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Four Year Report
1998-2001
• Executive Summary
• Introduction & Methods
• Results
• Summary of Results
• List of Tables / Figures
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Executive Summary
Since 1990, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has
maintained an active, state-based Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance
(HSEES) system to describe the public health consequences associated with the release of hazardous substances. Since 1992, the Oregon Department of Human Services/Health Services has participated in this surveillance system. This report summarizes the characteristics of events reported to the surveillance system by Oregon Health Services (OHS) during 1998-2001.
Information on acute hazardous substance emergency events was collected. The types of
data collected included general information on the event, substance(s) released, number of victims, number and types of adverse health effects experienced by the victim(s), and number of evacuations.
Several data sources were used to obtain the maximum amount of information about each
event. These sources included, but were not limited to, Oregon Emergency Response System (OERS), Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM), and National Response Center (NRC) Incident Reports, interviews of responders, business representatives, other OHS program staff, and newspaper accounts. Prior to January 2000, the data obtained were computerized using an ATSDR-provided data entry system and were sent to ATSDR quarterly. Beginning in January 2000, data were entered into a Web-based data entry system maintained by ATSDR that permits real-time data entry.
Oregon Health Services reported a total of 797 events for 1998-2001; 571 (72%) of the
events occurred at fixed facilities, and 226 (28%) were transportation-related events. Equipment failure was the most frequent contributing factor [243 (30%)] to the releases and human error was the second most frequent contributing factor [186 releases (23%)]. "Deliberate damage/illegal activity" was a factor in 103 (13%) incidents. In 684 (86%) of the events, only a single substance was released. The most commonly reported substance category was "volatile organic compounds." The most commonly reported substances were methamphetamine drug lab chemicals. During this reporting period, 114 events (14% of reported events) resulted in a total of 334 victims, of whom 7 persons died. The adverse health effects most frequently experienced by victims were respiratory irritation (184 victims), headache (83 victims), and gastrointestinal disturbances (58 victims). 119 (15%) events required evacuations.
The findings regarding the distribution of events in transportation vs. at fixed facilities, the numbers of events with victims or evacuations, and the types of injuries most frequently reported have, overall, been consistent since 1993 in Oregon. However, the rising prevalence of illegal methamphetamine drug labs has had a significant impact on the most commonly reported substances or substance categories released. This is remarkable in light of the fact that most illegal methamphetamine drug labs are not included as HSEES events in this database even though they are a major source of contamination at a site. This is because they are not always acute events associated with a recent release or spill or human exposure. These data, therefore, are only a harbinger of the real drug lab problem in Oregon, as well as in other states. This is one more reason why these findings should be cause for immediate and long-term public health action.
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