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FEATURE

Raising Standards for Accountability:

IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSPARENCY LAWS FOR
DISCLOSURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER DATA

By Ammar Navid Saigal, B.A. (Hons), M.P.H., M.D. Candidate (2018)
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Medicine

Early distribution of protection protocols related to environmen- spective analyses have repeatedly demonstrated that implementing
tal disasters is a critical preemptive measure to limit the associated new systems of disclosing epidemiological data into law is an urgent
adverse impact on society. Countless examples exist of population- need for the purpose of adequate disaster containment and relief.[3]
wide catastrophes resulting from negligent human behavior; how- Legislation directing efforts to disseminate knowledge to the public
ever, appropriate disclosure of data to the masses detailing these has emerged in recent history as a force for raising national account-
calamities was often lacking.[1] In order to achieve the highest stan- ability during environmental crises.[6]
dards of transparency within healthcare, agencies responsible for
collection of environmental disaster morbidity statistics must ensure The water-poisoning crisis of Flint, Michigan is the most obvious
the distribution of qualitative, factual, and preventive guidance to instance in recent memory of failure of transparent disclosure. The
the public. Health professionals bear an ethical obligation to advo- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was authorized
cate for the passing of legislation that will require timely, appropriate to initiate counter-measures against childhood lead poisoning via
disclosures to be made in the event of environmental disaster. The passage of the Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988.[8] One
enactment of transparency laws will lower the burden of financial of the CDC's responsibilities in this endeavor was to screen children
expense and mortality experienced during crises such as the lead for the development of lead poisoning. The absence of a well-pub-
toxicity of Flint, Michigan water or the insufficiency of failsafe licized effort by the CDC to monitor blood lead levels in Michigan
measures that resulted in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Retro- illustrates the lack of transparency by health authorities. The CDC’s
response was not capable of identifying, giving

30 San Antonio Medicine • November 2017