The document discusses the dynamic nature of epidemiological data and emphasizes the need for a comprehensive event management system to effectively communicate critical information during outbreaks. It covers various aspects such as emergency response to environmental emergencies, the challenges posed by drinking water contamination, and the importance of source water protection to public health. Key health impacts related to contaminants in drinking water and the necessity for regulations by agencies like the EPA are also outlined.

1. Epidemiological data and operational information about outbreaks is dynamic and changes
rapidly. You must develop a comprehensive Event Management System to manage critical
information about an outbreak (of your choice) within the Excel program that you have just
learned. This is one method to ensure accurate and timely communications between key public
health professionals and the community.
Choose from any one of the fields below.
Features of the data management system you create should include:
Solution
Case Management-
Businesses and agencies in long-term relationships with their customers, citizens or subscribers
will be judged by the accuracy of the records they hold, the consistency of the communications
that take place, and the speed, efficiency and fairness with which each case, claim or contract is
processed.
Delivery of customer service against these priorities has never been more challenging.
Customers are more mobile in their addresses, jobs and family relationships. Communications
channels seem to multiply overnight, with customers switching between them at will. Corporate
messaging demands multi-channel distribution with increasing amounts of personalization.
Mergers and acquisitions create multiple silos of customer-related data to be seamlessly joined.
And products, business rules and government regulations change with alarming frequency.
Against this backdrop, the demands on the IT systems to support smooth, efficient and integrated
delivery are considerable, particularly where case-orientated transactions are involved.
Emergency Response-

2. Environmental emergencies are incidents or events that threaten public safety, health, and
welfare and include hurricanes, floods, wildfires, industrial plant explosions, chemical spills, acts
of terrorism, and others. While these events range in size, location, cause, and effect, most have
an environmental component. Emergency response is the organizing, coordinating, and directing
of available resources in order to respond to the event and bring the emergency under control.
The goal of this coordinated response is to protect public health by minimizing the impact of the
event on the community and the environment.
An emergency response plan must provide the resources and information needed to evaluate the
human and environmental health impacts of the event, assess and reduce human exposures to
contaminants, and develop science-based strategies for remediation and rebuilding. One example
is the immediate response of NIEHS and other government agencies to the devastation and
hardship caused by Hurricane Katrina. This included the establishment of a field hospital in
Mississippi to meet the immediate health needs of the hurricane victims, as well as the
development of a Geographic Information System to plot the locations of chemical plants,
refineries, Superfund clean-up sites, and other potential hot spots of contamination where
flooding occurred.
Safe Drinking Water-
There are many types of pollutants that can contaminate drinking water and cause illness and
disease. Regardless of where drinking water comes from - a lake, a river, an underground
aquifer, a well, a public water utility, even bottled water - all can be contaminated by a number
of impurities.
Some of these contaminants include chemicals like pesticides, heavy metals such as arsenic and
lead, human and animal waste, and even chemical by-products created during drinking water
treatment. Exposure to these contaminants can cause a number of health problems, ranging from
nausea and stomach pain to developmental problems and cancer.

3. Health Effects of Drinking Water Contamination:
Exposure to microbes in water can lead to nausea, fevers, diarrhea and dehydration. Long-term
exposure can cause rashes, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and a number of immune,
neurological, developmental, and reproductive problems.
Because of the different types and levels of pollutants in U.S. waters, it is very difficult to
observe accurately the rate of disease from contamination in water. However, it has been
estimated that approximately 900,000 people fall ill and as many as 900 die each year from
waterborne infectious disease. It is equally difficult to measure the adverse health impact of
waterborne chemicals because of the long lag between exposure and symptoms, the multiple
ways chemicals can enter the body, and the mobility of populations.
While everyone is at risk for health problems because of drinking water contamination, the level
of risk varies from person to person and depends on a number of factors. These include: the
specific contaminant(s) to which an individual is exposed; the size of the dose; demographic
characteristics; pre-existing health conditions; lifestyle choices including smoking and diet; and
the effects of exposure to multiple chemicals. Pregnant women are particularly susceptible to
exposure, as are infants and children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems.
To educate health professionals and the public about drinking water and disease, PSR published
a primer and series of fact sheets called Drinking Water and Disease: What Health Care
Providers Should Know. The primer and series address the problems associated with
contaminated drinking water and offer recommended actions that health care providers can take
to protect communities from water contamination.
Chemical and Microbial Contaminants:
There are many kinds of microbes and chemical toxicants that can contaminate drinking water
and threaten public health. The most common microbial contaminants include E. coli,

4. Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Salmonella, while common chemical contaminants include
arsenic, radon, lead and nitrates. Some of these contaminants are naturally occurring, while
others are man-made.
Contamination of drinking water can occur in several ways. A region's industrial and
agricultural practices, geological make up, and weather patterns often determines which
contaminants make their way into source water, which is the body of surface or ground water
from which drinking water supplies are derived. Contamination problems also can arise during
the water utilities' treatment and distribution processes that filter water and then deliver it to
residential homes. Treatment processes are sometimes ineffective and the chemicals used to
remove certain contaminants can create chemical by-products that pose a threat to human health.
Lead and other forms of pipes that are found in some distribution systems, as well as in
residential houses, can also leach into drinking water, causing local contamination.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets maximum contamination levels (MCLs)
for various substances in drinking water. States that have approved water quality programs have
the authority to pass their own standards, which must be equal to or stricter than the federal
levels. However, only the drinking water supplied by public water systems is protected. Bottled
water and drinking water from private wells are not fully regulated.
Source Water:
The two types of source water are surface water (rivers, streams, and lakes) and ground water,
which comes primarily from underground aquifers. The geography of a particular US region is
normally the primary determinant for which water sources supply households with drinking
water.
Source water is constantly under threat from environmental contamination, making it an
important drinking water and land use planning concern. While ground water can become
polluted by "naturally occurring" contaminants and sometimes by human-made contaminants,
surface water is particularly at risk. "Naturally occurring" contamination includes contaminants

5. from animal fecal matter, algal growth, or geologic formations. Surface water also is vulnerable
to human-made contamination, both from point sources (such as pipes or man-made ditches that
discharge pollutants into water bodies) and non-point sources (such as run-off from streets and
farmland). While the Clean Water Act has reduced point source contamination, non-point
sources are still a considerable threat to the health of waterways.
Although source water protection does not solve all drinking water contamination problems, it
can play a crucial role in eliminating contamination before it starts.