REDUCTION AND
MANAGEMENT OF
CHEMICAL
ACCIDENTS/DISASTER
DR.BEER SINGH,
Scientist “F”
Joint Director, DRDE
Gwalior
Active Threats
Industries etc
Active Threats
Types of Chemical Disasters
Enemy: Terrorism
• Natural Disasters
Means: WMDs to dirty bombs • Man-made Disasters
Methods: Difficult to predict
-Accidental Chemical Spill
Targets of attack: Military units -Terrorism
to schools
Commercial and industrial chemicals
Time: When least expected
Chemical warfare agents
Deleterious Effects of Chemical disasters
• Breathing difficulties, eye irritation
• Skin abnormalities, nausea, respiratory problems
• Chest or abdominal pains & death.
• Precise symptoms would depend upon the agent used,
and the severity of the symptoms can depend upon
the person’s proximity to the contamination.
• Skin lesions, eye problems, respiratory failure, internal
organ failure, weight loss, fever, vomiting.
Brutality of chemical disasters
Chemical warfare agent exposed on Iraqis
1988 Iraq used CW agents against Kurdish rebels
Thousands of Kurdish civilians are killed
16 March 1988
Memorial to the victims
of the Halabja gas attack
U.S. soldier on patrol in Halabja
cemetery for the victims of the gas
attack
BLISTERS CAUSED
BY HD
MIOSIS CAUSED
BY BLISTER AGENTS
EFFECT OF SARIN EXPOSURE ON RABBIT PUPIL
Bhopal Gas Tragedy
•
•
•
•
•
Worst industrial disaster in history
2,000 people died on immediate aftermath
Another 13,000 died in next fifteen years
10-15 persons dying every month
520,000 diagnosed chemicals in blood
causing different health complications
• 120,000 people still suffering from
–
–
–
–
–
Cancer
Tuberculosis
Partial or complete blindness,
Post traumatic stress disorders,
Menstrual irregularities
• Rise in spontaneous abortion and still birth
How it happened
• December 3-4, 1984: 40 tonnes of
methyl iso-cyanate (MIC) released from
Union Carbide plant at Bhopal
• Accidental release caused by leakage of
water into MIC storage tank
• None of the safety systems worked
• Safety standards and maintenance
system ignored for months
• Complete absence of community
information and emergency procedures
• Public alarm system operated after the
gas had leaked for nearly four hours
Case Study: Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack
– Incident was not recognized as nerve agent attack
until approximately 3 hours after release.
– 12 dead, 692 Actual Victims from exposure, total
5500 treated
– Only 688 of the 5,500 victims were medically
transported. The rest were transported by passersby or went themselves. Over 400 vehicles
responded
– 4,500 persons approximately were “walking well”
– Nearest Hospital saw 500 patients in the first hour.
– Over 1000 units of atropine were available
Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack
Mass decontamination was not performed.
• 135 responders suffered effects of exposure.
• 20% of the hospital workers suffered secondary
exposure.
–Over 50% of those involved remain effected today.
–37% requested financial aid from the government.
–$2.6 M was spent on medical expenses in first year.
–10% of victims quit school or work.
–Personal belongings were placed into bags and
returned to victims who were told to burn them.
Management
 Risk assessment
 Disaster prevention and mitigation
 Preparedness
 Disaster risk management as part of
rehabilitation
 Raising awareness
 Strengthening
local
disaster
risk
capabilities
management
Emergency Planning and Response
• Regular running of equipment &
tests on facilities
• Emergency Management Plans
- on site
- off site
• On site drills once in 6 months
• Off site drill with Dist.
Administration once in a year
• Mutual aid Agreements with
Neighboring industries/District Fire
Services.
• Updating of plans
HAZARDOUS WASTES
(APPLICABLE TO ALL INDUSTRIES
PRODUCING HAZARDOUS WASTE)
Treatment of Hazardous Wastes
(I) Reduction at Source/reuse/Recycle
(II) Dilution of Hazardous Waste.
(III) Commercial Available Alternatives
•
Physical treatment
•
Chemical treatment
•
Biological treatment
•
Thermal treatment
•
Stabilization/solidification/ sorption
MEASURES TO BE TAKEN DURING
THE EMERGENCY CONDITIONS
• The plant authorities should immediately contact
the local administrator in case hazard is likely to
spread beyond the factory.
• The concerned Police Officers along with civic
officials should make arrangements for evacuation
of the people from the vicinity to safe areas.
• The plant authorities should extend all technical
support in controlling the damage.
• Most importantly, it is the responsibility of the
industry management that the people do not get
panicky.
• After all the hazard is totally eliminated, people may
be brought back to their respective places of
working and living.
Preparedness
Shelters
Management
 Understanding the event of chemical disaster by
 Detection systems
 Identification of adverse/abnormal health symptoms like
vomiting of blood, itching of eyes, itching of skin and
burns on skin in humans
 Unusual death of human and animals
 Alerting the disaster
protective gear.
management
team
to
wear
the
 Alerting the population to wear the protective gear.
 Detecting and mapping the affected area of disaster by
team as cold, warm and hot zones.
Simultaneous evacuation of affected people from hot/affected
zone by rescue team with protective gear.
Simultaneous decontamination
management team.
of
affected
area
by
disaster
Evacuation of civilians to contamination free shelters and bunkers
at the time of disaster. While shifting they should be provided
with protective gear and should be decontaminated before entering
the safe zone.
Exposed individuals shall be decontaminated and shifted to
shelters after the examination by doctor.
Medical protection shall be provided to affected peoples.
SOP
DOs
• Cordoning off of hundred meter Diameter
• Finding out the wind direction
• Clearing of the down wind side immediately at least up to 500
meters with a corridor of 50 meter width
• Detection, rescue and decontamination team to wear individual
protective equipment
• Detection team to detect contaminants using detection equipments
and identify the agents
• Detection team after detection to demarcate the area in to hot zone,
warm zone and cold zone depending on concentration.
Note: Detection team shall carry the flags or the plastic tape for the cordoning off
the area
SOP
• Rescue team comprising experts including medical
doctors, nursing staff, chemists, police personnel to
rescue and evacuate the casualty using the following
given procedure- Triage of the casualty by putting the green,
yellow and black bandages to the casualties
- Decontaminate the casualties with PDK
- Provide the first aid and evacuate using casualty
bags (full and half) and send them to hospitals, if
required
- Less preference to be given to the casualty with
black bandages
SOP
• Decontamination team to decontaminate the area,
buildings, vehicles, equipment and set the decon. center
in the cold zone
• Casualties to be decontaminated at decontamination
center and given bath before sending them to their
appropriate and designated places.
• Detection, rescue, decontamination team and others to
be decontaminated
• Safety officer to intimate the incident commander for
the declaration of the zone to be safe and clean
SOP
DO NOTs
• Not to crowd near the victim to avoid further
contamination
• Not to go in down wind direction
• Not to get back in the cordoned off area till final
clearance
• All teams not to remove protective equipments until
their declared safe
• Not to handle contaminated clothing and protective
equipments with bare hands. Put them in polythene
bags and send them for safe disposal after sealing
the bag
Structure for the unit to manage the
chemical disaster
Attribute
• Administrator-
No
One ( no IPE) shall be present
in staging area
Team commander- One (shall occupy or make
command post)
Dy. commander- One (with IPE)
Safety officerOne (with IPE)
Communication- One (with IPE)
officer
Detection team- Three (with IPE) (one team for
detection and another team for demarcation of zone)
Structure for the unit to manage the
chemical disaster
Rescue team-
Four (with IPE) (one team for
rescue and evacuation from the contaminated zone, another
team for the shifting of the casualties after decontamination
from decon. station to the designated clean zones or hospitals)
Decontamination team- Three (with IPE) (one for
decon. of area, objects, buildings, vehicles, etc. another team for
the decon. of the casualties and teams involved in the operation
at decon. station)
Medical teamand four nursing staff
One doctor (NBC trained)
Management
•
All operations shall go simultaneously
Decontamination of area shall start after
evacuation of casualties
Used equipments, vehicle to be decontaminated
Take Home Message
• Educate your people!
• Contact your local office of Disaster
Preparedness
• Work with your Disaster/ Emergency Medical
and Nursing staff to develop an action-plan.
• Conduct disaster drills on all shifts.
• Managers must be prepared with manpower,
supplies and staff.
Preparedness
Preparedness Is the Key to
combat Chemical disaster
•
•
•
•
•
•
Awareness
Training
Equipment
Resources
Planning
Exercises
Response and Planning Exercises
YOU Control the
Situation...
... the situation
doesn’t control you
Disaster Prevention and mitigation
• It denotes the activities that prevent or
mitigate the adverse effects of extreme
natural or man made events.
Disaster preparedness
• Participatory drafting of emergency plans,
• Infrastructure measures (emergency accommodation,
etc.),
• Carrying out disaster preparedness exercises,
• Building up and/or strengthening local and national
disaster preparedness capabilities and rescue
services,
• Coordination and deployment planning,
• Early-warning systems:
– Setting up and operating communications systems,
– Delivery of technical equipment,
– Operator training.
Raising awareness
• Support for raising awareness of the connection
between cost and benefit in disaster risk management
at the economic, social and political level.
• Raising awareness amongst populations living in risk
areas of the hazards and vulnerabilities and the
opportunities for disaster risk management.
•
Implementing appropriate early-warning systems.
•
Participation of the population, the municipal
administration and other institutions in all phases of
disaster risk management.
Strengthening local disaster risk management
capabilities
• The cornerstone of effective disaster risk
management
is
the
establishment
and/or
strengthening of a local system containing the above
listed activity areas and incrusted in an overall
national system, mobilizing all possible social and
political actors at the municipal level and getting
them to shoulder responsibility in the process
MAJOR CHEMICAL DISASTERS THAT
SHAPED PUBLIC POLICY
• Triangle Factory Fire New York (USA) 1911
100 garment workers died in fire
• Minamata Mercury Disaster (Japan) 1932-68
3,000 people suffered, severe mercury poisoning
symptoms, deformities or death
• Seveso Dioxin Disaster (Italy) 1976
3,000 animals died, 70,000 slaughtered to prevent
dioxins entering food chain
• Bhopal Gas Disaster (India) 1984
15,000 killed, over 500,000 affected
• Shri ram Oleium gas Leak (Delhi) 1986
1 Died, 1000 Injured
Chemical Terrorist Events
• 1985 - Covenant Group found to possess 33 gallons of
cyanide Northwestern Arkansas
• 1992 - Police prevented Neo-Nazis from using cyanide in
synagogue
• 1994 - Aum Shinrikyo used sarin in Matsumoto
– 7 dead, 280 injured
• 1995 - Aum Shinrikyo uses sarin in Tokyo subway
– 12 dead, 5,500 injured
Examples of major toxic releases.
Chemical
Consequences
Place and year
Phosgene
10
-
Poza Rica, Mexico, 1950
Chlorine
7
-
Wilsum, Federal Republic of
Germany, 1952
Dioxin
-
193
Seveso, Italy, 1976
30
25
Cartagena, Colombia, 1977
Sulphur dioxide
-
100
Baltimore, Maryland, United States,
1978
Hydrogen
sulphide
8
29
Chicago, Illinois, United States, 1978
Methyl
isocyanate
2,500
200,000
Bhopal, India, 1984
Ammonia
Examples of major fires
Chemical involved
Consequences
Place and year
Death
Injuries
Methane
136
77
Cleveland, Ohio,
United States, 1944
Liquefied petroleum
gas
18
90
Ferzyn, France, 1966
Liquefied natural gas
40
-
Staten Island, New
York, United States,
1973
Methane
52
-
Santa Cruz, Mexico,
1978
Liquefied petroleum
gas
650
2,500
Mexico City, Mexico,
1985
Examples of industrial explosions
Chemical involved
Consequences
Place and date
Dimethyl ether
245
3,800
Ludwigshafen, Federal Republic of
Germany, 1948
Kerosene
32
16
Bitburg, Federal Republic of Germany,
1948
Isobutane
7
13
Lake Charles, Louisiana, United
States, 1967
Oil slops
2
85
Pernis, Netherlands, 1968
Propylene
-
230
East Saint Louis, Illinois, United
States, 1972
Propane
7
152
Illinois, United States, 1974
Cyclohexane
28
89
Flixborough, United Kingdom, 1974
Propylene
14
107
Beek, Netherlands, 1975
CAPACITY BUILDING
School syllabus of all boards (10+2) must have a brief introductory course on
chemical warfare agents.
Training programs for the teachers on chemical warfare agents, protection,
detection and decontamination against the agents should be given.
All training academy (Civil Administration, Police, Fire fighting, etc.) must
introduce course and training on CW agents for the personal getting basic pay
Rs.5000 and above.
All medical and nursing colleges must have extensive syllabus on CW agents and
their medical protection (Antidotes and other related treatments).
At least 10 quick reaction teams should be raised in a district to meet the chemical
disaster involving personal from various agencies.
NCC and NSS units of the colleges should have a C disaster wing.
Training program for NBC disaster management should be initiated to train
government officials, elected representatives and community leaders.