Documentation chemical incidents

The Seveso Directive is administered by the European Union through the Major Accident Hazards Bureau services (MAHB) located within the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy. The Bureau also oversees the European Community s Documentation Centre Industrial Risk (CDCIR) and manages the Major Accident Reporting System (MARS) with the aim to create a repository of information and facilitate the exchange between the members of the European Community. MARS follows the requirements of the Seveso II directive and collects information about major chemical incidents as well as the response and results. Member States are required to report the events by using standardized forms. 

In previous years, the EPA site had a heading for EPA/OSHA Joint Chemical Incident Investigation Reports. A dozen or so were listed under that heading. Now these valuable well-researched documents typically in excess of 50pages are now available via the search engine. It appears that most of the incidents were in the 1995 to 1998 period and can be individually searched with a keyword as the incident location or organization name. 

Fig. 5.9 Chemical exposure record form. From HPA document CBRN Incidents Clinical Management and Health Protection, used with permission.

Reports of heightened sensitivity to chemicals have been documented since the 1800s. Since World War II, there has been a dramatic rise in the manufacture and use of synthesized chemicals like pesticides, plastics, and artificial fragrances, and the incidence of MCS has steadily grown. One of the first doctors to identify the relationship between low-level chemical exposures and chronic illness was Theron Randolph in the 1950s. 

Managing chemical reactivity hazards is not a one-time project, review, or audit. It is also not a written program document to put on the shelf and ignore. Managing chemical reactivity hazards is an ongoing effort to protect employees, contractors, customers, the public, environment, and property against the potential consequences of chemical reactivity incidents. 

The data analysis included evaluating the number, impact, profile, and causes of reactive incidents. CSB examined more than 40 data sources (e.g., industry and governmental databases and guidance documents safety/loss prevention texts and journals and industry association, professional society, insurance, and academic newsletters), focusing on incidents where the primary cause was related to chemical reactivity. 

Over 90 percent of the incidents analyzed by CSB involved reactive hazards that are documented in publicly available literature accessible to the chemical processing and handling industry.12... 

As the result of a number of recent incidents caused by inappropriate handling of reactive chemicals, CCPS initiated a project in 2001 to develop additional management guidelines for reactive hazards. A CCPS technical steering committee documented the urgent need for... 

ERPs do not necessarily need to be one document. They may consist of an overview document, individual emergency action procedures, checklists, additions to existing operations manuals, appendices, etc. There may be separate, more detailed plans for specific incidents. There may be plans that do not include particularly sensitive information and those that do. Existing applicable documents should be referenced in the ERP (e.g., chemical Risk Management Program, contamination response). 

Salmonid fish have become a classical example of organisms highly susceptible to chemical carcinogens (18). The incidence of tumors in salmonid and other species of fish has been extensively documented (18, h9, 50, 5l) with Wood and Larson reporting the most alarming 50% occurrence of gross tumors among 250,000 adult rainbow trout (52). 

Disciplinary action may be appropriate if malicious or criminal intent is positively identified as a root cause. An example would be when an investigation reveals horseplay, practical jokes, fights, or even sabotage was among the root causes. These activities have no place in any workplace and are especially undesirable in the chemical processing industry. It is most likely that a company s employee handbook, human resources documents, or union contract addresses these situations and communicates the policy in advance of an incident. In short, the investi-... 

This section can also summarize any specialized studies or analysis that may have been commissioned to explain the circumstances of the incident. For example, studies such as metallurgical analysis of components, chemical reactivity, and supporting documentation could be included in the report appendices. 

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