Daniel D Nguyen, Cristin E McArdle, Katharine E Saunders, David Carranza, Lilanthi Balasuriya, Izraelle I McKinnon, Amy Fothergill, Jack Pfeiffer, Nicholas V Titelbaum, T Christy Hallett, Maureen F Orr, Stacey Konkle
{"title":"Morbidities Associated with Drinking Water Contamination After a 2021 Petroleum Leak - Oahu, Hawaii, March 2023.","authors":"Daniel D Nguyen, Cristin E McArdle, Katharine E Saunders, David Carranza, Lilanthi Balasuriya, Izraelle I McKinnon, Amy Fothergill, Jack Pfeiffer, Nicholas V Titelbaum, T Christy Hallett, Maureen F Orr, Stacey Konkle","doi":"10.1017/dmp.2025.10154","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>On November 20, 2021, petroleum fuel contaminated the Red Hill well, which provides water to about 93 000 persons on Oahu, Hawaii. Initial investigations recommended further evaluations of long-term health effects of petroleum exposure in drinking water. We reviewed electronic health records of those potentially exposed to contaminated water to understand prevalence of conditions and symptoms.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A sample of persons potentially exposed during November 20, 2021-March 18, 2022 who sought care within the military health system through February 24, 2023 was identified. Abstracted records were categorized as worsening preexisting or persistent new for conditions and symptoms.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 653 medical charts reviewed, 357 (55%) had worsening preexisting or persistent new conditions or symptoms. Most-documented conditions included worsening preexisting migraine (8%; 50/653) and chronic pain (4%; 26/653), and persistent new migraine (2%; 14/653) and adjustment disorder (2%; 13/653). Most-documented symptoms included worsening preexisting headache (8%; 49/653) and anxiety (6%; 42/653), and persistent new rash (7%; 46/653) and headache (5%; 34/653).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Approximately half of the abstracted medical records demonstrated worsening preexisting or persistent new conditions or symptoms and might benefit from sustained access to physical, mental, and specialized health care support systems. Continued monitoring for long-term health outcomes is recommended.</p>","PeriodicalId":54390,"journal":{"name":"Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness","volume":"19 ","pages":"e219"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12330894/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2025.10154","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: On November 20, 2021, petroleum fuel contaminated the Red Hill well, which provides water to about 93 000 persons on Oahu, Hawaii. Initial investigations recommended further evaluations of long-term health effects of petroleum exposure in drinking water. We reviewed electronic health records of those potentially exposed to contaminated water to understand prevalence of conditions and symptoms.
Methods: A sample of persons potentially exposed during November 20, 2021-March 18, 2022 who sought care within the military health system through February 24, 2023 was identified. Abstracted records were categorized as worsening preexisting or persistent new for conditions and symptoms.
Results: Of 653 medical charts reviewed, 357 (55%) had worsening preexisting or persistent new conditions or symptoms. Most-documented conditions included worsening preexisting migraine (8%; 50/653) and chronic pain (4%; 26/653), and persistent new migraine (2%; 14/653) and adjustment disorder (2%; 13/653). Most-documented symptoms included worsening preexisting headache (8%; 49/653) and anxiety (6%; 42/653), and persistent new rash (7%; 46/653) and headache (5%; 34/653).
Conclusions: Approximately half of the abstracted medical records demonstrated worsening preexisting or persistent new conditions or symptoms and might benefit from sustained access to physical, mental, and specialized health care support systems. Continued monitoring for long-term health outcomes is recommended.
期刊介绍:
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness is the first comprehensive and authoritative journal emphasizing public health preparedness and disaster response for all health care and public health professionals globally. The journal seeks to translate science into practice and integrate medical and public health perspectives. With the events of September 11, the subsequent anthrax attacks, the tsunami in Indonesia, hurricane Katrina, SARS and the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic, all health care and public health professionals must be prepared to respond to emergency situations. In support of these pressing public health needs, Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness is committed to the medical and public health communities who are the stewards of the health and security of citizens worldwide.