Hazardous substances events associated with the manufacturing of chemicals and allied products

Abstract

This report describes events involving the acute release of hazardous substances reported to the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system for 1993–2000. HSEES, maintained by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), collects data on the industries/services associated with events. This analysis focuses on fixed-facility events that occurred during the manufacturing of chemicals and allied products (i.e. categorized according to the 1990 Industrial Classification System (ICS) of the US Bureau of the Census). This is the most frequently reported industry category in the surveillance system, with over 12,000 events (28% of all events and 35% of fixed-facility events). Further classification found that the majority (71%) of these events involved the manufacturing of industrial and miscellaneous chemicals (ICS code 192), and 21% plastics, synthetics, and resins (ICS code 180). A total of 2676 persons reported injuries in 307 fixed-facility events. Most of the injured persons were employees (42%), followed by the general public (38%), students (15%), and responders (5%). Thirty-five percent of all injured persons and 46% of all injured employees had respiratory symptoms. Releases frequently occurred in processing vessels, and the majority was due to equipment failure. A review of the data indicates that manufacturers of chemicals and allied products could help reduce morbidity and mortality by taking preventive actions such as performing regular maintenance of processing equipment, regular training of employees and encouraging them to wear respiratory protection, and educating the public on what to do in the event of a release from these facilities.