• Abstract
• Full-Text PDF [101 KB]
• Full-Text XML
• Article Versions Notes

• Article Statistics
• PubMed/Medline
• Google Scholar
• Order Reprints

• Cite this article
• Export to BibTeX
• Export to EndNote

• [+] on DOAJ
• Ruckart, PZeitz
• Orr, M
• Pałaszewska-Tkacz, A
• Dewan, A
• Kapil, V
• [+] on Google Scholar
• Ruckart, PZeitz
• Orr, M
• Pałaszewska-Tkacz, A
• Dewan, A
• Kapil, V
• [+] on PubMed
• Ruckart, PZeitz
• Orr, M
• Pałaszewska-Tkacz, A
• Dewan, A
• Kapil, V

•  CiteULike
•  Facebook
•  Mendeley
•  Twitter

This article is

• freely available
• re-usable

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6(9), 2375-2386; doi:10.3390/ijerph6092375

Article

A U.S. Partnership with India and Poland to Track Acute Chemical Releases to Serve Public Health

Perri Zeitz Ruckart ^1,* , Maureen Orr ¹ , Anna Pałaszewska-Tkacz ² , Aruna Dewan ^3,#  and Vikas Kapil ⁴

¹ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 4770 Buford Highway, MS F57, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA ² Scientific Information Department, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 8 Sw.Teresy Street, 91-348 Lodz, Poland ³ National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380016 India ⁴ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 4770 Buford Highway, MS F62, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA ^# Current affiliation: Center for Education, Awareness and Research on Chemicals and Health (CEARCH), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380013 India.

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 21 July 2009 / Accepted: 28 August 2009 / Published: 3 September 2009

Download PDF Full-Text [101 KB, uploaded 2 September 2009 16:03 CEST]

Abstract: We describe a collaborative effort between the U.S., India, and Poland to track acute chemical releases during 2005-2007. In all three countries, fixed facility events were more common than transportation-related events; manufacturing and transportation/ warehousing were the most frequently involved industries; and equipment failure and human error were the primary contributing factors. The most commonly released non-petroleum substances were ammonia (India), carbon monoxide (U.S.) and mercury (Poland). More events in India (54%) resulted in victims compared with Poland (15%) and the U.S. (9%). The pilot program showed it is possible to successfully conduct international surveillance of acute hazardous substances releases with careful interpretation of the findings.

Keywords: chemical surveillance; chemical release; public health

Article Statistics

Cite This Article