Abstract |
In late 2001, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) was awarded funding from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) that partially supports Department efforts to (1) develop an inventory of marine bathing beaches, (2) compile monitoring data, and (3) to conduct assessments of those beaches identified as high-risk. The MDPH Bureau of Health Quality Management, Division of Community Sanitation (DCS), conducted a survey of Massachusetts municipalities in order to establish an inventory of all public and semi-public marine and freshwater beaches. They also collected data from reporting local health departments and other agencies for the 2002 bathing season and provided these data to the Departments Bureau of Environmental Health Assessment Environmental (BEHA), Toxicology Program (ETP). While the data were incomplete, this report presents the results and analysis of the available 2002 data from Massachusetts marine and freshwater bathing beaches. |