UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents Chartered Institute

UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Alec Dobney Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division (London) 30 October 2020

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 11 th 2001 (early morning) Image courtesy of the University of Sydney

Aviation fuel fireball Image courtesy of the University of Sydney

Images courtesy of the University of Sydney

Extent of the enormity of ash, dust & debris Image Courtesy of BBC

Contaminants potentially present • Asbestos • Organic debris • Carbon monoxide • Metals (approx. 100 tonnes) (e. g. lead, chromium & mercury) • Respirable silica • Freon • Oxides of nitrogen and sulphur • Hydrogen fluoride • Jet fuel • Diesel fumes • Inorganic acids • Particulate matter • Organic compounds • Biohazards • Phosgene (e. g. dioxins) Environmental Health Perspectives 2001, 109; 11; A 528 - 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/Publication s/Radiation/HPARPDSeries. Reports

What is the UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents? • Three year project funded by: ØHealth Protection Agency ØDepartment Environment Food and Rural Affairs ØDepartment of Environment (NI) ØFood Standards Agency ØScottish Government ØHome 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)

Management Option: An action intended to reduce or avert the exposure of people to chemical contamination • Protection • Removal • Waste disposal

Structure of the Handbook 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 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 Inhabited Areas S U Residential B A R E Non-residential Recreational Industrial A Outdoor areas S Buildings Parks S External surfaces Soil, grass and plants R Indoor surfaces F Trees and shrubs and objects Countryside U A C E S Precious Roads & paved objects areas Specialist surfaces Woods, forests

Chemical Classification 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 • Persistency Dioxins Seveso, Italy Methylmercury Minamata, Japan • Transmissibility Pollutants from a large fire/ explosion 9/11, New York Toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) Bhopal, India Toxicology • Health effects (acute and chronic) • Latency Physiochemical

Using the Handbook Sulphur Mustard (Mustard Gas) example • Chemical warfare agent • Properties • Health effects (Courtesy of MSN Encarta) (Courtesy of www. college. ucla. edu)

Sulphur Mustard example Situation • Small scale hypothetical incident on 1 st August • Deliberate release of sulphur mustard into the commercial district of a town (shops and offices) • Area evacuated to distance of 400 m

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

Sulphur Mustard example 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 4: Remaining Options Management Option Key Issues Prohibit public access Enforcement Washing with hypochlorite Use on listed / historic buildings, waste water bleach Sandblasting Use on listed / historic buildings Surfaces need to be resistant to high water pressure. Dust, sand 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

UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents How can people get involved • Running a series of stakeholder workshops • Consultations • Expertise of Environmental Health Officers Contact details: alec. dobney@hpa. org. uk nicholas. brooke@hpa. org. uk virginia. murray@hpa. org. uk

Thank You Any Questions