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February 13, 2012: After an accidental mixing of bleach and fluorosilicic acid in a hotel laundry room, a chlorine gas release sends 30 employees to the hospital and leads to the evacuation of 210 guests. June 22, 2012: Interstate 15, linking Southern California to Las Vegas, is closed in both directions because an overturned truck leaks ferric chloride. September 11, 2012: A worker at a winery dies after an accidental release of ammonia into a confined area.
The incidents above received ample media coverage and are examples of thousands of hazardous material incidents that occur in California each year. Not all incidents are publicized and it is largely unknown if there are specific patterns or public health significance of such spills statewide.
The Emergency Preparedness Team (EPT), housed at the Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control (DEODC) within the California Department of Public Health, conducts surveillance of chemical releases in California as part of its public health emergency preparedness and response activities. EPT surveillance is designed to characterize the geographic patterns of the hazard releases, understand the burden of such releases on the health of workers and communities, and identify and characterize populations most vulnerable to such incidents.
METHODS:
EPT surveillance data come from a variety of sources, including the California Warning Center (CWC) and DEODC Duty Officer (DO) system. In this project, we examined CWC and DO spill reports from 2011.
RESULTS:
Based on preliminary analyses, there were more than 7300 releases of all kinds reported to CWC in 2011, involving more than 1500 substances. About 120 events involved evacuations. DEODC Duty Officers responded to about 169 calls, dealing with nearly 190 substances, including unknown powders and mercury. The largest number of incidents occurred in Los Angeles County.
CONCLUSIONS:
California experiences more than 20 hazardous spills every day, some of which get reported to the DEODC DO system. Distribution of these incidents seems to follow the distribution of population in the State. In this presentation, we will summarize the nature of hazardous material releases in California and further elaborate on their geographic patterns and public health significance.