Objective-Although life vest use is thought to prevent drowning, their use by boaters has not been described. This study sought to determine the use of personal flotation devices (PFDs) in small boats. Methods-Boaters were observed between April and June 1995 in Washington andOregon and classified by their age, gender, PFD use, and boat type. Results-Among 4181 boaters, 25% wore a PFD. Use was highest in <5 year olds (91%) and lowest in those over 14 years (13%). Those in kayaks were most likely (78%) and those in motor boats (19%) were least likely to wear a PFD. Females were more likely to wear a PFD than males (relative prevalence 1.5, 95% confidence interval 1.3 to 1.6). When a child less than 15 years was in a boat with an adult, PFD use was 65% if no adult wore a PFD and 95% if at least one accompanying adult wore a PFD (p=0.001).

Boating is a popular form of recreation in the United States. Unfortunately, many people drown due to boating-related accidents each year. Since many such drowning deaths are preventable through the use of personal flotation devices (PFDs), an observational study was conducted to quantify and evaluate the number and demographics of the individuals who choose to wear life jackets in King County, Washington. Further efforts were then directed toward evaluating the effectiveness of educational campaigns focused on increasing PFD usage and general boating safety. Highly significant increases were found in the use of life preservers overall and within various subgroups of the population. Total PFD use increased from 19.8% in 1992 to 31.3% in 1994. Future studies are needed to determine the reproducibility of this data and the feasibility of incorporating similar educational efforts into other injury prevention programs nationwide.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined hospital preparedness for incidents involving chemical or biological weapons. METHODS: By using a questionnaire survey of 224 hospital emergency departments in 4 northwestern states, we examined administrative plans, training, physical resources, and representative medication inventories. RESULTS: Responses were received from 186 emergency departments (83%). Fewer than 20% of respondent hospitals had plans for biological or chemical weapons incidents. About half (45%) had an indoor or outdoor decontamination unit with isolated ventilation, shower, and water containment systems, but only 12% had 1 or more self-contained breathing apparatuses or supplied air-line respirators. Only 6% had the minimum recommended physical resources for a hypothetical sarin incident. Of the hospitals providing quantitative answers about medication inventories, 64% reported sufficient ciprofloxacin or doxycycline for 50 hypothetical anthrax victims, and only 29% reported sufficient atropine for 50 hypothetical sarin victims (none had enough pralidoxime). CONCLUSIONS: Hospital emergency departments generally are not prepared in an organized fashion to treat victims of chemical or biological terrorism. The planned federal efforts to improve domestic preparedness will require substantial additional resources at the local level to be truly effective.

This pilot cross-sectional study examined three previously decontaminated residential clandestine drug laboratories (CDLs) in Washington State to determine the distribution and magnitude of residual methamphetamine concentrations relative to the state decontamination standard. A total of 159 discrete random methamphetamine wipe samples were collected from the three CDLs, focusing on the master bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen at each site. Additional samples were collected from specific non-random locations likely to be contacted by future residents (e.g., door knobs and light switches). Samples were analyzed for methamphetamine by EPA method 8270 for semivolatile organic chemicals. Overall, 59% of random samples and 75% of contact point samples contained methamphetamine in excess of the state decontamination standard (0.1 micro g/100 cm(2)). At each site, methamphetamine concentrations were generally higher and more variable in rooms where methamphetamine was prepared and used. Even compared with the less stringent standard adopted in Colorado (0.5 micro g/100cm(2)), a substantial number of samples at each site still demonstrated excessive residual methamphetamine (random samples, 25%; contact samples, 44%). Independent oversight of CDL decontamination in residential structures is warranted to protect public health. Further research on the efficacy of CDL decontamination procedures and subsequent verification of methods is needed.

This paper discusses the process used to develop an environmental health addendum to the Assessment Protocol for Public Health (APEX/PH). Local health departments in Washington State are undertaking a trial program utilizing APEX/PH. The environmental health addendum was developed in response to the paucity of environmental health-oriented data requested in APEX/PH, Part II, the Community Process, and includes environmental exposure indicators as well as health status indicators. The methods used to gain a consensus among key environmental health professionals in Washington State are discussed and an environmental issue prioritization scheme is recommended. The need for the environmental health addendum and future work on the addendum and APEX/PH are discussed.