April 18, 2023

UK Recovery Handbookfor Chemical Incidents

Alec Dobney

Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division (London)

Chartered Institute of Environmental Health

Overview of the presentation

• Real need for UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents

• Recovery and Recovery Working Group

• Structure and framework of the handbook (2009-2012)

• Chemical selection

• Using the handbook – a worked example

• Stakeholder involvement

World Trade Centre, September 11th 2001(early morning)

Image courtesy of the University of Sydney

Image courtesy of the University of Sydney

Aviation fuel fireball

Images courtesy of the University of Sydney

Image Courtesy of BBCExtent of the enormity of ash, dust & debris

Contaminants potentially present• Asbestos

• Carbon monoxide• Metals

(e.g. lead, chromium & mercury)

• Oxides of nitrogen and sulphur

• Jet fuel

• Inorganic acids

• Organic compounds

(e.g. dioxins)

• Organic debris

(approx. 100 tonnes)

• Respirable silica

• Freon

• Hydrogen fluoride

• Phosgene

• Diesel fumes

• Particulate matter

• Biohazards

Environmental Health Perspectives 2001, 109; 11;A528 - 536

Image Courtesy of BBC

Image Courtesy of BBC

Facts

•2,993 Fatalities

•6,000 Injured

•Fires lasted 50 days

•Site clean up took approx. 200 days

[Background levels for some chemicals only possible after 289 days]

Image courtesy of US Navy

Image courtesy of US Navy

Image courtesy of BBC

Recovery

• Cleaning (common spaces, HVAC systems & residential spaces)

• Avoid re- suspension of dust:

1. Wet wiping methods (using rag or wet mop; avoids re- surfacing of dust)

2. Wash down workers prior to leaving cordoned off area

3. Power wash cars, trucks & engines

• Occupational monitoring (for asbestos, particulate matter, lead, benzene and dioxin levels)

• Counselling services were set-up to deal with the psychological effects of the incident

Image Courtesy of BBC

The Problem:

•How clean is clean?

•No comprehensive guidance

•Complexity of chemical ‘cocktails’

Requirement for:

•prompt decision making

•to increase preparedness

•management options relevant for a wide range of chemical incidents

The solution is:

UK Recovery Handbook for

Chemical Incidents

Mirror the UK Handbook for Radiation Incidents

http://www.hpa.org.uk/HPA/Publications/Radiation/HPARPDSeriesReports

What is the UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents?

• Three year project funded by:

Health Protection Agency Department Environment Food and Rural AffairsDepartment of Environment (NI)Food Standards AgencyScottish GovernmentHome Office

Emergency vs. Recovery Phase

“The recovery phase should be seen as commencing after the emergency phase (incident) has been contained; although there are no exact boundaries between the two phases. It continues until agreed recovery criteria have been met. The recovery phase may be defined as the process of rebuilding, restoring and rehabilitating the community following an emergency” (RHR, 2010)

An action intended to reduce or avert the exposure of people to chemical contamination

• Protection• Removal• Waste disposal

Management Option:

Divided into 3 parts

• Inhabited Areas

Buildings, vehicles, roads, parks

• Food Production Systems

Crops, soil, food products

• Water

Drinking, recreational, rivers and coastal

Structure of the Handbook

Structure of Each Part of Handbook

Introduction

• Objectives• Legislation• Exposure pathways

Factors influencing management options

• Temporal and spatial factors • Protection of workers • Social, ethical and financial• Waste disposal, environmental impact

Sub Areas / Surfaces

Residential

Non-residential

Industrial

SS

UU

BB

--

AA

RR

EE

AA

SS Buildings Parks Countryside Woods, forests

Recreational

Inhabited Areas

S

U

R

F

A

C

E

S

External surfaces

Indoor surfaces

and objects

Precious

objects

Specialist

surfaces

Roads & paved

areas

Trees and shrubs

Soil, grass and plants

Outdoor areas

Chemical Classification

Toxicology

• Health effects (acute and chronic)

• Latency

Physiochemical

• Persistency

• Transmissibility

Name Reason

Aldicarb CBRN

Arsine CBRN

Cyanide Salt CBRN

Phorate CBRN

Sarin CBRN

Sulphur Mustard CBRN

Ricin CBRN

Asbestos Health protection

Sulphuric Acid Health protection

Trace elements: Thallium/ Lead Health protection

Dioxins Seveso, Italy

Methylmercury Minamata,Japan

Pollutants from a large fire/ explosion

9/11, New York

Toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) Bhopal, India

Sulphur Mustard (Mustard Gas) example

• Chemical warfare agent

• Properties

• Health effects

Using the Handbook

(Courtesy of MSN Encarta) (Courtesy of www.college.ucla.edu)

Situation

• Small scale hypothetical incident on 1st August

• Deliberate release of sulphur mustard into the commercial district of a town (shops and offices)

• Area evacuated to distance of 400m

Sulphur Mustard example

Sulphur Mustard example 1: Identify management options relevant to

contaminated surfaces

External building surfaces contaminated

• Prohibit public access to non-residential areas• Active decontamination• Adsorption • Washing with hypochlorite bleach• Sandblasting • Snow removal• Demolish buildings

2. Eliminate options due to incident characteristics

• Snow removal - it’s August!

3. Eliminate options unlikely to be applicable to sulphur mustard

• Demolish buildings- due to persistency of sulphur mustard

Sulphur Mustard example

Sulphur Mustard example 4: Remaining Options

Management Option Key Issues

Prohibit public access Enforcement

Washing with hypochlorite bleach

Use on listed / historic buildings, waste water

Sandblasting Use on listed / historic buildings Surfaces need to be resistant to high water pressure. Dust, sand and water waste

Adsorption Availability of adsorbent materials

Active decontamination Availability of chemicals, degradation products

Sulphur Mustard example

Category A

Moderate / high reduction in exposure

Low resource requirements

Category B

High reduction in exposure

High resource requirements

Category C

Low / moderate reduction in exposure

High resource requirements

Management Option Category

Prohibit Public Access

A

Washing with hypochlorite bleach

A

Sandblasting C

Adsorption B

Active Decontamination

B

How can people get involved• Running a series of stakeholder workshops

• Consultations

• Expertise of Environmental Health Officers

UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents

Contact details:alec.dobney@hpa.org.uknicholas.brooke@hpa.org.ukvirginia.murray@hpa.org.uk

Thank YouAny Questions