Lab Matters Summer 2018 | Page 55

APHL 2018 Annual Meeting Poster Abstracts

faces large-scale cholera outbreaks , environmental protection remains crucial to ensuring healthy communities and a clean environment . A critical component of protecting the environment is a strong scientific understanding of the underlying information and technology measuring exposure , assessing impacts and mitigating risk . US Environmental Protection Agency ’ s ( US EPA ) Office of Research and Development ( ORD ) provides scientific research and technology that is the foundation of decisions to better protect public health and the environment . ORD focuses on topics such as safe and sustainable water ; air and energy ; chemical safety evaluation and risk assessment ; homeland security ; and sustainable and healthy communities . ORD works closely with groups to identify the most important environmental health challenges facing the nation and discuss how research could be used to address these challenges . ORD is comprised of national laboratories and centers located in 14 facilities across the country . ORD facilities are worldclass scientific organizations , providing research used at the local , regional , national and international levels . These facilities play a major role in engaging local communities in science . The poster will present an overview of ORD ’ s technical capabilities by summarizing scientific research and providing examples of capabilities from a sample of six out of the 14 facilities across the country . The six ORD research facilities are briefly described below .

• Narragansett , Rhode Island — Focuses on the health of ecosystems located along the Atlantic Coast .

• Gulf Breeze , Florida — Focuses on the impact of human-made stressors on public health and the ecosystems of the Gulf Coast .

• Research Triangle Park , North Carolina — Focuses on decontamination technology research for homeland security , computational toxicology research and research on the health effects of air pollution .

• Cincinnati , Ohio -— Conducts a variety of research to manage chemical risks , clean up hazardous sites and protect water quality .

• Duluth , Minnesota — Focuses on predicting and assessing stressors such as pesticides , bacteria and changes in land use affect human health and the water resources of the Great Lakes and United States .

• Ada , OK — Features several unique research capabilities , including laboratories , field equipment and test wells to perform specialized subsurface investigations on groundwater contaminant transport and develop and assess technologies for remediating groundwater contamination .

Presenter : Michaela Burns , US Environmental Protection Agency , Washington , DC , Email : burns . michaela @ epa . gov

Public Health Role in Reducing Legionnaires ’ Disease Risk P . Root , IDEXX Laboratories , Inc ., Westbrook , ME

Legionella pneumonphila is the number one waterborne pathogen and the causative agent of Legionnaires ’ disease . The mortality rate for healthcare-acquired Legionnaires ’ disease is 25 %. Yet , as the US CDC published in 2017 , 9 out of 10 cases of Legionnaires ’ disease can be prevented with proper water system management . Several organizations have developed standards designed to address the prevention of Legionnaires ’ disease . For healthcare facilities , water safety management requirements are specified in the Centers of

Medicare and Medicaid ( CMS ) rules published in June 2017 . But many healthcare facilities are still unclear how to proceed and are contacting their local public health laboratories for assistance . The CMS rules and the roles public health laboratories play in reducing Legionnaires ’ disease risk in their communities will be outlined in this poster .

Effective Legionnaires ’ disease management can be accomplished through following one of several standards . The CMS Rule points to two documents : ASHRAE 188:2015 and the US CDC Tool Kit . This poster will outline the key objectives and activities of water management planning and oversight , including ;

• Water Safety Management Plan Development : What are the key elements of a good plan ? How do they fit together ?

• Water Safety Management Program Team : What can public health professionals contribute to planning teams ?

• Water Safety Management Program Verification and Validation : What controls should be considered ? What is the value of microbiological testing ? What roles can public and commercial laboratories play ?

This poster provides details on tools , resources and other support that public health professionals can provide to help healthcare facilities develop and implement water safety management programs that successfully reduce the incidence of Legionnaires ’ disease .

Presenter : Patsy Root , IDEXX Laboratories , Inc ., Westbrook , ME , Phone : 207.566.8947 , Email : patsy-root @ idexx . com

Facilitating the Transition to Accurate Hormone Testing : Activities of the Partnership for the Accurate Testing of Hormones ( PATH )

R . Rej 1 , H . Vesper 2 ; 1 Wadsworth Center , New York State Department of Health , Albany , NY , 2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta , GA

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that may interfere with the body ’ s endocrine system and produce adverse developmental , reproductive , neurological and immune effects . Measuring the effects of these compounds highly depends on accurate and reliable hormone tests . Many hormone tests were found to be inaccurate and unreliable and efforts are under way to improve this situation . The Partnership for the Accurate Testing of Hormones ( PATH ) is working with key organizations — including APHL — to ensure that the analytical quality of hormone tests meets clinical and public health needs . Furthermore , it provides information to help those relying on accurate laboratory tests about the quality of hormone tests and approaches to assess analytical quality of these tests . This poster will summarize the state of hormone testing including analytical performance of hormone tests and its impact on research translation , patient care and public health ; describe PATH ’ s programs and activities to improve the quality of hormone tests ; describe quality indicators for hormone tests and how to obtain information about test quality .

Note : This poster has been prepared in collaboration with the Partnership for the Accurate Testing of Hormones ( PATH ) and the APHL Environmental Health Committee .

Presenter : Robert Rej , PhD , Wadsworth Center , New York State Department of Health , Phone : 518.474.5101 , Email : bob @ wadsworth . org

Environmental Health