UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents
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Transcript of UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents
April 21, 2023
UK Recovery Handbookfor Chemical Incidents
Alec Dobney
Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division (London)
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
Overview of the presentation
• Real need for UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents
• Recovery and Recovery Working Group
• Structure and framework of the handbook (2009-2012)
• Chemical selection
• Using the handbook – a worked example
• Stakeholder involvement
World Trade Centre, September 11th 2001(early morning)
Image courtesy of the University of Sydney
Image courtesy of the University of Sydney
Aviation fuel fireball
Images courtesy of the University of Sydney
Image Courtesy of BBCExtent of the enormity of ash, dust & debris
Contaminants potentially present• Asbestos
• Carbon monoxide• Metals
(e.g. lead, chromium & mercury)
• Oxides of nitrogen and sulphur
• Jet fuel
• Inorganic acids
• Organic compounds
(e.g. dioxins)
• Organic debris
(approx. 100 tonnes)
• Respirable silica
• Freon
• Hydrogen fluoride
• Phosgene
• Diesel fumes
• Particulate matter
• Biohazards
Environmental Health Perspectives 2001, 109; 11;A528 - 536
Image Courtesy of BBC
Image Courtesy of BBC
Facts
•2,993 Fatalities
•6,000 Injured
•Fires lasted 50 days
•Site clean up took approx. 200 days
[Background levels for some chemicals only possible after 289 days]
Image courtesy of US Navy
Image courtesy of US Navy
Image courtesy of BBC
Recovery
• Cleaning (common spaces, HVAC systems & residential spaces)
• Avoid re- suspension of dust:
1. Wet wiping methods (using rag or wet mop; avoids re- surfacing of dust)
2. Wash down workers prior to leaving cordoned off area
3. Power wash cars, trucks & engines
• Occupational monitoring (for asbestos, particulate matter, lead, benzene and dioxin levels)
• Counselling services were set-up to deal with the psychological effects of the incident
Image Courtesy of BBC
The Problem:
•How clean is clean?
•No comprehensive guidance
•Complexity of chemical ‘cocktails’
Requirement for:
•prompt decision making
•to increase preparedness
•management options relevant for a wide range of chemical incidents
The solution is:
UK Recovery Handbook for
Chemical Incidents
Mirror the UK Handbook for Radiation Incidents
http://www.hpa.org.uk/HPA/Publications/Radiation/HPARPDSeriesReports
What is the UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents?
• Three year project funded by:
Health Protection Agency Department Environment Food and Rural AffairsDepartment of Environment (NI)Food Standards AgencyScottish GovernmentHome Office
Emergency vs. Recovery Phase
“The recovery phase should be seen as commencing after the emergency phase (incident) has been contained; although there are no exact boundaries between the two phases. It continues until agreed recovery criteria have been met. The recovery phase may be defined as the process of rebuilding, restoring and rehabilitating the community following an emergency” (RHR, 2010)
An action intended to reduce or avert the exposure of people to chemical contamination
• Protection• Removal• Waste disposal
Management Option:
Divided into 3 parts
• Inhabited Areas
Buildings, vehicles, roads, parks
• Food Production Systems
Crops, soil, food products
• Water
Drinking, recreational, rivers and coastal
Structure of the Handbook
Structure of Each Part of Handbook
Introduction
• Objectives• Legislation• Exposure pathways
Factors influencing management options
• Temporal and spatial factors • Protection of workers • Social, ethical and financial• Waste disposal, environmental impact
Sub Areas / Surfaces
Residential
Non-residential
Industrial
SS
UU
BB
--
AA
RR
EE
AA
SS Buildings Parks Countryside Woods, forests
Recreational
Inhabited Areas
S
U
R
F
A
C
E
S
External surfaces
Indoor surfaces
and objects
Precious
objects
Specialist
surfaces
Roads & paved
areas
Trees and shrubs
Soil, grass and plants
Outdoor areas
Chemical Classification
Toxicology
• Health effects (acute and chronic)
• Latency
Physiochemical
• Persistency
• Transmissibility
Name Reason
Aldicarb CBRN
Arsine CBRN
Cyanide Salt CBRN
Phorate CBRN
Sarin CBRN
Sulphur Mustard CBRN
Ricin CBRN
Asbestos Health protection
Sulphuric Acid Health protection
Trace elements: Thallium/ Lead Health protection
Dioxins Seveso, Italy
Methylmercury Minamata,Japan
Pollutants from a large fire/ explosion
9/11, New York
Toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) Bhopal, India
Sulphur Mustard (Mustard Gas) example
• Chemical warfare agent
• Properties
• Health effects
Using the Handbook
(Courtesy of MSN Encarta) (Courtesy of www.college.ucla.edu)
Situation
• Small scale hypothetical incident on 1st August
• Deliberate release of sulphur mustard into the commercial district of a town (shops and offices)
• Area evacuated to distance of 400m
Sulphur Mustard example
Sulphur Mustard example 1: Identify management options relevant to
contaminated surfaces
External building surfaces contaminated
• Prohibit public access to non-residential areas• Active decontamination• Adsorption • Washing with hypochlorite bleach• Sandblasting • Snow removal• Demolish buildings
2. Eliminate options due to incident characteristics
• Snow removal - it’s August!
3. Eliminate options unlikely to be applicable to sulphur mustard
• Demolish buildings- due to persistency of sulphur mustard
Sulphur Mustard example
Sulphur Mustard example 4: Remaining Options
Management Option Key Issues
Prohibit public access Enforcement
Washing with hypochlorite bleach
Use on listed / historic buildings, waste water
Sandblasting Use on listed / historic buildings Surfaces need to be resistant to high water pressure. Dust, sand and water waste
Adsorption Availability of adsorbent materials
Active decontamination Availability of chemicals, degradation products
Sulphur Mustard example
Category A
Moderate / high reduction in exposure
Low resource requirements
Category B
High reduction in exposure
High resource requirements
Category C
Low / moderate reduction in exposure
High resource requirements
Management Option Category
Prohibit Public Access
A
Washing with hypochlorite bleach
A
Sandblasting C
Adsorption B
Active Decontamination
B
How can people get involved• Running a series of stakeholder workshops
• Consultations
• Expertise of Environmental Health Officers
UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents
Contact details:[email protected]@[email protected]
Thank YouAny Questions