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Five Year Report
1993-1997
•Table of Contents
•Acknowledgments
•Executive Summary
•Introduction
•Methods
•Results
•Discussion/Recommendations
•List of Figures / Tables
•Definitions
•OERS Council Membership
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Introduction
The mention of a hazardous materials incident frequently conjures up visions of a
transportation incident involving the release of large amounts of a hazardous
chemical from a truck or rail tank car. The public may hear about an occasional
ammonia release at a cold storage facility or a chlorine release at a sewage treatment
facility, but unless they involve a large area of contamination or a significant
evacuation, these fixed-facility events receive little notice. In reality, many
hazardous substance releases are relatively small in size and are well contained.
Thus, the incidents are not considered newsworthy and are unknown to the general
public.
Hazardous materials databases at the state and federal levels serve a number of
functions. Most of the existing systems were developed as agency notification
systems or to monitor the environmental impacts of hazardous substance releases.
These systems have not been combined into one comprehensive data set due to the
different definitions used to determine which hazardous materials and which
incidents qualify for inclusion. None of these systems were designed to capture
significant information on the public health impacts of hazardous materials releases.
In 1990, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
established the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance HSEES.
system. The focus of this state-based system is on the public health impacts of
hazardous substances emergencies. Currently 15 states participate in HSEES.
During 1993 - 1996, 14 states participated in HSEES. In 1996, New Hampshire left
the HSEES program. In January 2000 New Jersey and Utah were added to the
HSEES program. Louisiana will be added to the HSEES program in October 2000.
Oregon has maintained an ATSDR funded HSEES system since 1992. From 1992
until the fall of 1994, coordination of Oregon HSEES occurred at the Oregon Health
Division in the State Office Building. In the fall of 1994, daily operation of Oregon
HSEES was moved to the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental
Toxicology (CROET) at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU). Day to day
operation of Oregon HSEES took place at CROET until the summer of 1999, when
operation of the project moved back to the Oregon Health Services.
History of Hazardous Substance Incident Surveillance in Oregon
In 1972, the Oregon Accident Response System (OARS) was created to develop
plans and guidelines to increase communication regarding, and coordination of
responses to, hazardous materials incidents. The result was a plan that encompassed
response to a variety of hazardous materials incidents and a 24-hour notification
system; this was the first statewide plan of its type in the country. In 1988, the
system was renamed the Oregon Emergency Response System (OERS).
The OERS system effectively facilitates early reporting and coordination of
responses and decision-making among state and local agencies. The system is used
by emergency response and regulatory agencies throughout the state to ensure rapid
dissemination of incident reports and fast and dependable on-scene response. The
OERS system was designed as a notification system, not a surveillance system.
Event follow-up and detailed information collection is an independent function of
individual agencies involved in responding to the event; each agency uses different
criteria. Since the main purpose of the OERS system was to enhance agency
information and response, the system does not capture data on health impacts of
reported incidents.
Two other state agencies have established and maintain statewide databases on
hazardous materials events: the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
collects information on hazardous substances events that have an impact on the
environment, and the Oregon Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) which
maintains a database of all unit responses, including hazardous materials incidents.
In 1991, the Oregon Public Health Services applied for funding to participate in the ATSDR
HSEES system. This funding provided an opportunity to evaluate the public health
impacts of hazardous materials incidents and to examine other aspects of Oregon's
unique centralized notification system (OERS). The HSEES system was initiated in
Oregon in January 1992.
Goals and Objectives
As designed by ATSDR, the objectives of the Hazardous Substances Emergency
Events Surveillance (HSEES) system are (1):
- To determine the distribution and characteristics of hazardous substances
emergencies within the state;
- To describe the morbidity and mortality experienced by employees,
responders, and the general public as a result of hazardous substances
emergencies;
- To identify the risk factors associated with the morbidity and mortality;
- To develop strategies to reduce morbidity and mortality resulting from the
release of hazardous substances.
In Oregon, the HSEES system seemed ideal for evaluating the completeness of the
OERS system and to propose any needed improvements, as well as defining the
public health impact of hazardous materials events in Oregon. The magnitude of the
potential and actual public health threat from hazardous material incidents in the state
had not been characterized previously. This program provides an opportunity to
evaluate whether public health resources should be targeted to address these hazards.
The standardized nature of data collected by multiple states in the HSEES system
also allows a comparison of differences in patterns of hazardous material incidents in
Oregon relative to other states.
1HSEES Revised Protocol, June 1993, ATSDR.
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