Global event-based surveillance of chemical incidents

Autor: Eirian Thomas, Tom Gaulton, Charlotte Hague, David Cole, Raquel Duarte-Davidson
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology
ISSN: 1559-064X
Popis: Background The number of chemicals in our society and in our daily lives continues to increase. Accompanying this is an increasing risk of human exposure to and injury from hazardous substances. Performing regular, structured surveillance of chemical incidents allows a greater awareness of the types of chemical hazards causing injury and the frequency of their occurrence, as well as providing a better understanding of exposures. Objective The objective of performing event-based surveillance (EBS) and capturing chemical incidents is to use this information to increase the situational awareness of chemical incidents, improve the management of these incidents and to inform measures to protect public health. Methods This paper describes a method for EBS for chemical incidents, including the sources used, storing the gathered information and subsequent analysis of potential trends in the data. Results We describe trends in the type of incidents that have been detected, the chemicals involved in these incidents and the health effects caused, in different geographic regions of the world. Significance The methodology presented here provides a rapid and simple means of identifying chemical incidents that can be set up rapidly and with minimal cost, the outputs of which can be used to identify emerging risks and inform preparedness planning, response and training for chemical incidents.
Databáze: OpenAIRE