Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T21:19:20.474Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mass Arsenic Poisoning and the Public Health Response in Maine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2013

Dora A. Mills ,
Anthony J. Tomassoni ,
Lindsay A. Tallon ,
Kristy A. Kade  and
Elena S. Savoia
Dora A. Mills
Affiliation:
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Anthony J. Tomassoni
Affiliation:
Yale-New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response
Lindsay A. Tallon*
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Emergency Preparedness Bureau
Kristy A. Kade
Affiliation:
Harvard School of Public Health, Center for Public Health Preparedness
Elena S. Savoia
Affiliation:
Harvard School of Public Health, Center for Public Health Preparedness
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Lindsay A. Tallon, MSPH, MA, Department of Public Health Emergency Preparedness Bureau, 250 Washington St, Boston, MA 02108 (e-mail Lindsay.Tallon@state .ma.us).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Maine's Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness within the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention undertook a major reorganization of epidemiology and laboratory services and began developing relationships with key partners and stakeholders, and a knowledgeable and skilled public health emergency preparedness workforce. In 2003, these newly implemented initiatives were tested extensively during a mass arsenic poisoning at the Gustav Adolph Lutheran Church in the rural northern community of New Sweden, Maine. This episode serves as a prominent marker of how increased preparedness capabilities, as demonstrated by the rapid identification and administration of antidotes and effective collaborations between key partners, can contribute to the management of broader public health emergencies in rural areas. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2013;7:319-326)

Keywords

arsenic poisoningpreparedness capacitypublic health emergencypublic health preparednessrural preparedness
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , June 2013 , pp. 319 - 326
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. HR 3448-107th Congress. Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ188.107.pdf. Updated 2002. Accessed October 28, 2008.Google Scholar
2. US Census Bureau. 2000 Census Fact Sheet, New Sweden town, Aroos-took County, Maine. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=new+sweden&_cityTown=new+sweden&_state=04000US23&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&show_2003_tab=&redirect=Y. Accessed December 18, 2008.Google Scholar
3.Mazumder, DN. Effect of drinking arsenic contaminated water in children. Indian Pediatr. 2007;44(12):925-927.Google ScholarPubMed
4.Ledford, H. Irrawaddy may be poisoned by arsenic. Nature. 2008;454(7202):263.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Ahsan, H, Perrin, M, Rahman, A, etal. Associations between drinking water and urinary arsenic levels and skin lesions in Bangladesh. J Occup Environ Med. 2000;42(12):1195-1201.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Lai, MW, Boyer, EW, Kleinman, ME, Rodig, NM, Ewald, MB. Acute arsenic poisoning in two siblings. Pediatrics. 2005;116(1):249-257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Xu, Y, Wang, Y, Zheng, Q, et al. Clinical manifestations and arsenic meth-ylation after a rare subacute arsenic poisoning accident. Toxicol Sci. 2008;103(2):278-284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8.Lech, T, Trela, F. Massive acute arsenic poisonings. Forensic Sci Int. 2005;151(2-3):273-277.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Levin-Scherz, JK, Patrick, JD, Weber, FH, Garabedian, C Jr. Acute arsenic ingestion. Ann EmergMed. 1987;16(6):702-704.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Banville, B, Kesseli, D. State closes New Sweden arsenic case. Bangor Daily News. April 19, 2006;A1.Google Scholar
11.Alexander, M. The killer among us. http://www.rd.com/content/printContent.do?contentId=27258. Accessed August 16, 2008.Google Scholar
12.Pertel-Ashouwak, L. Chemical poisoning and the forensic nurse: a case study. On the Edge. 2005;11:4.Google Scholar
13.Young, C. A Bitter Brew: Faith, Power, and Poison in a Small New England Town. New York: Penguin Group; 2005.Google Scholar
14. Environmental Protection Agency. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations; Arsenic and Clarifications to Compliance and New Source Contaminants Monitoring; Final Rule. EPA No. 815Z01001. January 2001. http://yosemite.epa.gov/water/owrcCatalog.nsf/1ffc8769fdecb48085256ad3006f39fa/9f2810bec897c4e185256d83004fd8ec!OpenDocument. Accessed October 8, 2008.Google Scholar
15.Skolfield, S, Lambert, D, Tomassoni, A, Wallace, K. Inadequate regional supplies of anti dotes and medications for poisoning emergencies. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1997;35:490.Google Scholar
16.Dart, RC, Stark, Y, Fulton, B, Koziol-McLain, J, Lowenstein, SR. Insufficient stocking of poisoning antidotes in hospital pharmacies. JAMA. 1996;276(18):1508-1510.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Wolkin, AF, Patel, M, Watson, W, etal. Early detection of illness associated with poisonings of public health significance. Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47(2):170-176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18.Goldfrank, LR, Flomenbaum, N. Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies, 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2006: 1981.Google Scholar
19.Trestrail, JH. Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press; 2000: 164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Roses, OE, Garcia Fernandez, JC, Villaamil, EC, et al. Mass poisoning by sodium arsenite. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1991;29(2):209-213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Uede, K, Furukawa, F. Skin manifestations in acute arsenic poisoning from the Wakayama curry-poisoning incident. Br J Dermatol. 2003;149(4):757-762.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed