EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CHEMICAL CRISIS, PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT, SPECIFIC MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES AND EDUCATION

Abstract

Chemical attack and/or terrorism is the intentional use of chemicals to scare, injure, or kill people. Although rare, chemical agents have been used to disrupt daily activities, such as the 1995 release of nerve gas in a Japanese subway. Sometimes hazardous chemicals are also released accidentally; it may be very difficult initially to determine intent. Depending on the nature of the chemical(s) and the manner in which they were released, chemicals can contaminate the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food supply, or surfaces that people contact. Methods to spread chemicals may be as simple as opening a container, using a common garden sprayer, or as tricky as exploding a bomb with chemicals inside. Harmful chemical exposures are usually characterized by rapid onset of medical symptoms (minutes to hours) and easily observed signs like unusual coloured residue, odours, dead or dying plants, insects, and animals. Exposures to hazardous chemicals may cause a wide range of possible health effects depending on the nature of the chemical(s) used, and a number of other factors. The pressure on the public health services in such events is extremely larger and without prior preparedness the situation could not be controlled. Planning the resources, stockpiling the medicine, training the responders education of population and especially young generation , and preparing the community are essential for an appropriate response in chemical crisis.