Evacuation decisions in a chemical air pollution incident: cross sectional survey

Kinra, Sanjay; Lewendon, G; Nelder, Robert; Herriott, Nannerl; Mohan, R; Hort, Matthew C.; Murray, Virginia

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7506.1471

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…However, continuing to SIP after a chemical plume has passed might result in additional exposure because the indoor chemical concentrations might equilibrate with high levels in outside air. Comparisons between the two options are limited; however, Kinra et al 8 reported greater odds of experiencing symptoms among evacuees versus persons who sheltered-in-place after a chemical fire at a plastics factory.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposures and symptoms among workers after an offsite train derailment and vinyl chloride release

et al. 2015

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Objective In 2012 in New Jersey, a train derailment resulted in the puncture of a tanker car carrying liquid vinyl chloride under pressure, and a resulting airborne vinyl chloride plume drifted onto the grounds of a nearby refinery. This report details the investigation of exposures and symptoms among refinery workers. Design and setting The investigation team met with refinery workers to discuss their experience after the derailment and provided workers a self-administered survey to document symptoms and worker responses during the incident. Associations among categorical variables and experiencing symptoms were evaluated using Fisher’s exact test. Participants Twenty-six of 155 (17 percent) workers present at the refinery or driving on the access road the date the spill occurred completed the survey. Main outcome measure(s) Any self-reported symptom following exposure from the vinyl chloride release. Results Fifteen workers (58 percent) reported ≥1 symptom, most commonly headache (12, 46 percent). Three (12 percent) reported using respiratory protection. No differences in reporting symptoms were observed by location during the incident or by the building in which workers sheltered. Workers who moved from one shelter to another during the incident (ie, broke shelter) were more likely to report symptoms (Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.03); however, there are only limited data regarding vinyl chloride concentrations in shelters versus outside. Conclusions Breaking shelter might result in greater exposures and managers and health and safety officers of vulnerable facilities with limited physical access should consider developing robust shelter-in-place plans and alternate emergency egress plans. Workers should consider using respiratory protection if exiting a shelter is necessary during a chemical incident.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposures and symptoms among workers after an offsite train derailment and vinyl chloride release

et al. 2015

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“…When there is a threat of wildfires due to extreme climatic conditions or an outbreak has occurred unexpectedly there are a number of measures that can be taken by health authorities to reduce the impact of the fire upon asthmatics [ 374 , 375 ].…”

Section: Wildfires and Asthmamentioning

confidence: 99%

Meteorological conditions, climate change, new emerging factors, and asthma and related allergic disorders. A statement of the World Allergy Organization

D’Amato¹,

Holgate

Pawankar

et al. 2015

World Allergy Organization Journal

420

446

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The prevalence of allergic airway diseases such as asthma and rhinitis has increased dramatically to epidemic proportions worldwide. Besides air pollution from industry derived emissions and motor vehicles, the rising trend can only be explained by gross changes in the environments where we live. The world economy has been transformed over the last 25 years with developing countries being at the core of these changes. Around the planet, in both developed and developing countries, environments are undergoing profound changes. Many of these changes are considered to have negative effects on respiratory health and to enhance the frequency and severity of respiratory diseases such as asthma in the general population.Increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, and especially carbon dioxide (CO2), in the atmosphere have already warmed the planet substantially, causing more severe and prolonged heat waves, variability in temperature, increased air pollution, forest fires, droughts, and floods – all of which can put the respiratory health of the public at risk. These changes in climate and air quality have a measurable impact not only on the morbidity but also the mortality of patients with asthma and other respiratory diseases. The massive increase in emissions of air pollutants due to economic and industrial growth in the last century has made air quality an environmental problem of the first order in a large number of regions of the world. A body of evidence suggests that major changes to our world are occurring and involve the atmosphere and its associated climate. These changes, including global warming induced by human activity, have an impact on the biosphere, biodiversity, and the human environment. Mitigating this huge health impact and reversing the effects of these changes are major challenges.This statement of the World Allergy Organization (WAO) raises the importance of this health hazard and highlights the facts on climate-related health impacts, including: deaths and acute morbidity due to heat waves and extreme meteorological events; increased frequency of acute cardio-respiratory events due to higher concentrations of ground level ozone; changes in the frequency of respiratory diseases due to trans-boundary particle pollution; altered spatial and temporal distribution of allergens (pollens, molds, and mites); and some infectious disease vectors. According to this report, these impacts will not only affect those with current asthma but also increase the incidence and prevalence of allergic respiratory conditions and of asthma. The effects of climate change on respiratory allergy are still not well defined, and more studies addressing this topic are needed. Global warming is expected to affect the start, duration, and intensity of the pollen season on the one hand, and the rate of asthma exacerbations due to air pollution, respiratory infections, and/or cold air inhalation, and other conditions on the other hand.

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“…While these workers may be at risk of exposures deleterious to physical or mental health, members of the public may also be exposed, sometimes resulting in serious negative health consequences 1 2…”

Section: Occupational and Public Health Synergiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational medicine, public health and disasters: a shared agenda?: Table 1

Morgan¹,

Murray²,

Snashall

2008

Occup Environ Med

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Evacuation decisions in a chemical air pollution incident: cross sectional survey

Cited by 12 publications

References 9 publications

Exposures and symptoms among workers after an offsite train derailment and vinyl chloride release

Exposures and symptoms among workers after an offsite train derailment and vinyl chloride release

Meteorological conditions, climate change, new emerging factors, and asthma and related allergic disorders. A statement of the World Allergy Organization

Occupational medicine, public health and disasters: a shared agenda?: Table 1

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