Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division, Health Protection Agency, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, Wales, UK.
Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2010 Mar;48(3):171-6. doi: 10.3109/15563651003698042.
Society in developed and developing countries is hugely dependent upon chemicals for health, wealth, and economic prosperity, with the chemical industry contributing significantly to the global economy.
Many chemicals are synthesized, stored, and transported in vast quantities and classified as high production volume chemicals; some are recognized as being toxic industrial chemicals (TICs). Chemical accidents involving chemical installations and transportation are well recognized. Such chemical accidents occur with relative frequency and may result in large numbers of casualties with acute and chronic health effects as well as fatalities.
The large-scale production of TICs, the potential for widespread exposure and significant public health impact, together with their relative ease of acquisition, makes deliberate release an area of potential concern.
The large numbers of chemicals, together with the large number of potential release scenarios means that the number of possible forms of chemical incident are almost infinite. Therefore, prior to undertaking emergency planning and preparedness, it is necessary to prioritize risk and subsequently mitigate.
This is a multi-faceted process, including implementation of industrial protection layers, substitution of hazardous chemicals, and relocation away from communities. Residual risk provides the basis for subsequent planning.
Risk-prioritized emergency planning is a tool for identifying gaps, enhancing communication and collaboration, and for policy development. It also serves to enhance preparedness, a necessary prelude to preventing or mitigating the public health risk to deliberate release. Planning is an iterative and on-going process that requires multi-disciplinary agency input, culminating in the formation of a chemical incident plan complimentary to major incident planning. Preparedness is closely related and reflects a state of readiness. It is comprised of several components, including training and exercising. Toxicologists have a role to play in developing syndromic surveillance, recognizing clinical presentation of chemical incidents, developing toxicological datasheets, and the requisition and stockpiling of medical countermeasures.
The chemical industry is global and many chemicals are synthesized and transported in vast quantities. Many of these chemicals are toxic and readily available, necessitating the need for identifying and assessing hazard and risks and subsequently planning and preparing for the deliberate release of TICs.
在发达国家和发展中国家，社会高度依赖化学品来维持健康、创造财富和促进经济繁荣，化工行业对全球经济做出了重大贡献。
许多化学品被大量合成、储存和运输，并被归类为高产量化学品；其中一些被确认为有毒工业化学品（TICs）。人们已经充分认识到涉及化工装置和运输的化学事故。此类化学事故时有发生，频率相对较高，可能导致大量人员伤亡，造成急性和慢性健康影响，甚至死亡。
TIC 的大规模生产，广泛接触和对公众健康产生重大影响的潜力，以及它们相对容易获得的特点，使得蓄意释放成为一个潜在的关注点。
大量的化学品，加上大量潜在的释放情景，意味着可能发生的化学事故形式几乎是无限的。因此，在进行应急规划和准备之前，有必要对风险进行优先排序，然后进行缓解。
这是一个多方面的过程，包括实施工业保护层、替代危险化学品和从社区搬迁。剩余风险为后续规划提供了基础。
基于风险优先排序的应急规划是识别差距、加强沟通和协作以及制定政策的工具。它还有助于增强准备工作，这是预防或减轻蓄意释放对公众健康风险的必要前提。规划是一个迭代和持续的过程，需要多学科机构的投入，最终形成一个与重大事件规划相辅相成的化学事故计划。准备工作密切相关，反映了一种准备状态。它由几个部分组成，包括培训和演练。毒理学家在开发综合征监测、识别化学事故的临床表现、开发毒理学数据表以及医疗对策的征用和储备方面发挥着作用。
化工行业是全球性的，许多化学品被大量合成和运输。其中许多化学品是有毒的，且易于获取，这就需要确定和评估危险和风险，并随后规划和准备 TIC 的蓄意释放。
