State Programs to Reduce Uncontrolled Ammonia Releases and Associated Injury Using the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance System

Objective: To describe how the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) program identifies leading causes of uncontrolled ammonia releases and targets activities aimed at reducing the frequency of these incidents. Methods: Ammonia incidents reported to HSEES nationally were examine...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2009-03, Vol.51 (3), p.356-363
Main Authors: Wattigney, Wendy A., Rice, Nancy, Cooper, Debbi L., Drew, James M., Orr, Maureen F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air Pollutants
Ammonia
Biological and medical sciences
Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases
Chemical Hazard Release - prevention & control
General aspects
Hazardous materials
Humans
Medical sciences
Occupational hazards
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Population Surveillance
Prevention
Safety Management
State Government
Toxicology
Trauma Severity Indices
United States
Wellness programs
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Summary:Objective: To describe how the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) program identifies leading causes of uncontrolled ammonia releases and targets activities aimed at reducing the frequency of these incidents. Methods: Ammonia incidents reported to HSEES nationally were examined. HSEES programs in state health departments conducted and evaluated data-driven prevention outreach. Results: The primary targeted ammonia incidents in the three HSEES states that are presented include food manufacturing, agriculture, and events related to the production of illicit methamphetamine. Key to these prevention activities was using state-specific HSEES data to identify problems and evaluate the prevention activity, and developing partnerships with other stakeholders. Conclusion: HSEES data is used to identify determinants of chemical incidents and their outcomes and to help guide strategies to reduce such occurrences. Surveillance of chemic incidents elucidates the causes and consequences of these events and helps identify problems and measure the effectiveness of prevention programs.
ISSN:1076-2752
1536-5948
DOI:10.1097/JOM.0b013e318197368e