Field Decontamination and Triage in Chemical Emergencies

1987 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-39
Author(s):  
Constance J. Doyle
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Hazardous Materials ◽  
The United States ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Environmental Cleanup ◽  
Materials Handling ◽  
Toxic Materials ◽  
The U.S

Triage and rescue of casualties from accidents involving hazardous materials is a challenge for many emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. With very toxic materials, the untrained and unprepared rescuer may become a victim. In addition, few hospitals in the United States have decontamination units attached to their emergency departments and emergency department personnel may become exposed if the casualty is not decontaminated. Many environmental cleanup teams, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) team, are well trained in materials handling but are not immediately available when a hazardous materials spill with personal injuries occurs.

Abstract 16822: Dust Storms in the United States are Associated With Increased Cardiovascular Mortality

Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
James L Crooks ◽  
Wayne Cascio ◽  
Madelyn Percy ◽  
Jeanette Reyes ◽  
Lucas Neas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Cardiovascular Mortality ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Dust Storms ◽  
Ambient Particulate Matter ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
The U.S

Introduction: Extreme weather events such as dust storms are predicted to become more frequent as the global climate warms through the 21st century. Studies of Asian, Saharan, Arabian, and Australian dust storms have found associations with cardiovascular and total non-accidental mortality and hospitalizations for stroke. However, the only population-level epidemiological work on dust storms in the United States was focused on a single small metropolitan area (Spokane, WA), and it is uncertain whether its null results are representative of the country as a whole. Hypothesis: Dust storms in the United States are associated with daily cardiovascular mortality. Methods: Dust storm incidence data (N=141), including date and approximate location, as well as meteorological station observations, were taken from the U.S. National Weather Service. County-level mortality data for the years 1993-2005 were acquired from the National Center for Health Statistics. Ambient particulate matter monitor concentrations were obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Inference was performed used conditional logistic regression models under a case-crossover design while accounting for the nonlinear effect of temperature. Results: We found a 9.5% increase in cardiovascular mortality at a two-day lag (95% CI: [0.31%,19.5%], p = 0.042). The results were robust to adjusting for heat waves and ambient particulate matter concentrations. Analysis of storms occurring only on days with <0.1 inches of precipitation strengthened these results and in addition yielded a mean daily increase of 4.0% across lags 0-5 (95% CI: [0.07%,20.8%], p = 0.046). In Arizona, the U.S. state with the largest number of storms, we observed a 13.0% increase at a three-day lag (CI: [0.40%,27.1%], p = 0.043). Conclusions: Dust storms in the U.S. are associated with increases in lagged cardiovascular mortality. This has implications for the development of public health advisories and suggests that further public health interventions may be needed. Disclaimer: This work does not represent official U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy.

THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: NATIONAL OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES POLLUTION CONTINGENCY PLAN, SUBPART J PRODUCT SCHEDULE (40 CFR 300.900)

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (2) ◽  
pp. 1479-1483 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Nichols
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hazardous Substances ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Contingency Plan ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACT The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) manages the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan Final Rule, Subpart J Product Schedule (40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 300.900), which lists dispersants, surface-washing agents (SWAs), bioremediation agents, surface-collecting agents, and miscellaneous oil spill control agents that may be used in response to oil spills on land and on or near waters of the United States, depending on the product and its proper application. Over the last few years, alternative oil spill response methods have been gaining in acceptance and use in the field among first responders, industry, state and federal agencies, Congress, and the entire oil spill response community. EPA sets policy and guidance for the proper use and authority to use these products. Manufacturers and vendors of these products have become more aware of this acceptance evidenced by the frequency that EPA is contacted to provide information on the listing process and EPA policy regarding their use. The number of applications to add new products to the Subpart J Product Schedule has increased over the last year. Subpart J is very prescriptive and specific in directing manufacturers to perform the proper test within the proper protocols, yet many applications are rejected or need modification because of errors in testing procedures or data reporting. This paper will address the data needed to list a product under each category and will clarify issues related to the Product Schedule. It will also address the policies that EPA uses to enforce the Subpart J regulation. The author has managed the Product Schedule for over 3 years, and his experience and expertise regarding the issues surrounding alternative countermeasures will be covered as well. Dispersants, SWAs, chemical sorbents, and other technologies have sparked controversy and confusion in all regions and areas of the United States, and in some cases internationally. Many research efforts have added to the baseline knowledge we have about dispersants and bioremediation agents' toxicity, efficacy, and proper use, but conflicts still arise as that data is interpreted and applied in the field. The reader will have a better understanding of why and how alternative countermeasures are required to be listed and describe the authority to use them based on EPA policy.

scholarly journals Hidden Externalities: The Globalization of Hazardous Waste

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone M. Müller
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Hazardous Waste ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global South ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
The U.S

This article focuses on chemical retailers Jack and Charles Colbert to, first, show the externalization processes linked to the greening of U.S. industry through stricter consumer and environmental protection regulations and, second, illustrate the limitations of nationally framed environmentalism targeting businesses in a global market. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Colberts traded chemicals that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had banned for use in the United States. They exported them legally to countries where the material was still a permitted commodity—primarily in the global South. Rare interview material illustrates how the exporters justified their unequal business deals by misappropriating the meaning of recycling.

The Volkswagen Emissions Scandal

2016 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Luann J. Lynch ◽  
Almand R. Coleman ◽  
Cameron Cutro ◽  
Cameron Cutro
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Top Executives ◽  
Performance Targets ◽  
The World ◽  
Hazardous Gases ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The U.S

In September 2015, VW had admitted to United States regulators that it had deliberately installed “defeat devices” in many of its diesel cars, which enabled the cars to cheat on federal and state emissions tests, making them able to pass the tests and hit ambitious mileage and performance targets while actually emitting up to 40 times more hazardous gases into the atmosphere than legally allowed. The discovery had prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to halt final certification of VW’s 2016 diesel models, and VW itself had halted sales of its 2015 models. As fallout from the defeat devices developed, VW posted its first quarterly loss in more than 15 years, and its stock plummeted. Top executives were replaced, and VW abandoned its goal of becoming the world’s largest automaker. Stakeholders around the world had been asking since the scandal broke: “How could this have happened at Volkswagen?”

Hazmat Transport Safety and Alternative Transport Modes

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Luca Zamparini ◽  
Genserik Reniers ◽  
Michael Ziolkowski
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hazardous Materials ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rail Transportation ◽  
Transportation Modes ◽  
Transport Safety ◽  
Transport Modes ◽  
The U.S

This paper analyzes 21 years of data related to unintentional hazardous materials (hazmat) releases on air, marine, and rail transportation modes reported in the United States (U.S.) -- although their origins and destinations may be outside the U.S. The authors' analysis reveals thousands of cases have occurred and their impacts vary by mode. These impacts include material losses, carrier damages, property damages, response costs, and remediation and clean-up costs. There appears to be some reduction in the frequency of incidents and accidents as regulations have been promulgated, although the authors cannot attribute causation. They review suggests that enhanced regulations and attentiveness have probably led to better reporting of hazmat occurrences. Moreover, developing and maintaining safer processes and designing safer products, containers, and systems can play an important role in minimizing hazmat releases.

A Compaction-Granulation Process Turns Municipal Sludge into a Valuable Fertilizer Component

1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 239-247
Author(s):  
Philip Wolstenholme
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Municipal Sludge ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Digested Sludge ◽  
Granulation Process ◽  
Planning And Design

To prepare dried municipal sludge material for use by the fertilizer industry, Ocean County Utilities Authority, New Jersey needed a process to increase the size of their sludge particles to between 1 and 3 millimetres. Several processes were evaluated during the planning and design phases of the project. The most cost-effective and reliable process was pressure agglomeration by compaction with a roll press, followed by granulation and screening of the compacted material. This process was tested with a sample of the Authority's digested sludge, which had been dried in a laboratory-scale evaporator. Fullscale compaction and granulation test equipment was used at a laboratory in West Germany to confirm the feasibility of the process and to develop data for the design of the project. As a result of its “innovative” approach to sludge processing, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) qualified this $60 million project for special funding. The project is nearing construction completion and due to be commissioned in spring of 1990.

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