Mechanisms of and Facility Types Involved in Hazardous Materials Incidents

Details

• Journal Article:
  Environ Health Perspect
• Personal Author:
  Kales, S. N. ; Polyhronopoulos, G. N. ; Castro, M. J. ; Goldman, R. H. ; Christiani, David C.
• Description:
  The purpose of this study was to systematically investigate hazardous materials (hazmat) releases and determine the mechanisms of these accidents, and the industries/activities and chemicals involved. We analyzed responses by Massachusetts' six district hazmat teams from their inception through May 1996. Information from incident reports was extracted onto standard coding sheets. The majority of hazardous materials incidents were caused by spills, leaks, or escapes of hazardous materials (76%) and occurred at fixed facilities (80%). Transportation-related accidents accounted for 20% of incidents. Eleven percent of hazardous materials incidents were at schools or health care facilities. Petroleum-derived fuels were involved in over half of transportation-related accidents, and these accounted for the majority of petroleum fuel releases. Chlorine derivatives were involved in 18% of all accidents and were associated with a wide variety of facility types and activities. In conclusion, systematic study of hazardous materials incidents allows the identification of preventable causes of these incidents.
• Subjects:
  Data Collection Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Health Facilities Occupational Health Public Health Safety Management Schools Transportation
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Chemical Accidents; Chlorine; Environmental Exposure; Ethylene Oxide; Hazardous Substances; Hospitals; Petroleum; Public Health NIOSH Publication; NIOSH Grant; Pulmonary System Disorders; Hazardous Materials; Environmental Exposure; Occupational Exposure; Accident Analysis; Risk Factors; Transportation Industry; Petroleum Products;
• Source:
  Environ Health Perspect. 105(9):998-1001.
• Pubmed ID:
  9300926
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC1470367
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant-Number-K01-OH-000156
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  3 pdf pages
• Volume:
  105
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00240432
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ethylene oxide (CAS RN 75-21-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1997
• Performing Organization:
  Occupational Medicine, Cambridge Hospital, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0444918098104f0c14e48c70f2c39deeeb5e2450ab88d567bc84ea7c324aee40d06ec65337433d5bf91b5c8ec04253005adc8efd00b292cbcbabe8894145e8f7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/30763/cdc_30763_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 858.43 KB ]