wells

Swimming Pools and the Dangers of Electrocution ………….……. 7 By Mike Holt

Mark Your Calendar …..…………………………...……………..…….…..….…… 7

CDC’s Melanoma Dashboard launches in honor of Skin Cancer Awareness Month ………………...……………….………...…..….……. 8

Environmental Health Leadership Academy ……... ………..….…..… 9 National Environmental Health Association

An Atrazine Primer …………………………………...…………...............,.............. 10

Nicholas Shaul

Join IEHA …………………………………………………...…………...............,.............. 11

Electronic Edition Extra .......................................................................................... 12

The Cardinal // June 2021

3 

 

Greetings IEHA members!

I want to thank everyone who participated in the Spring Virtual Conference. This event was more successful than I ever imagined. We had some great speakers and topics. The board and I are incredibly happy with the outcome of this event. I want to thank the Illinois Public Health Association once again for all the technical support they provided during this conference. One request for those who attended, please complete, and submit, your CEU and evaluation forms as soon as possible.

As Illinois continues to lift COVID restrictions, it looks very promising for everyone to return this fall to in person events. We continue to move forward with plans for the South Chapter Annual Educational Conference scheduled in Marion, September 13th and 14th and the Annual Educational Conference which is scheduled for November 8th and 9th at Starved Rock Lodge. Don’t forget to submit your award nominees for 2021. I look forward to seeing all of you soon!

Don't forget to like us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/iehaonline

Best Wishes,

Justin Dwyer, IEHA President

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Message from the President

Important No ce Regarding Broadcast Emails By Paul Chase, IEHA Office Manager

While the Spring Virtual Conference was by all measures a great success, it did reveal a weakness in one of our important methods for communicating with members. It seems that many members are not receiving broadcast email communications sent by the IEHA office. The problems seems to occur when the emails are sent to certain local health departments. Apparently, filters used in the email systems of those departments flag IEHA emails as spam and they are not delivered at all or end up in a spam folder. Unfortunately, there is no easy fix for this problem. While the broadcast email service IEHA uses is able to scan emails for things that might get them flagged as spam, it doesn’t appear to be working in many cases. While I continue to investigate the problem, it may take some time to resolve. So if you suspect you are not receiving communications from IEHA:

Contact the IEHA office, preferably by email: iehaoffice@gmail.com

Try to find out if your department’s IT section is filtering IEHA emails and see if you can get emails sent by IEHA on an approved list of senders.

Provide the office with an alternative email (e.g., personal) address.

Check the IEHA web site: https://www.iehaonline.net/ Most of the information sent out in the broadcast emails is also posted on the web site.

Check the IEHA Facebook page: www.facebook.com/iehaonline. Most current information is posted there as well.

Thanks for your patience and sorry about the inconvenience. If you have any questions or need help, please contact me.

The Cardinal // June 2021

Dr. Frankensalmon has been very busy! Several tons of salmon, engineered by biotech company AquaBounty Technologies Inc., will now head to restaurants and away-from-home dining services — where labeling as genetically engineered is not required.

https://apnews.com/article/whole-foods-market-inc-lifestyle-health-coronavirus-pandemic-technology-a4ef4f24801f62ac65918e4560d7eb8a

This is more profound than it looks at first glance. It is extraordinarily difficult to earn jail time for pollution-related deaths. Two former owners of a troubled steel plant in southern Italy have been convicted of toxic pollution that prosecutors say cost hundreds of lives and sentenced to more than two decades in prison each.

https://abcn.ws/3fAqJB7

Get the Lead Out! Water Survey scientists analyzed private well water samples from Jackson, Peoria, and Kane counties and confirmed that homes in Illinois with domestic wells, especially older ones, can be vulnerable to lead contamination.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/39a024246a964d23a5e98afd51f46ed9

Y’all know bottled water is just tap water in a bottle, right? Real Water faces lawsuit after 5-year-old girl gets seriously ill. A videotaped deposition of a former Real Water employee, obtained by CBS News, raises serious questions about how the company made the water last fall. Read in CBS News:

https://apple.news/Ao4xmMXBVTKmP_yq24PUNkA

I will let you draw your own conclusions about how this title spools out. Lead writers are nothing if not clever. Pollution from natural gas is now responsible for more deaths and greater health costs than coal in Illinois, according to a new study highlighting another hazard of burning fossil fuels that are scrambling the planet’s climate.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/environment/ct-natural-gas-illinois-health-costs-deaths-tt-20210505-m6z77kxa2nejrjxxxyqot6fhm4-story.html

I party all the time with my neighbors. Not so much partying in this neighborhood.

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/man-builds-poop-wall-in-washtenaw-county-after-dispute-with-neighbor

Somehow, I cannot shake the thought that the dumpers had to know this is wrong. What possibly could have been their internal dialog?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/27/up-to-25000-barrels-found-at-suspected-ddt-dump-off-california-say-scientists?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1

I may have mentioned that I HATE MOSQUITOES: In an effort to fight insect-borne viruses like Zika, dengue fever and malaria, genetically modified mosquitoes are set to be released in the Florida Keys. | Fox News

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.foxnews.com/science/first-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-florida-keys__;!!DZ3fjg!uq-At_nwnIytoHcUbJU9779n6qxpsIcfOZQDMrRMKGSIMf_eNsQ_jBlE-3iEsA$

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News of the Weird and Wonderful Compiled by Lenore Killam

We are in a Pandemic! March - December 2020 Scaling the public health workforce to respond to COVID-19 is a major challenge. In February 2020, the City of Lubbock Health Department, a city of 255,000 residents, only had 25 full time public health workers and 3 staff dedicated to routine surveillance. This was well short of the projected needs to respond to COVID-19. To respond, the department needed to quickly grow the workforce first for contact tracing and then for vaccine administration.

Step 1 – Building Up Additional Workforce Capacity to Respond The first step to build capacity was training existing health department staff. Clinics were canceled and projects were put on hold; nurses, outreach workers, programmatic staff and supervisors were all trained in contact tracing. As case numbers increased, staff were pulled from other city departments. Due to closures, staff who worked for parks, museums, libraries and the Civic Center were at risk of being laid off or having hours cut. The health department was able to absorb and train these staff. They helped with tracing, answering constantly ringing phones and data entry. Permanent health department staff became team leads and supervisors of the tracing groups. Staff who had never managed staff before became great leaders when thrusted into these roles. Some of the best contact tracers were light duty fire fighters and police officers; they were not hesitant on the phone and engaged with those whom we were tracing. In fact, some people were more cooperative when they realized they were talking to a first responder. Many officers continued to help even when they returned to full duty.

Step 2 – Expanding Capacity to Provide Relief to Current Workforce As cases increased, we needed to add an evening shift to help continue contact tracing. Instead of making exhausted staff work longer hours, we utilized the call center staff at Lubbock Power and Light, the city-owned utility provider. Call center staff were offered overtime to work at the health department in the evenings from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Many of these staff made great contact

tracers, as handling difficult and uncooperative individuals is a regular part of their full-time job.

Vaccine Rollout! December 2020 - Present The next staffing challenge started in December 2020 with the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines. Soon after the vaccines were released, Lubbock Health Department began receiving 5,000 doses a week. The number of vaccines quickly increased to 10,000 doses when 2nd doses became due.

Step 1 – Ramping up the Workforce for Vaccination Hubs Once again, our small health department needed to quickly ramp up staffing to run a large scale vaccination hub that needed close to 100 staff per day. Lubbock Fire and Rescue stepped in by dedicating a fire fighter/paramedic to coordinate volunteers and by providing about 15 firefighters--a mix of on and off duty--to help with each clinic (4 clinics per week for 18 weeks). In addition, the two major hospitals dedicated nursing staff and groups of medical students showed up to assist each day. Even retired former health department employees became involved in the efforts at the clinic.

Step 2 – Continuation of Current Workforce City staff who were reassigned for contact tracing continued to step up. They worked in clinics, helped set up the Civic Center and kept things running at the health department when many full-time staff were needed at the clinic.

Looking Forward When the pandemic ends, Katherine Wells, Director of Public Health wants to find a way to celebrate. Nearly 500 people have helped with the COVID-19 response; they came to help public health and have learned to appreciate public health. We are thankful for their service and grateful to have these public health allies.

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Scaling Up to Address a Pandemic: Lubbock Health Department Rose to the Challenge!

COVID-19 Experience by Katherine Wells Director, Lubbock Health Department, Lubbock, Texas From our friends at the Region 6 South Central Public Training Center

Mark Your Calendar! Save the Date!

We are finally able to meet IN PERSON for our upcoming conferences: 

2021 South Chapter Annual Educa onal Conference September 13 ‐ 14, 2021 at the Pavilion in Marion, IL   

2021 Annual Educa onal Conference November 8 ‐ 9, 2021 Starved Rock Lodge, U ca, IL  

As the warmer weather approaches, swimming pools across the country are reopening for the season. It is important that you don’t overlook routine maintenance and inspections especially where electrical systems are present. If you, or anyone you know has a pool, you might want to consider reading (and sharing) this newsletter so that you can better understand the issues and electrical hazards associated with swimming pool safety.

Electricity and a wet body are a recipe for disaster! That’s why all swimming pools and spas are required to have GFCI protection and proper equipotential bonding. Yet there are still electrical injuries and fatalities occurring every year.

These accidents happen for a variety of reasons:

Installations are not up to the current codes and standards.

GFCIs are not tested periodically as required by the manufacturers.

Corroded and neglected and improper bonding terminations.

Electrical Equipment Failure.

Transient, or neutral-to-earth voltage.

Most of these conditions can be detected by routine inspection(s) and addressed by a qualified person such as a licensed electrical contractor.

If you are the qualified individual tasked with performing a pool inspection, be sure that you understand electrical fundamentals,

bonding and grounding, NEC requirements related to swimming pool bonding, Neutral-to-Earth (NEV) voltage related to utility wiring, and how to determine that swimming pools are properly bonded.

Always document your inspection findings in a written report delivered to the customer. If you find any unsafe conditions such as equipment not GFCI protected or unbonded metal parts, encourage your customer to shut down the pool, explain the hazard(s), and advise the customer what needs to be done before anyone uses the pool again.

For detailed information on How to Verify the Electrical System of a Pool is Safe in Accordance with the NEC, visit www.mikeholt.com/pooldoc:

Mike Holt's videos on electrical fundamentals, pool equipotential bonding and testing

Free PDFs on swimming pool safety

Additional Resources

Circulate this information to your friends, family and customers - summer is almost here and thousands of people will be getting out of the heat by jumping into the pool!

The Cardinal // June 2021

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Swimming Pools and the Dangers of Electrocu on By Mike Holt: https://www.mikeholt.com/newsletters.php?action=display&letterID=2173

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CDC’s Melanoma Dashboard launches in honor of Skin Cancer Awareness Month The Melanoma Dashboard was created through a partnership between the CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Program and provides a wide range of relevant state and local data to help communities address their unique melanoma prevention needs. Key features include

State- and county-level data on melanoma incidence and mortality.

State- and county-level data on UV irradiance.

State policies regarding minors’ access to indoor tanning devices and sunscreen use at schools.

Additional county-level data to help inform and target local prevention efforts.

Although melanoma incidence rates have continued to increase in recent years, evidence-based prevention strategies are available and ready to be put into action in communities. The Melanoma Dashboard provides easy access to the most recent and relevant data, empowering users to communicate effectively about the burden of melanoma and make data-driven decisions that will maximize the impact of their prevention efforts. Get the full story at: https://ephtracking.cdc.gov/Applications/melanomadashboard/

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Background The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), with funding support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has developed a new leadership training academy for environmental health professionals. NEHA seeks a cohort of 16 environmental health professionals to participate in the Environmental Health Leadership Academy. This 12-month program will commence at the NEHA 2021 Virtual Annual Educational Conference (AEC) Three-Part Virtual Series and conclude at the 2022 AEC. This intensive, interactive program focuses on management and leadership skill-building, successful leadership strategies, community partnership, emergency management, and other tools to better prepare the environmental health leaders. Beginning in July, 2021 selected participants will be required to meet virtually on a monthly basis via 4-hour virtual modules to learn and collaborate with other Environmental Health Leadership Academy peers. In addition, there will be monthly assignments to be completed and one-on-one meetings with a mentor. Admission into the leadership academy will be competitive. To be considered, an application must be completed and submitted to NEHA by Friday, June 25, 2021. What Are the Criteria for Applicants?

Full-time employee of a public health or environmental health agency/organization at the state, tribal, local, or territorial level.

Demonstrated commitment to a career in environmental health.

Commitment to completing the 12-month program (i.e., attend the NEHA 2021 and 2022 AECs, participate in group discussions, complete assigned tasks, etc.). 

Although not required, holding a Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered Sanitarian (REHS/RS) credential (NEHA or state issued) is preferred. What Is the Selection Process? Submitting an application does not indicate acceptance into the program. Each completed application will be reviewed and evaluated using an objective, weighted system that will assess the following:

Applicant’s background

Credentials, certifications, and degrees

Personal statement

Letter of support

Commitment to the program Experiences against the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with the program.

What Is The Cost of the Leadership Academy? The cost of the program is $1,200. Need-based scholarships are available between the amounts of $200 and $800. The scholarship amounts will be based on responses given in the application regarding the need for financial assistance. There is no travel expected throughout the 12-month virtual program. The closing session, however, will be held in-person at the NEHA 2022 AEC. Applicants will be expected to cover all costs associated with registration, travel, and lodging accommodations for this event. Application period closes June 25, 2021

LEARN MORE AND COMPLETE AN APPLICATION:

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=L9ohb0vYh0GTABSF8RU2xbvWcPgkTAhBlEgoeMzRTZBUODc0VE9OR0dFT0RPRTdZRExDQTdCWEhGMS4u

The Cardinal // June 2021

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ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH LEADERSHIP ACADEMY NEHA Seeks Experienced Environmental Health Professionals Who Aspire to Become Future Leaders

Atrazine is a chemical herbicide that is used to kill broadleaf and grassy weeds. It leaches into ground water and can show up in private and public water supplies and can cause several issues.

Atrazine was invented in 1958. It became widely used because of several factors, but the main ones being low risk of crop injury, low treatment cost, and low potential to drift. (Atrazine History | Atrazine Facts, 1999) According to the Pesticide Action Network, “Atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S. and was found in 94% of U.S drinking water tested by the USDA in 2010— more often than any other pesticide. This is an extremely high amount of affected ground water. According to Oregon Health “Atrazine can be reduced below 3 ppb in drinking water using granular activated carbon filtration.” (Atrazine and drinking water, n.d.). The United States standard for the acceptable amounts of Atrazine in the water supply is an average of 3 ppb.

There are a large number of public health concerns related to atrazine. The CDC reports that at short term exposure over the EPA allowance of 3 ppb., “the health effects include congestion of heart, lungs, and kidneys, low blood pressure, muscle spasms, weight loss, and damage to adrenal glands.” (Environments Well Water Atrazine and Your Health - CDC Tracking Network, 2016). Atrazine tends to spike in the late spring and early summer. This has been proven to lead to exposure to higher than allowed levels and in some cases like in Evansville, IL where the EPA tested 22.1 ppb while the utility company claimed its highest levels detected where only 1.7 ppb. There were several other communities that had falsely reported levels of atrazine in water supplies, however Evansville was most extreme. Some of the utility companies did not test during the prime atrazine spiking times, while others did not have numbers that lined up to the EPA. (Naidenko & Evans, 2018). The long-term health effects can be much more severe. The long-term exposure over 3 ppb include “weight loss, cardiovascular damage, retinal and some muscle degeneration, and cancer” according to the CDC. (Environments Well Water Atrazine and Your Health - CDC Tracking Network, 2016).

Atrazine is broken down by different organisms. According to the WHO “Atrazine can be degraded in surface water by photolysis and microorganisms via N-dealkylation and hydrolysis of the chloro-substituent; the corresponding half-lives are greater than 100 days at 20 °C. Hydrolysis and microbial degradation also take place in soil, depending mainly on temperature, moisture, and pH. Half-lives of 20–50 days at 20–25 °C have been found under laboratory conditions, increasing at lower temperatures (4).” (Atrazine in Drinking-water Background document for development of WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, 1996) However there once atrazine reaches ground water it is stable, so it must be removed via

filtration. (Atrazine in Drinking-water Background document for development of WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, 1996).

The problem of atrazine in groundwater and public water supplies can be resolved in a few different ways. The biggest one is to simply ban the use of it and switch to an alternative with less toxicity. It has been shown in multiple studies that atrazine often bypasses the legal limit and since it is only tested for quarterly there is not a whole lot being done now. A way to keep it out of the public water supplies would be to require more regular testing and give heavy punishments if found over the legal limit. This does not solve the issue of the environmental impact or private water supplies like wells though. According to Olga Naidenko “Atrazine and similar herbicides can be removed from tap water by carbon filters, including inexpensive countertop pitchers and faucet-mount filters. “(Naidenko & Evans, 2018) As Olga Naidenko states these also come in the form of faucet-mount filters which would be the way that individuals can be proactive in protecting themselves. Also, people who live in areas that atrazine is an issue can lobby to the local board to put stricter local regulations on the water quality that is distributed.

Works Cited:

Pesticide Action Network. (2010). Atrazine | Pesticide Action Network.. Retrieved from https://www.panna.org/resources/atrazine

Oregon Health Authority. (n.d.). Atrazine in drinking water systems Retrieved November 21, 2020, from https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/HealthyEnvironments/DrinkingWater/Monitoring/Documents/health/atrazine.pdf

Sygenta,Inc. (2021) Atrazine History | Atrazine Facts. Retrieved from http://www.atrazinefacts.com/about-atrazine/atrazine-history/

WHO (1996). Atrazine in Drinking-water Background document for development of WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/75363/WHO_SDE_WSH_03.04_32_eng.pdf

Environments Well Water Atrazine and Your Health - CDC Tracking Network. (2016). Retrieved from CDC.gov. Indicators and Data (cdc.gov) Naidenko, O., & Evans, S. (2018, November 14). Hormone-Disrupting Weed Killer Taints Drinking Water for Millions of Americans. Retrieved from . https://www.ewg.org/research/hormone-disrupting-weed-killer-taints-drinking-water-millions-americans#:~:text=The%20EPA

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An Atrazine Primer By Nicholas Shaul, University of Illinois at Springfield

New Member Renewing Member Renewing Member - No Changes

Name: __________________________________________________________________________ Employer: _______________________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: ____________________________________________________________________

This is my home address This is my work address

Phone: __________________________________ Fax: __________________________________ Email: __________________________________________________________________________ IEHA tracks your CEUs. Please print your license number below: _______________________________________________________________________________

*Students: please submit proof of your current full-time college or university student status

All applicants: Please return your completed application and check payable to IEHA to: Illinois Environmental Health Association ATTN: Membership P.O. Box 7505 Rockford, Illinois 61126

Questions? Contact the IEHA office: Phone: (815) 977-5884 Fax: (866) 760-6873 Email: iehaoffice@gmail.com

For Office Use Only:

Date Received: ______________ Check Number: _____________________ Amount: $ _________________________

Notes:

The Cardinal // June 2021

Illinois Environmental Health Association

2021 Membership Application Instruc ons: New members please complete the en re form. Renewing members, please enter your name and any other informa on that has changed. Members who are renewing with no changes, please enter your name only. You can also join or renew online at: h p://ieha.coffeecup.com/membership2.html 

Summer is nearly upon us, a welcome respite after a very busy spring. IEHA’s maiden voyage with virtual training was a rousing success. Aside from being able to provide CEUs for it’s members for the first time in over a year, the Spring Virtual Conference resulted in over seventy new IEHA memberships, a record in my tenure as office manager. I would like to second President Dwyer’s request for virtual conference attendees to submit their CEU and evaluation forms. The forms are on the web site: https://www.iehaonline.net/registration.html. When you’ve completed the forms, the should be emailed to: IEHAConference2021@gmail.com (note: this is not the IEHA office email) Planning for the fall conferences is already in progress and before long, registration will be available. Stay tuned! This issue of the Cardinal has no items for the Extra. I wish you all a very enjoyable summer!

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By Paul Chase, IEHA Office Manager

Illinois Environmental Health Association

PO Box 7505 Rockford, IL 61126 Phone: 815-977-5884 Fax: 866-760-6873 Email: iehaoffice@gmail.com Web site: http://www.iehaonline.net Paul K Chase, MA, LEHP Office Manager