Introductions
Introductions presents profiles of
industrial hygienists working to protect worker health worldwide. This
month we feature Peter Kowalski,
MPH, CIH, CSP, REHS, Environmental Health Scientist V at the Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR) in Atlanta, Ga.
Working in the division of health
assessment, Kowalski is charged with
conducting public health consultations and providing IH technical
support to ATSDR. He also served as
Chief Health Officer during a rotation at the CDC/ATSDR Emergency
Response Operations Center for hurricane response activities and the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In 2007,
the U.S. Public Health Service
awarded him an Outstanding Service
Medal for outstanding community,
technical and scientific contributions
of national importance related to
beryllium exposure.
Kowalski received a BA in Environmental Science from St. Michael’s
College and an MPH in Environmental Health from Yale University
School of Public Health. He is a past
president of the AIHA Georgia Local
Section and member of the Commissioned Officers Association. Kowalski
can be reached at (770) 488-0627 or
pek2@cdc.gov.
You’ve participated in operations related to the World Trade Center collapse,
Hurricane Katrina, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. What key lessons can
public health professionals take away from these events? Preparedness, including cooperating with partners and effective communication, is critical. I have learned a
great deal about preparedness and response since joining ATSDR in 1998. Public health
agencies have learned and grown from these events, too. For example, CDC established
an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in 2003. The EOC staff work incredibly well with
CDC and ATSDR subject matter experts on emerging public health threats such as H1N1.
What were your responsibilities as Chief Health Officer at CDC/ATSDR’s Emergency Response Operations Center for the Deepwater Horizon spill? I served as
Chief Health Officer for a three-week period in June 2010. My role was to provide advice
and support to the CDC Incident Commander—RADM Scott Deitchman—on public health
issues. Much of our focus was on obtaining health surveillance information about Gulf
Coast residents, reviewing and evaluating air, water, and waste sampling results collected by EPA, and developing accurate health messages for health professionals and the
public.
Describe the hazards you found at the shelters for Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
I was deployed with a CDC-led public health team to Dallas. We worked closely with the
Dallas County Public Health Authority. Our role was to identify public health and safety
concerns in shelters for evacuees. One small community outside of Dallas turned a vacant box store into a shelter with tall wooden racks to store donated blankets and other
articles. I called the structural engineer after the volunteers stored cases of bottled water
on the racks. Overall, the most pressing health need for many evacuees was obtaining
medications for their chronic disease conditions.
You’re responsible for public health consultations. Is it challenging to get companies to share health and safety information with residents? In my experience
most companies are willing to share pertinent information once they recognize the community concerns result from a general lack of environmental health information. Sometimes communities aren’t aware of the extent to which companies are complying with
EPA and OSHA regulations. For example, one metal refining facility had a network of air
monitors operating continuously to measure a hazardous air pollutant in compliance
with EPA regulations. The local community was unaware of this monitoring effort and
the monitoring results. Once the company started sharing this information, many of the
community’s concerns were allayed.
How do communities react when your team investigates a site? Community
reactions vary depending on the site and the circumstances. ATSDR has a mandate to
conduct public health assessments for all Superfund sites. ATSDR does not perform site
clean-up, but we act as an advisor and work closely with the environmental agencies
that perform this role. This is important because the public sometimes does not distinguish between environmental and public health agencies. Health education and effective
risk communication are critical for easing fears and addressing public concerns.
