Regulatory approach to assessing health risks of toxic chemical releases following transportation accidents

Abstract

Public health response to transportation accidents in which toxic chemicals are released into the environment require rapid data acquisition and review, health risk assessment, management decisions, and information dissemination. Following a train derailment that resulted in a massive spill of the herbicide metam sodium in the northern Sacramento River, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) was called upon to evaluate the health risks of the parent compound and its breakdown products, and to advise local health agencies in matters of public health concern. This paper describes the approach taken by OEHHA and the public health lessons learned during, and following, the accident.