Review of the U.S. Navy Environmental Health Center's Health-Hazard Assessment Process (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
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The Navy Environmental Health Center (NEHC) is the primary organization within the Navy that is tasked with assessing occupational and environmental health hazards for Navy personnel from exposures to toxic substances.
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The subcommittee has expertise in general toxicology, inhalation toxicology, epidemiology, neurotoxicology, immunotoxicology, reproductive and developmental toxicology, pharmacology, medicine, risk assessment, and biostatistics. THE SUBCOMMITTEE'S APPROACH TO ITS CHARGE The subcommittee's assessment of NEHC's HHA process is based on its review of documents submitted by NEHC; presentations made by NEHC personnel at subcommittee meetings; and site visits to NEHC in Norfolk, Virginia, and the aircraft carrier, U.S.S.
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The subcommittee also recommends that the NEHC develop guidelines or criteria for developing HHAs or for deferring a review to NEHC, for use by industrial hygiene personnel on ships or at regional occupational health departments. Staffing The effectiveness of the NEHC's HHA program is dependent on the training and expertise of the personnel tasked to develop HHAs.
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The subcommittee recommends that the NEHC develop a long-term strategy to deal with increasing demand for services in the face of decreasing resources. This strategy would include elements such as streamlined processes to conserve staff time; increased training of current staff to keep up to date with advances in toxicology and risk assessment; and development of a workforce planning strategy that would include a succession plan for NEHC staff and a projection of future personnel needs, along with minimal training and experience requirements for each position.
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The EPA Exposure Factors Handbook can be consulted for updated exposure factors. To avoid} duplication, NEHC should explore the use of additional authoritative sources, such as existing hazard and risk assessments conducted by other Department of Defense (DOD)
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Furthermore, the subcommittee recommends that a peer review board be established to provide a periodic external review of NEHC's HHA process. The board should be an independent body comprised of scientists possessing experience in industrial hygiene, toxicology, and risk assessment.
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Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine; the U.S. Air Force's Institute for Environmental Safety and Occupational Health Risk Analysis at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas; Triservice Toxicology Research Laboratories at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio; United States Environmental Protection Agency; Occupational Safety and Health Administration; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the U.S.
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and increasing support for the HHA program throughout the Navy command structure. The subcommittee concludes that the development of formal, written SOPs; the addition of senior scientists with expertise in toxicology, epidemiology, risk assessment and industrial hygiene; increased training of the current staff; better quality control and quality assurance procedures, including the formation of a peer review board; improvemeets in data acquisition and management; increased communication between NEHC and other DOD agencies and stakeholders; and the development of a centralized medical-data management system would lead to a more effective HHA process that would stand up to critical and objective scrutiny.
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NAW POLICIES AND DIRECTIVES RELATED TO HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES Because the Navy is a very large organization spread out over the entire marine geography of the earth, it requires an integrated command structure to carry out its duties for sound and responsible handling of hazardous substances. Without a responsive command structure that acts in an effective, efficient, and coordinated manner to handle hazardous materials, the Navy's mission to protect and defend the nation and fulfill treaty agreements with allies could be jeopardized through impaired health of key combat and support personnel, loss of public confidence in its ability to operate effectively, or loss of the good will of those countries that host Navy facilities.
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