This paper examines the management of uncertainty among emergency responders, the media, and the public following the crash of an Israeli cargo plane carrying apparently hazardous cargo in Amsterdam's Bijlmermeer area. While the authorities' management of the emergency created by the initial crash was effective, the long-term crisis management performance was considerably less effective. It is ...

BACKGROUND Over the past 20 years, knowledge of the genome and its function has increased dramatically, but risk assessment methodologies using such knowledge have not advanced accordingly. OBJECTIVE This commentary describes a collaborative effort among several federal and state agencies to advance the next generation of risk assessment. The objective of the NexGen program is to begin to inc...

The Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee (HSAC) provides expert advice to UK officials, Ministers and other relevant bodies on the protection of the environment, and human health via the environment, from potentially hazardous substances and articles. Hazardous substances are often the subject of controversy, on which individuals, and different groups in society, hold divergent views. This p...

The health care industry makes a unique contribution to the potential public health and environmental impacts of sewage sludge production and disposal. As materials flow into and out of health care facilities, potentially hazardous substances, like mercury, solvents, and pharmaceutical compounds, are introduced into the waste stream and ultimately into sewage sludge. Although the hazards posed ...

The countries of Eastern and Central Europe have emerged from a political system which, for decades, has disregarded any safeguards to human health from the deleterious effects of hazardous substances. Rapid industrialization without any bona fide environmental regulatory controls has placed enormous stress on these countries. The societal and economic costs associated with human health effects...

In 2001, the Federal Office of Pipeline Safety promulgated its pipeline integrity management rule for hazardous liquid pipelines. A notice of proposed rule making for a similar rule for gas pipelines was issued in January 2003. A final rule must be in place by the end of 2003. These rules derive from formal risk management initiatives of both the pipeline industry and the regulators beginning i...

Most large fire departments that participated in this study expressed confi­ dence in their ability to respond to typical hazardous materials (hazmat) events, such as hazardous cargo spills from trucks involved in highway accidents. In contrast, these same departments were greatly concerned about their ability to respond to large or multiple acts of terrorism. For instance, terrorism response c...

Occupational hygiene, in its broadest sense, is the recognition, evaluation and control of health hazards arising from work – a trained hygienist needs to understand a range of subjects from health and safety legislation through to toxicology, hazardous substances, physical agents, exposure assessment and exposure control strategies. To some extent, occupational hygiene is relevant in all workp...

The experimental measurement and modeling of liquid chemical agent spread and sorption on a porous substrate are described. Experimental results with the nerve agent O-ethyl S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methylphosphonothiolate (VX) demonstrate that the wetted imprint volume increases, even after the sessile drop volume is exhausted. This indicates the wetted imprint is only partially saturated, ...

Hospital evacuation is a difficult process that requires a robust strategy and careful execution. In the past, threats leading to possible evacuation were primarily natural disasters. In recent years the broadened nature of threats, including hazardous material spills and terrorist incidents, has complicated this already complex problem. Its importance continues to grow, but there is still no c...