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Drinking Water
Project
Topics: Contaminants and Hazards, Chemical Agents, Children's Environmental Health, Drinking Water, Water
Lead is a potent neurotoxin that is commonly present in our environment and can have serious, irreversible cognitive and behavioral impacts, particularly in children. Historically, most lead exposure has occurred through inhaling leaded-gasoline combustion products in the atmosphere; this contribution has drastically declined due to the global phase-out of leaded gasoline. Other sources of...
View Full Article Cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae, are naturally occurring microscopic organisms found in fresh, brackish, or marine water that can form cyanotoxins. These toxins are a serious public health issue as exposure can cause illness and, in worst case scenarios, can be fatal (Svirčev et al. 2017). Under certain environmental conditions, cyanobacteria multiply quickly and create blooms...
View Full ArticleTopics: Contaminants and Hazards, Communicable & Infectious Diseases, Drinking Water, Personal Service Establishments, Water
Floatation or float tanks have resurged in popularity since their initial commercialization in the 1970s. These tanks, pods, or chambers are intended to help users achieve certain physical and mental benefits through the elimination (or minimization) of sensory inputs. Briefly, the user floats on his or her back in a warm, near-saturated solution of magnesium sulphate (MgSO4), which buoys the...
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In Canada, most people have access to safe and secure drinking water. Nevertheless, lapses in management of drinking water safety may lead to waterborne illness outbreaks, which can lead to high personal and economic tolls as a large number of people may be exposed to disease agents simultaneously. Investigation of waterborne illness outbreaks is challenging due to rarity of occurrence,...
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Topics: Water, Drinking Water, Small Drinking Water Systems General, Canada
Microbial contamination of groundwater from private wells can pose a significant health risk to rural Canadians. To mitigate risk, Health Canada currently recommends shock chlorination along with microbial well testing, voluntary measures most often performed by the homeowner. However, infrequent testing and paucity of research assessing the effectiveness of shock chlorination guidance as...
View Full ArticleTopics: Water, Drinking Water General, Canada
Boil water advisories are issued when water testing detects higher than accepted amounts of microbial indicators or when there are deficiencies with water treatment. The fear of not issuing a boil water advisory when there is truly a health risk associated with water consumption can lead water operators to call for boil water advisories as a precautionary measure. Yet, issuance of boil water...
View Full Article Primary inquiry: Small horticulture growers have been watering their crops with surface water containing a cyanobacterial bloom, before selling their crops at local markets.
Can irrigation of food crops using surface water affected by cyanobacteria blooms result in bioaccumulation of cyanotoxins in these crops?
Can cyanotoxins bioaccumulate to a concentration that might cause a public health...
View Full Article What are cyanobacteria? Are cyanoblooms preventable? Who is at risk and how does exposure occur? Is there testing for cyanotoxins?
This NCCEH document provides a brief outline of these key questions related to cyanobacteria and the toxins they produce.
View Full ArticleCommunity Water Fluoridation in Canada – Trends, Benefits, and Risks (University of Guelph Master of Public Health Program)
Topics: Drinking Water, Water General, Canada
Fluoride has been added to public drinking water in Canadian communities since the 1940s as a means of preventing tooth decay. Dental fluorosis is a known adverse effect of excessive fluoride exposure during tooth formation. Fluorosis ranges from barely noticeable whitish striations in the enamel to severe pitting and brownish staining. In general, the prevalence of dental fluorosis in...
View Full ArticleCharacteristics of small residential and commercial water systems that influence their likelihood of being on drinking water advisories in rural British Columbia, Canada
Topics: Water, Drinking Water, Small Drinking Water Systems
Health officials often lack information about characteristics that predict which water systems are most likely to be placed on and to persist on drinking water advisories (e.g. health warnings offering advice or information). This study uses data collected by the Interior Health Authority in British Columbia to characterize water systems on advisory for microbiological threats and to identify...
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Topics: Drinking Water, Small Drinking Water Systems, Water General, Canada
Information about Canadian drinking water systems and past water-borne disease outbreaks is incomplete and non-standardized. Standard definitions and coordinated surveillance systems for water-borne disease outbreaks would help inform policy and practice. A relatively high proportion of past water-borne disease outbreaks in Canada are estimated to have occurred in small drinking water systems...
View Full ArticleTopics: Contaminants and Hazards, Water, Food, Air, Chemical Agents, Drinking Water, Outdoor Air
Nanotechnology is the creation of materials, devices, and systems by controlling matter at the nanometer scale (1-100 billionths of a meter). Potential exposures to engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) through contact with consumer products or air, water, and food sources are an emerging potential threat to human health. ENPs have unique properties and characteristics in addition to size, such as a...
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Waterborne infections are an important cause of preventable enteric disease. This report obtained information on: characteristics of waterborne disease events (WBEs) in Canada; factors contributing to WBEs; current WBE detection and prevention practices; and, information needs of front-line public health staff.
Forty-seven WBEs were identified, the majority occurring prior to 2001. Giardia and...
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The challenge of judging and managing public health risks “caused by” chlorination disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water is likely the most complex issue faced by the drinking water industry in the developed world over the past three decades. Public health professionals must be sure that precautionary efforts in managing DBP risks are never allowed to compromise necessary measures to...
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Topics: Contaminants and Hazards, Water, Biological Agents, Communicable & Infectious Diseases, Drinking Water
While boiling water is an effective way to kill most microbial pathogens, research performed in the United Kingdom has shown that people do not necessarily comply with boil water advisories. Similarly, in Walkerton, Ontario in 2000, only 44% of respondents reported that they were aware of the order to boil water when it was first issued on the local radio at the start of the outbreak and in...
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Workshops Presentations
Topics: Contaminants and Hazards, Chemical Agents, Children's Environmental Health, Communicable & Infectious Diseases, Drinking Water, Water
The BCCDC/NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.
Title 1: Assessing the risk of lead exposure to children from drinking water in Metro Vancouver child care facilitiesSpeaker: Thomas Quach, BCIT Environmental Health Student
Abstract: With...
2017-06-29_EH_Seminar_Risk_lead_exposure_drinking_water_child_care_facilities-Quach.pdf, 2017-06-29_EH_Seminar_Lead_analysis_in_drinking_water_of_daycares-Lin.pdf, 2017-06-29_EH_Seminar_Mobi_bike_share_program-Moore.pdfTopics: Drinking Water, Water General, Canada
Update on the NCCPH Small Drinking Water Systems Project
View Full ArticleTopics: Water, Drinking Water AB, Canada
Agenda
Presentations:
Groundwater Under the Direct Influence of Surface Water*Steve Wallace
Ground Water Wells - Construction, Maintenance, and TroubleshootingTwyla Legault
Cross Connection Control and Backflow PreventionRoland Tomuschat
Cost Effective Treatment of Small Ground Water Systems**Garry Drachenberg
Active Surveillance - PHI’s Role with Drinking WaterNelson Fok
Handouts:
* AENV...
View Full ArticleTopics: Chemical Agents, Drinking Water, Water
This presentation, delivered at the Canadian Water Quality Association's (CWQA) Annual General Meeting, discusses opportunities for Public Health and the Drinking Water Treatment Industry to partner in reducing lead exposure.
View Full ArticleTopics: Aboriginal Environmental Health, Water, Drinking Water NS, Canada
Presentations:
Environmental Stewardship UnitStuart Wuttke, Assembly of First Nations (AFN)
Health and the EnvironmentAlbert Marshall, Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources
State of Knowledge on Environmental Health Issues for First NationsTara Marsden, First Nations Environmental Health Innovation Network (FNEHIN)
Health Canada's Implementation of the Drinking Water Safety Program: Successes...
View Full ArticleTopics: Water, Drinking Water
Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI) 81st Annual National Educational Conference
National and International agencies establish drinking water guidelines based on objectives which combine health protection, aesthetics, and the efficacy of metal removal. Recent examples of requests by BC agencies to BCCDC around selenium, arsenic, manganese and lead in water illustrate the need...
View Full ArticleTopics: Climate, Drinking Water, Recreational Water, Risk Analysis, Water
Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI) 82nd Annual National Educational Conference.
Climate change is anticipated to have myriad potential impacts on human health, some of which may be difficult to predict. However, the effects of climate change on ground and surface water, and the concomitant risk to human health through disruptions to drinking water, have been the subject of...
View Full ArticleTopics: Contaminants and Hazards, Chemical Agents, Drinking Water, Environmental Health Surveillance, Practices and Procedures, Risk Analysis, Water
Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI) 82nd Annual National Educational Conference
In January 2016 a US federal state of emergency was declared in Flint Michigan due to elevated lead concentration in the city’s drinking water. This presentation gives an overview of the Flint lead crisis and how regulation was insufficient to protect public health given human error and omission....
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American Public Health Association (APHA) - Drinking Water and Lead Service Lines: Partnering to Protect Public Health
Lead exposure contributes to cognitive impairments, behavioral problems and lowered IQ. While there is no safe level of lead exposure, lead can be found in dust in our homes, air, soil, and drinking water. Lead service lines are the largest source of lead in drinking water - with an estimated 6-10 million lead service lines bringing water to taps across the U.S. Following the tragedy in Flint,...
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