Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES)

The Missouri Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance Program ended 09/30/2006. No new information on this program will be available on this website.

A hazardous substance emergency event is defined as the release of any substance (excluding petroleum and petroleum products) that might reasonably be expected to cause adverse human health outcomes. These releases, or events, are defined as the uncontrolled or illegal release of hazardous substances, and can occur as a result of transportation incidents, employee error, equipment failure, illegal actions, intentional acts, or acts of nature. Threatened releases are also reported. A threatened released is defined as an event where a hazardous substance is not actually discharged into the environment, but the threatened release results in an emergency action (for example, an evacuation) that can potentially impact the health of employees, responders and/or the general public.

Information collected for each event meeting the case definition includes:

• Date, time, location and type of event (transportation/fixed facility)
• Type and quantity of substance(s) released
• Type of release (spill, fire, air emission and/or explosion)
• Victim age, sex, and type of personal protective equipment (PPE) worn
• Injuries by type and severity
• Number of people decontaminated and the location of decontamination activities
• Evacuations - number of people, length of time, area evacuated
• Population estimates for those living and working in the area
• Follow-up health activities and clean up actions