title: The public health physician's role in chemical incidents.
abstract: Chemical incidents such as the methylisocyanate release at Bhopal and the aluminium sulphate incident in Lowermoor, Cornwall, are uncommon. However, five chemical incidents occurred in Somerset in 12 months between 1990 and 1991, and District Health Authorities are required to have plans to deal with such events. A survey of the plans held by the Consultants in Communicable Disease Control in South Western and Wessex Regional Health Authorities is discussed and the roles of public health physicians and emergency organizations are outlined.
authors.affiliation: Somerset Health Authority, Taunton.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Gunnell
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000379:methods*; D004630:Emergencies; D004739:England; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D006801:Humans; D010819:Physician's Role; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances; D006256:Hazardous Waste