Experts from the Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit Two (NEPMU-2) provided critical public health support to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (COMUSNAVCENT) Sept. 8 - 28.

NEPMU-2 staff conducted Occupational and Environmental Health Site Assessments (OEHSA) at two deployment sites in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and one in Bahrain last year.

A Sampling and Analysis Plan was developed after the OEHSAs were completed to help validate actual or potential health threats, evaluate exposure pathways, and determine courses of action and countermeasures to control or reduce the health threats and protect the health of deployed personnel.

Cmdr. Alejandro Alvarado and Lt. j.g. Kevin McManus, NEPMU-2 Industrial Hygiene Officers, returned to the UAE and Bahrain in order to implement the Sampling and Analysis Plan. Air, soil, and water samples were collected using a wide variety of state-of-the-art equipment in order to best assess the habitability of the deployed environment.

Alvarado and McManus met with command representatives from COMUSNAVCENT, Coastal Riverine Squadron 3 (CRS-3), and the UAE's U.S. Vice Consul as well as with individual sailors deployed in Dubai (Jebel Ali and Fujairah) and ISA Air Base in Bahrain.

"We were met with high interest for our team's risk assessments of environmental contaminants that may be found in the air, soil, and water," said Alvarado.

"Sailors had a lot of questions and were glad to know that the Navy was looking after their health and safety while deployed, and are hoping to learn more about the outcome of the environmental sampling," added McManus.

Results of the monitoring and sampling will be documented in the Defense Occupational and Environmental Health Reporting System (DOEHRS). This information is then utilized to develop Periodic Occupational and Environmental Monitoring Summaries (POEMS), which describe risks for individuals assigned or deployed to contingency locations as required by DoD regulations.

The POEMS will provide monitoring results, estimated personnel exposures, assessment on whether estimated exposures are acceptable or unacceptable, and the criteria used for the estimate, along with any anticipated acute, chronic, or latent health effects.

"Based on this, Force Health Protection recommendations are made in order to protect the health and safety of our deployed personnel," said Alvarado.

For more information on NEPMU-2 visit http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nepmu2/Pages/default.aspx


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