Ralph,
I really appreciate you doing this. I review it every day unless on
those rare occasions when I can't get web access.
I have incorporated many of the meth labs reports into a lecture on hazards
to response personnel that I give several times a year in different settin
gs.
I routinely forward those entries that involve any of my consulting clients
to them for information/potential action.
This is a very valuable service and I hope you keep it up!
Alan
> Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:43:02 -0400
> From: secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DC
HAS.ORG
> Subject: [DCHAS-L] Hazmat incident summary: Feb 2010 - Ap
ril 2011
> To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
>
> As DCHAS-L
readers know, I have been tracking headlines related to hazmat events as
reported by Google over the last year. I've had the chance to organize the
raw data into summary information below. The purpose of this is to put int
o perspective trends in hazmat events, so that policy and planning can be
informed by more complete data than the latest headline event. I don't con
sider this a particularly objective set of data, as the filters imposed b
y my available time, language (I only review headlines in English), and
my interpretation of the information offered by the media outlet (which so
metimes is clearly unreliable) are significant, but I do believe that thi
s gives a sense of patterns associated with the public hazmat responses whi
ch make it to the press.
>
> Since I'll be making a presen
tation based on this work at the ACS meeting in Denver this fall (there's s
till time for abstracts to be submitted - contact me for details), I'd be
interested in people's questions and comments about the information below.
>
> - Ralph
>
> Date:
> From Fe
bruary 1, 2010 to April 11, 2011:
> Average 4.5 hazmat response
s/day reported by Google
> Ranges from 6.3/day in October 2010 or 2
.3/day April 2010
> No pattern evident over the course of the year<
BR>>
> Country:
> 76% of the reports from the US
&
gt; 6% from UK
> 4% from India
> 4% from Canada
>
3% from Australia
>
> Within the US,
> 9% from
California
> 7% from Texas
> 5% from Pennsylvania, Illin
ois and Ohio
> 5% from New York, Massachusetts
> rest sca
tted among all other states
>
> The sectors represented we
re:
> industrial 726 events 38%
> transportation 362 events
19%
> home 240 events 12%
> other (public settings, prim
arily) 210 events 11%
> laboratory (all types) 166 events 9%
>
; illegal 143 events 7%
> education (non-lab) 82 events 4%
>
;
> The type of event:
> release 55%
> fire 23%<
BR>> explosion 15%
> discovery of a chemical in unexpected pla
ce 7%
>
> Extent of the event:
> response 73%
&
gt; injury 21%
> death 6%
>
> Chemical Involved<
BR>> some indication of identity, but not listed below 767 40%
&g
t; chemical reported as unknown 255 13%
> petroleum 134 7%
>
; meth_lab 118 6%
> acid 115 6%
> ammonia 73 4%
>
solvent 61 3%
> ag_chemicals 57 3%
> wastes 55 3%
>
; chlorine 53 3%
> explosives 50 3%
> pool_chemicals 38 2
%
> mercury 36 2%
> cleaning_chemicals 34 2%
>
> Ralph Stuart
> secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
> Secretary
&g
t; Division of Chemical Health and Safety
> American Chemical Soc
iety
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