Recently published news concerning Marcellus Shale-related health questions and the work of the Pennsylvania Department of Health has included dangerous allegations that are misleading the public.
As the secretary of health and as someone who has been involved with public health reporting when Marcellus Shale-related health concerns became an emerging issue for the state, I am writing to set the record straight with the people of Pennsylvania.
The state Health Department has protocols for all public health inquiries and concerns that employees must follow. All inquiries are immediately reported to the department’s Bureau of Epidemiology, the experts who have training in controlling and preventing the spread of disease or illness, for review and follow-up. This is a strict and standard protocol for any health report the department receives, whether it’s related to Marcellus Shale or other environmental health issues.
The process includes a review, investigation, data collection and a formal response to the complainant. The Bureau of Epidemiology works directly with the caller or patient’s physician in charge for follow-up, and any immediate threats to the public’s health found would be given a priority.
Multidisciplinary responses might, at times, be required, such as when environmental sampling is needed with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Large-scale responses can involve coordination with state and federal agencies. A log is kept of each complaint that comes in, responses are tracked and outcomes noted.
Know, too, that the department has conducted outreach on the issue. We have sent requests out through the Pennsylvania Medical Society, asking physicians to let us know if they are hearing from concerned patients. We encourage open dialogue and want to hear from individuals if they have concerns. This applies to dialogue with our employees and with the public.
The department employs about 1,300 people who are dedicated to serving the public’s health. We are mindful of time and resources when considering speaking engagements or participation in events and send out information to our employees to assist with public inquiries, as most public-service oriented businesses or organizations do.
Our goal is, and will continue to be, to provide information and a forum for discourse on public health issues. To claim anything less is a great disservice to our professionals.
The department will continue to carry out related monitoring activities under Act 13 of 2012, working with other state resources and public health stakeholders across the state in our collective efforts to better understand the potential effects of Marcellus Shale drilling.
This includes participation in initiatives such as the Marcellus Shale health outcomes study from Geisinger Health System’s Research Institute, which is a large-scale, detailed look at health histories of hundreds of thousands of patients who live near natural gas wells and facilities. The Department of Health is providing consultation and verification of data and study methodology review for this project.
We also have been working with schools of public health in Pennsylvania to further understand and study the potential health impacts of drilling.
We continue to support a health registry and are exploring public-private partnerships to help achieve our goal and develop a quality product for Pennsylvanians. As has been reported, Pennsylvania is ahead of several other states on this matter.
We might not have a multimillion-dollar health registry at the department as some have called for, but the records are kept, the proactive follow-up and coordination is happening, and we are leveraging the talents and resources we have to get the job done.
To say we are not doing anything and are turning a blind eye to this matter is degrading to the dedication of the public health employees at the department who are working on this matter on behalf of Pennsylvanians.
