APHL Commends US Public Laboratories' Participation in EPA Region 7 & 8 Full Scale Exercises

SILVER SPRING, MD--(Marketwire - Oct 13, 2011) - APHL applauds the 27 public health, environmental, drinking water and agricultural laboratories that have demonstrated their commitment to emergency preparedness by voluntarily participating in the Region 7 and 8 full-scale exercise on October 14-21 (laboratory portion runs from October 17-21). These laboratories will be tested on response plan procedures for sample collection, shipment, laboratory analysis and data reporting based on scenarios of chemical and biological origin.

Participating public laboratories will activate a coordinated laboratory response to a scenario-based contamination event, which will test the capacity of multiple laboratory networks for chemical and biological analysis, including the National Incident Management System; the Water Laboratory Alliance Response Plan; the Environmental Response Laboratory Network; the Laboratory Response Network; and the Food Emergency Response Network.

The US Environmental Protection Agency conducts full-scale exercises across the US in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a host of other federal, state and local partners.

APHL extends this commendation to the following laboratories for their continued commitment to enhancing public laboratory preparedness and emergency response:

USEPA Region 7 Science and Technology Center
USEPA Region 8 Laboratory
USEPA National Enforcement Investigations Center (NEIC ) Laboratory
USFDA Kansas City District (Food)
City of Olathe Municipal Water/Wastewater Laboratory
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environmental State Laboratory*
Indiana State Department of Health Laboratories*
Johnson County Environmental Water Quality Laboratory
Kansas Health & Environment Laboratories*
Kansas City MO Water Services Department, Division of Laboratory Services
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, William A. Hinton State Laboratory Institute*
New England Regional Center for Excellence (NERCE)
Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Services Program Laboratory*
Missouri State Public Health Laboratory*
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Environmental Laboratory
Montana Public Health Laboratory*
Nebraska Public Health Laboratory*
Nebraska Public Health Environmental Laboratory
North Dakota Department of Health Division of Laboratory Services*
Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Laboratories*
South Dakota Dept of Health Laboratory Services
Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory, Ankeny Laboratory*
Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory, Iowa City Laboratory*
Utah Department of Health Unified State Laboratory Public Health*
Wyoming Department of Agriculture Analytical Services Laboratory
County Sanitation Districts of L.A. County, Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (JWPCP)
MOANG 7th Civil Support Team (WMD Mobile Laboratory).

* Denotes APHL Member Laboratory

The Association of Public Health Laboratories is a national non-profit located in Silver Spring, MD, that is dedicated to working with members to strengthen governmental laboratories with a public health mandate. By promoting effective programs and public policy, APHL strives to provide public health laboratories with the resources and infrastructure needed to protect the health of US residents and to prevent and control disease globally.