Winter/Spring 2004 Washington Update

GAO Finds Bioterror Protection Gaps

According to a recent Congressional investigation, while many U.S. states have improved their abilities to respond to public health crises, no state is fully prepared to respond to a bioterrorism threat or major public health-related disaster.

In her February 12th testimony provided to the House Government Reform Committee, U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) Director of Healthcare and Public Health Issues, Janet Heinrich identified several issues of coordination, detection, and planning that do not currently meet established preparedness requirements. Areas outlined for improvement include outbreak detection capabilities, links between public health and animal surveillance systems, public communications capacity, and completed flu pandemic response plans.

The GAO reported that by August 30, 2004, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) will have distributed $870 million for state bioterrorism preparedness. The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will have provided $498 million by that same date.

The GAO report Public Health Preparedness can be found at:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04458t.pdf

Grumbles Nominated to Head EPA Water Office

On March 3rd, President Bush nominated Benjamin Grumbles to be the Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Water. Grumbles served as the top aide for former AA Tracey Meehan, and was named as Acting AA after Meehan resigned from EPA in December 2003.

Before arriving at EPA, Grumbles had been Deputy Chief of Staff and Environmental Counsel for the House Science Committee since February 2001. He previously served as Senior Counsel for the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Grumbles is an adjunct professor of law at the George Washington University Law School, and a member of the faculty advisory board of the Environmental Law and Policy Program at the USDA/Graduate School.

Acheson Named Director of Food Safety and Security

On February 2, 2004, David W.K. Acheson, M.D. was appointed Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Food Safety and Security Staff in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). In addition to providing leadership across a wide range of FDA food safety and security issues, he will also maintain his position as Chief Medical Officer for CFSAN, continuing his oversight role on all medical and clinical aspects of food safety and security issues under the FDA's authority.

Acheson is internationally recognized for his public health expertise in food safety and his research work in infectious diseases.

The FDA press release announcement can be found at:
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2004/NEW01013.html

EPA Releases Planning Tool for Water Security

In late December, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a package of interim guidance documents to help U.S. water utilities plan for and respond to intentional drinking water contamination.

The Response Protocol Toolbox (RPTB) was designed by EPA for integration into individual emergency response planning activities to effectively manage a threat to U.S. water supplies. Information contained in the RPTB was developed to assist in the revision of a utility's emergency response plan (ERP), particularly for contamination threats. However, it is noted that there is currently no regulatory requirement to use the RPTB in the revision of a utility's ERP.

The EPA produced the RPTB in conjunction with a number of U.S. drinking water utilities, in particular the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

A complete copy of the RPTB is available at:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/security/pdfs/guide_response_overview.pdf