Monday, February 17, 2020
DPH won't say where say where EEE victims live: An expert calls that mystifying abuse of the public records law
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Although the virus is only spread to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes, rather than person-to-person, communities can be considered at anywhere from a remote to critical risk for EEE.
Communities that are at the highest level — critical — are considered to have an excessive risk for EEE and cities and towns are elevated to that level once a person who has been infected is identified in that area.
But you may never know whether the person who contracted the EEE virus lives in your city or town — or on the opposite side of the county.
The Department of Public Health, the state agency that focuses on prevention and wellness, provides public information regarding victims who contract EEE, as well as the West Nile virus, and tips for how people can protect themselves against the diseases.
In releasing information about victims who contract the mosquito-borne diseases, the Department of Public Health releases a wide age range and only the county that the victim lives in, rather than the specific city or town.
In August, in announcing the first human case of EEE in 2019, a spokeswoman for the department said “a male over 60 from southern Plymouth County” had contracted the virus. In mid-August, a Rochester woman said on social media that her father had contracted EEE and was in a coma. The state has not confirmed whether the southern Plymouth County man was the Rochester man.
In late August, the Department of Public Health confirmed that a Fairhaven woman, Laurie Sylvia, 59, had died of EEE but when she first contracted the disease, the state only described her as a woman over 50 from “southern Bristol County.” In late September, DPH announced that a Freetown man, James Longworth, 78, had both contracted EEE and died in the same press announcement.
The Enterprise, initially back in September, filed a public records request asking the Department of Public Health to release a list of the human cases of EEE in 2019, including the town each victim lives in.
The Department of Public Health has denied releasing the records three times — citing the same reasons twice — and the newspaper has appealed each time, as recently as Thursday.
The state Supervisor of Records has twice ordered the department, in mid-October and mid-November, to provide a response to the request.
Rebecca Murray, the supervisor of records, found in October that the Department of Public Health “did not meet its burden of explaining with specificity how the records, in their entirety, are exempt from disclosure.”
“It is additionally uncertain how disclosing the names of towns would lead to the identification of the individuals affected,” Murray wrote in her November decision. “The department must clarify these issues.”
Attorney Jeffrey J. Pyle, a partner at Boston-based Prince Lobel who specializes in media law and First Amendment cases, said the Department of Public Health should have to release the towns of the EEE victims.
“How is somebody going to find out that you can identify a specific individual from just a town? That seems unlikely and an over-broad reading of the exemption,” he said. “That’s a real abuse of that exemption.”
Pyle said that if the Department of Public Health were to release “man from Brockton,” he is not identifiable by that information alone.
In their November denial of the records, the department also stated that it relies on “the standard for de-identification of protected health information set forth in the HIPAA Privacy Rule.” The department said it decided to release county level data concerning EEE victims because of the rule.
But Pyle said that the Department of Public Health is not bound by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — HIPAA — and therefore can’t rely on it as a justification to withhold the records.
On Feb. 1, Massachusetts announced its first confirmed case of the coronavirus. That day, the Department of Public Health released a statement that “a man returning from Wuhan, China who is in his 20s and lives in Boston” had the disease, which can be spread from person-to-person.
“They should have said Suffolk County,” Pyle said, referring to the department’s previous explanation of their policy. “They don’t really believe someone is identifiable from naming at the town level. I find the use of that exemption to be mystifying.”
The attorney said it would be in the best interest of the public for the Department of Public Health to release the cities and towns of victims, rather than just a county. The Public Records Law states that it must be determined whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs the privacy interest associated with disclosure.
“Middlesex County, for example, is enormous. Somebody who contracts EEE in Pepperell might not raise concerns for anyone in Cambridge,” Pyle said. “But folks in the northern region want to know that there might be mosquitoes nearby. It seems like it would be a better use of their public information function to provide that town-level detail, not just at the county level.”
The Enterprise last week appealed the Department of Public Health’s latest denial of the records. The appeals process is ongoing.
Responding to your message
Feb 3 at 4:41 PM
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Thank you for contacting me regarding our endangered species. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue, and I welcome the opportunity to respond to your concerns.
Like you, I am deeply concerned with the administration’s recent rollback of key provisions of the Endangered Species Act. Since its enactment, an amazing ninety-nine percent of species granted protection by the law have survived. Many of them have not just survived but have since been taken off the endangered list. Without the full protections the of Endangered Species Act, there will be significant negative impacts to not only the listed species (or potentially listed species), but also to our ecosystems at large.
Among the new rules the Trump administration recently implemented allows for economic factors to be taken into consideration when deciding whether to add a species on to the endangered list. This is in direct opposition to the bill’s original intent, which was that listing decisions should be governed by science.
That is why I am proud to cosponsor H.R. 4348, the PAW and FIN Conservation Act of 2019. This bill specifically restores rules pertaining to the listing of endangered species that the Trump administration has rescinded. These restored rules include but are not limited to; automatically granting threatened species the same protections as endangered species and prohibiting economic assessments from being considered in listing decision.
Further, I am also a proud cosponsor of H.R. 3742, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2019. This bill provides an additional $1.4 billion in annual funding to efforts by the states to recover wildlife species at risk. Specifically, it would bolster the federally approved State Wildlife Action Plans, which have identified twelve thousand species of wildlife and plants in need of conservation assistance.
Sincerely,
William R. Keating Member of Congress |
URGENT: Is it too late for this orca?
A patriarch of the southern resident orca population has gone missing and is presumed dead.
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The last time the southern resident population fell this low was in 1975, when the population was decimated by years of being captured for public display. Without more support, at the rate they’re dying off, these remarkable sea mammals could disappear in our lifetimes.
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Defenders is at the forefront of efforts to clean up habitat in the Salish Sea, reduce noise pollution and recover salmon populations to save southern resident orcas. Thanks to supporters like you, local lawmakers are waking up to the crisis facing these whales, and they're starting to take action.
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Thank you, for your urgent assistance.
Sincerely,
P.S.: Our tireless fight for imperiled wildlife is only possible because of supporters like you. The best way you can make a sustained impact to protect vulnerable wildlife is through an automatic monthly donation
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Defenders of Wildlife |
Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities.
Photo Credit: Southern Resident Orcas (c) NOAA
© Copyright 2020 Defenders of Wildlife
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Thank you for contacting me
Thank you for contacting me about United States policy toward Iran.
I strongly oppose unilateral, unauthorized military action against Iran and I believe Congress must reassert its constitutional power regarding whether to declare war. That is why I cosponsored the Prevention of Unconstitutional War with Iran Act, which prohibits U.S. military operations against Iran without Congressional authorization. I continue to support the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, which has so far prevented Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has contributed to greater tensions by unilaterally withdrawing from this agreement, with no better alternative in place, and re-imposing sanctions that were supposed to be suspended under the deal as long as Iran complies with its terms.
It is clear that we continue to have serious disputes with Iran beyond its nuclear program. Iran's government is a repressive, authoritarian regime that sponsors terrorism, takes aggressive and destabilizing actions throughout the region, and engages in human rights abuses. Currently, the United States has in place several Iran sanctions laws and executive orders that impose powerful penalties for these destabilizing non-nuclear activities. In 2017, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which reaffirms our existing authorities to hold Iran accountable. I support the enforcement of non-nuclear Iran sanctions and the use of applicable waivers, consistent with the nuclear agreement. Moreover, if Iran wants to emerge from economic isolation and become a responsible member of the international financial and commercial system, it must also cease being a hub of money laundering, terrorist financing, and corrupt business practices. If Iran does not implement serious structural reforms and change its regional behavior, then it has only itself to blame.
Instead of engaging in reckless provocations, the Trump Administration should work with our allies and partners to pursue a meaningful dialogue with Iran to reduce tensions and strengthen the nuclear agreement. I appreciate your reaching out to me about this important issue, and please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about issues of importance to you.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Warren
United States Senator
United States Senator
| Washington, DC 309 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-4543 |
Boston, MA 2400 JFK Federal Building 15 New Sudbury Street Boston, MA 02203 Phone: 617-565-3170 |
Springfield, MA 1550 Main Street Suite 406 Springfield, MA 01103 Phone: 413-788-2690 |
Thank you for contacting me
Thank you for contacting me about dangerous chemicals in our environment.
There are few things more important to our health than the water that we drink, the food that we eat, and the products that we use. That is why I am very concerned about cases of chemical contamination both in Massachusetts and elsewhere around the country. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and other relevant state agencies should take aggressive action to address findings of lead and other hazardous chemicals in our environment.
One area of my concern is the environmental and public health impacts of groundwater contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In response, I have supported a number of efforts aimed at urging federal agencies to swiftly and effectively conduct cleanup and remediation efforts. I sent a letter with several of my colleagues to the EPA, Office of Management and Budget, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Defense expressing my outrage over recent reports that officials delayed the release of a study on the impact of PFAS on health. This letter also demands the immediate release of the report. It is my hope that the results of the study will provide Westfield families with the answers they deserve and enable the federal government to act to quickly and effectively. Finally, I co-sponsored S. 638, the PFAS Action Act of 2019, to designate PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under our environmental safeguard laws.
I believe that we must also respond to crises around the country, such as in Flint, Michigan, where high levels of lead in the water supply put the health of thousands of children at risk. The families in Flint could not drink their tap water, cook, or even shower. I supported President Obama's emergency declaration to provide funds to the EPA, FEMA, and HHS to help families and children in Flint affected by the crisis, and I voted in favor of legislation that provided funding to Flint and other communities affected by lead contamination. I also strongly oppose the Trump Administration's proposals to weaken protections under the Clean Water Act, and I will continue to monitor water safety issues closely.
I strongly support action by the EPA to enforce the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which President Obama signed into law in 2016, to ensure the safety of the products we currently use as well as the thousands that enter into the marketplace every single year, in order to prevent any dangerous chemicals from causing serious illnesses or environmental harm. President Trump has proposed slashing funding from the agencies that monitor and regulate environmental toxins, but I will fight those efforts on behalf of our most vulnerable communities and citizens, particularly children, who are at the highest risk for permanent damage from chemical poisoning.
I appreciate your reaching out to me about this important issue, and please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about issues of importance to you.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Warren
United States Senator
United States Senator
| Washington, DC 309 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-4543 |
Boston, MA 2400 JFK Federal Building 15 New Sudbury Street Boston, MA 02203 Phone: 617-565-3170 |
Springfield, MA 1550 Main Street Suite 406 Springfield, MA 01103 Phone: 413-788-2690 |
All the President's attorneys
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| Project On Government Oversight (POGO) 1100 G Street NW Suite 500, Washington, DC |
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