title: A U.S. partnership with India and Poland to track acute chemical releases to serve public health.
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.
authors.affiliation: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. pruckart@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Perri Zeitz
authors.initials: PZ
authors.lastname: Ruckart
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pałaszewska-Tkacz
authors.forename: Aruna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dewan
authors.forename: Vikas
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kapil
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D000393:Air Pollutants; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007391:International Cooperation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011044:Poland; D011634:Public Health; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D015386:Hazardous Substances