Authors and Contributors:
Faculty and Students of Boston University School of Public Health
Megan Romano, MPH
Elizabeth Faye, MPH
Wayne W. LaMorte, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology
Rob Schadt, EdD, Director, Office of Teaching, Learning and Technology
Wendy Heiger-Bernays, PhD, Associate Professor of Environmental Health
Richard Clapp, MPH, DSc, Professor of Environmental Health
Michael McClean, MS, ScD, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health
Contributing Authors:
Leonard Glantz, JD, Professor of Health Law, Bioethics, and Human Rights
David Sherr, PhD, Professor of Environmental Health
Veronica Vieira, MS, DSc, Research Assistant Professor of Environmental Health
Suzanne Condon, Associate Commissioner and Director of the Center for Environmental Health, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Web Design & Development: Office of Teaching, Learning and Technology, BUSPH
Introduction
This interactive educational module invites you to participate in an environmental health assessment based loosely on the evaluation and remediation of contaminants at the South Weymouth Naval Air Station (SWNAS) in Weymouth, MA. SWNAS was a real base that was in operation from 1941-1992. Like many such facilities, the base had contaminants that posed a problem for subsequent redevelopment of the land for civilian use.
SWNAS provided a realistic focus for this educational module, and much of the information used for the module is authentic, including the historical information, maps, photography and redevelopment plan for the site. However, the investigations described here are based only loosely on the actual investigation and remediation of SWNAS. Moreover, the characters are fictional and are not intended to depict real persons. We have also focused on selected contaminants and fabricated data around these in order to achieve specific learning objectives. Consequently, the scenarios depicted in this educational module should not be construed as authentic.
Notes
There are many valuable links to high quality information sources. These give you access to a wealth of useful information that will be helpful to your understanding of the case and, at the same time provide you with valuable resources for other public health problems.
Users of the module will vary in their experience and expertise, and it is not necessary that you read all of the information in all of the links. It may be helpful to at least explore all of the links in a cursory way in order to familiarize yourself with the resources that are available, since you may need them later.
There is also a link to a Resources page on the navigation menu on each page. Note also that "Other Resources" are provided on the right side of the pages, including a Glossary and a Law Library with relevant documents.
Support
This project was supported by a grant from the Information Technology Grant Program at Boston University. Support was also provided by the Local Public Health Institute of MA (Institute) and by the New England Alliance for Public Health Workforce Development ( Alliance). The Institute is a Massachusetts Department of Public Health funded entity created to strengthen local public health through training and education. It is managed by the Boston University School of Public Health Office of Public Health Practice. This publication was supported by Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number 5U90TP116997-10, Public Health Preparedness and Response for Bioterrorism, from CDC. The Alliance is funded by grant # 05-078 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The contents of this module are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC nor HRSA. The authors of this module have no financial interests or relationships to disclose.
