training & workforce development
Pasadena Middle School Students
Become “Toxic Crusaders”
ELP By the Numbers:
110
48
graduates
by Laura Siegel, senior specialist, Training & Workforce Development
participating states (including Puerto
Rico, the District of Columbia) and
two Canadian provinces
48
45%
participating laboratories
of ELP graduates have
received promotions,
including to laboratory director or
assistant director positions
60%
of ELP graduates are current
or former participants on APHL
committees or subcommittees
What are some of your favorite ELP
moments?
Volunteers assemble at the Department of Toxic Substances Control Laboratory.
I love seeing our ELP alumni recognized
at the annual meeting each year—
many alumni have been APHL award
recipients—and they credit ELP with
helping them get there. Also, seeing the
number of people who volunteer to give
back after completing the program—
whether it’s through volunteering as a
coach, or to review applications, or to
serve on our subcommittee. n
What’s it like to experience a day-in-the
life of an environmental laboratory
scientist? On June 2, 2018, approximately
35 middle school students did just that
at the Department of Toxic Substances
Control Laboratory (DTSC), Pasadena’s
environmental chemistry laboratory.
The ELP has helped fine tune
who I am and what I offer to the
profession. We are constantly looking
for talented and trained staff to fill
in the gaps of the public health labs.
Without appropriate training and
fellowship opportunities we risk
losing the truly talented folks to other
disciplines.”
Marty Soehnlen, director, Infectious Disease,
Michigan Department of Health and Human
Services, Bureau of Laboratories.
PublicHealthLabs
@APHL
“Toxic Crusaders: Learn How DTSC
Protects People and the Environment”
was hosted by DTSC and APHL. During
the event students rotated through
four hands-on stations that reflected
laboratory work performed in real-world
scenarios. In a mock contaminated site
investigation, students assumed one
of four roles on the DTSC Emergency
Response Team (ERT): safety officer,
sampler, photographer or quality
assurance officer. They collected samples
of evidence and learned procedures
employed by ERT, which responds to
statewide calls requesting assistance for
emergency removals from hazardous and
toxic materials.
After the investigation, students used
three different methods to determine
if samples of “toxin K” were hazardous.
They performed a metal analysis using
an ICP-OES instrument, measured
corrosivity by analyzing pH levels and
performed UV-Vis characterization to
determine concentration. After each test
APHL.org
they recorded results in their notebooks
and discussed their findings at the event’s
conclusion.
“We feel what we do here is very
important. Not a lot of people, including
students and the community, really know
what we’re doing in the lab,” said Mui
Kultunov, the DTSC laboratory director.
This is their chance to go through the lab
techniques that we use every day and [let
them] see the different types of careers
available to them.”
Towards the end of the afternoon,
students and parents gathered in
the lab’s atrium to hear some closing
comments while a slideshow of photos
from the day played in the background.
Scott Giatpaiboon, DTSC environmental
scientist, and several other laboratory
staff gave short presentations on careers
at the lab. Participants also gave informal
feedback on the day’s activities. “I like
that we learned something different from
each station,” noted one student. “It made
normal learning about science more fun
and exciting.”
Whether or not there were any future
crusaders in the group, everyone was
encouraged to keep exploring and never
stop learning. n
Summer 2018 LAB MATTERS
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