Red Hill Response: Ace Investigations

Print
Related Pages

CDC/ATSDR ACE Investigations

When a sudden disaster releases chemicals into the environment, state and local governments can request that ATSDR assess the event’s potential health effects on people and communities. To do so, ATSDR would conduct an Assessment of Chemical Exposures (ACE) investigation. ATSDR’s ACE Program forms a multi-disciplinary—often multi-agency—team to assist state and local health departments in performing a rapid epidemiologic assessment at the site.

The ACE team uses a customizable ACE toolkit that includes surveys, consent forms, medical chart abstraction forms, an interviewer training manual, and software tools and databases to help collect and analyze survey information.

ACE Investigations for Red Hill Response

CDC/ATSDR has conducted three ACE investigations to assess the potential health effects of the November 2021 petroleum leak into the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Water Distribution System.

In January and February 2022, at the request of the Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH), CDC/ATSDR conducted an ACE investigation. They asked affected civilians and military personnel about their exposures to the contaminated water, health symptoms they experienced, and medical care they sought. Read more about the first ACE and its findings.

In August and September 2022, at the request of HDOH, CDC/ATSDR conducted a follow-up ACE investigation to assess ongoing community concerns and health impacts. Read more about the second ACE investigation and its preliminary findings. The final results of the second ACE investigation are pending publication.

In February and March 2023, at the request of the Department of Defense’s Defense Health Agency, CDC/ATSDR conducted an ACE investigation to assess the incident’s health effects on military personnel. In this ACE investigation, they examined military health records. The third ACEs investigation’s results are still being analyzed and prepared for publication.

CDC and ATSDR staff team conduct a survey about health impacts from the water contamination.
ACE team members distribute flyers at a community event to encourage participation in a survey. The survey asked about health symptoms individuals experienced after exposure to petroleum-contaminated water. Image source: Photo taken by ATSDR staff. All people in photo are CDC/ATSDR staff.