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Five Year Report
1993-1997
•Table of Contents
•Acknowledgments
•Executive Summary
•Introduction
•Methods
•Results
•Discussion/Recommendations
•List of Figures / Tables
•Definitions
•OERS Council Membership
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Executive Summary
Oregon has been part of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system
since 1992. Project data for five years from 1993 through 1997 provide a
comprehensive picture of hazardous substance emergencies (and threatened
emergencies) in the state and resulting morbidity and mortality. The Oregon
Emergency Response System (OERS) and the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM)
record incident reports, but do not record human health effects of hazardous
substances emergencies or determine the relevance of the individual reports to
HSEES criteria. The HSEES project obtains the incident reports and follows up to
identify human health effects and the potential for human health effects through
individual contacts and investigations.
Since HSEES was undertaken in Oregon, the focus on human health effects has
resulted in the identification of trends in morbidity and problems encountered in
response to hazardous substance emergencies. Educational programs have been
developed for presentation to appropriate audiences to address these response issues
and reduce future injuries. Data generated by Oregon's HSEES have been
requested by Oregon emergency planners, first responders, and those in private
industries who manufacture, ship, store or use hazardous substances in their places
of work.
Limitations of surveillance systems are related to gaps in reporting and incomplete
mechanisms for feedback to contributors. Oregon HSEES has identified reporting
gaps which has lead to improved reporting of certain hazardous material (HazMat)
events. OERS and OSFM personnel have observed that reporting has improved
during the past seven years. Oregon's experience in collecting HSEES data has been
enhanced by the Oregon Health Services' understanding of surveillance needs,
limitations, and experiences with other surveillance systems.
This report summarizes information derived from the HSEES system over the five-year-period from 1993 - 1997. Several consistent patterns have emerged among
hazardous substance emergency events in Oregon:
- Most events have occurred at fixed facilities.
- Most events have involved the release of only one substance.
- A minority of events involve injuries or illnesses.
- When injuries have occurred, they have usually involved employees.
- When injuries have occurred, they usually have not required hospital
admission.
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