Effective Practices By State and Local Health Departments to Prevent and Reduce Public Health Impacts of Toxic Substance Releases

Key Objectives:
1) Discuss effective methods and tools applied by state and local health departments to prevent and reduce public health impacts of toxic substance release incidents in their jurisdiction.

2) Share examples of successful collaboration between state/local health departments and other local, state, and federal agencies during a toxic substance release investigation.

Brief Summary:
Toxic substance releases often have significant public health consequences, including evacuations, injuries, and fatalities. North Carolina participates in the National Toxic Substance Incidents Program (NTSIP), along with three other states. Through NTSIP, state health department personnel monitor multiple data sources to identify and collect information about toxic substance releases that occur throughout their state.

Personnel from the North Carolina Division of Public Health investigate toxic substance releases in various ways, including: contacting hospitals, first responders, and the Carolinas Poison Center to learn about the circumstances of the release and the treatment and disposition of the victims; creating a line list of exposed persons; and creating an exposure questionnaire for use by local health department personnel when interviewing exposed persons. Response activities may include generating situation reports to inform state and local health officials of the release; creating educational materials for exposed persons and the public; providing medical, epidemiologic, and industrial hygiene consultation; and collaborating with federal, state and local agencies. Recent toxic substance releases in North Carolina requiring public health involvement have included a pesticide release in a food distribution warehouse, a carbon monoxide exposure in a produce packing warehouse, a methylene chloride release in a chemical manufacturing facility, and a mercury spill in a school bus and a residence.

It is important for state and local health departments to share their experiences responding to acute toxic substance releases so that other health departments can learn new methods for collaborating and communicating with other agengies and the public and improve their own response strategies. However, opportunities for sharing these experiences are limited. The purpose of this roundtable is to provide an interactive forum for state and local health department personnel to learn about and discuss effective strategies for investigating and responding to toxic substance releases in their jurisdiction.