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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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Summary of Results
1993?2001
The number of events, substances released, events with victims, and deaths for the years 1993 through 2001 are shown in Table 9 (pdf) . The increase in numbers of events between 1999 and 2000-2001 (see also Figure 9 (pdf) ) is likely related to a changeover in personnel and location of the Oregon HSEES program during 1999-2000. The Oregon HSEES system had been located at the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) from 1994 until the summer of 1999, when operation of the Oregon HSEES system moved back to the Oregon Health Division (now Oregon Health Services). During this time there was a personnel change and a HSEES epidemiologist was hired in February 2000. It is believed that this changeover resulted in the lower number of HSEES incidents identified during 1999, and that the higher numbers of incidents seen during 2000-2001 reflect the re-establishment of and increased surveillance during 2000-2001. This may be further
elucidated by the data for 2002 forward.
The percent of events with victims has ranged between 12 and 23% over the nine-year
period, and averaged 17% (Table 9 (pdf) ). The last two years have seen a drop in the percent of events with victims to 13%, but it is not known whether that drop is a reflection of changes in surveillance, chance occurrences, or increased prevention of injuries. The number of victims per year does not appear to be related to the number of events (see Figures 8 and 9). The number of deaths per year may have increased slightly but the numbers are too few to know whether this is due to random variation or an actual increase in the severity of injuries. The three deaths that
occurred at fixed facilities were apparently related to chemical exposures, and so our prevention actions should be aimed at the same sorts of chemical exposures, by inhalation and skin contact
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Thus, increased training, use of personal protective equipment, and engineering controls to prevent these exposures would be important interventions. The relative numbers of transportation vs. fixed-facility events has not changed over the nine-year period, and still averages 28% and 72%, respectively (Table 1). As with the previous
five years (reported in Oregon Health Division HSEES Four Year Report (1993-1997) on the web at: http://www.healthoregon.org/hsees/9397rpt/index.cfm, the general patterns are consistent.
- Most events occurred in fixed facilities.
- Most events involved the release of only once substance.
- A minority of events involved injuries or illnesses.
- When injuries have occurred, they have usually involved employees.
- When injuries have occurred, they usually have not required hospital admission.
The most salient feature distinguishing the last four years of Oregon HSEES surveillance has been the rapid increase in events involving clandestine methamphetamine drug laboratories. Fortunately, their notoriety is spurring great interest in prevention and mitigation of human exposures from a variety of stakeholders in the health, human services, and first responder communities. Interventions stressing information, knowledge, and collaboration between agencies are necessary to reduce the public health impact of methamphetamine lab activities.
Read more about the Oregon Health Services' clandestine methamphetamine drug laboratories cleanup programMore>
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