Jason A Wilken1, Leah Graziano2, Elena Vaouli2, Karl Markiewicz3, Robert Helverson3, Kimberly Brinker4, Alice M Shumate5, Mary Anne Duncan6. 1. Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia; California Department of Public Health, Richmond, California; CDC's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Atlanta, Georgia. 2. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Edison, New Jersey. 3. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 4. Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia; CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Atlanta, Georgia. 5. Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia; New Jersey Department of Health, Trenton, New Jersey; CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Spokane, Washington. 6. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta, Georgia.
Abstract
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.
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.
Authors: Kimberly Brinker; Margaret Lumia; Karl V Markiewicz; Mary Anne Duncan; Chad Dowell; Araceli Rey; Jason Wilken; Alice Shumate; Jamille Taylor; Renée Funk Journal: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep Date: 2015-01-09 Impact factor: 17.586
Authors: Alice M Shumate; Jamille Taylor; Elizabeth McFarland; Christina Tan; Mary Anne Duncan Journal: Disaster Med Public Health Prep Date: 2017-03-06 Impact factor: 1.385