New study examines effects of Graniteville, S.C., chlorine ga...(als widely used in water treatment and i...),Health
als, widely used in water treatment and industrial manufacturing. Much of the 13 million to 14 million tons produced in the United States each year is transported by rail, often through densely populated areas.
New federal regulations on the transport of rail cargo seek to prevent a similar disaster in a major metropolitan area. In addition, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has identified a deliberate attack on a chlorine storage tank as a top concern. According to agency estimates, as many as 100,000 people would be hospitalized and 10,000 would die if a chlorine storage tank was attacked in an urban area. In 2007, terrorists used chlorine gas in at least seven attacks on U.S. troops.
While small accidental and occupational exposures to chlorine gas occur regularly, the South Carolina disaster was one of the largest community exposures in modern history. As a result, CDC and South Carolina DHEC scientists sought to learn as much as possible about the health effects from this widespread chlorine gas exposure.
"We also wanted to understand how physicians treated the patients, how quickly they recovered, and what resources hospitals would need to respond effectively in the future," Van Sickle said.
According to the report, many hospitalized patients showed evidence of severe lung damage. More than a third were admitted to intensive care, and 10 percent required mechanical ventilation. But despite the severity of their injuries, the majority recovered quickly and was discharged within a week.
"Public health agencies and hospitals across the country can learn a lot from this disaster and be better prepared to help in the next emergency" said James J. Gibson, M.D., M.P.H., state epidemiologist and director of the Bureau of Disease Control at the South Carolina DHEC and a co-author of the report. "We continue to monitor area residents for any possible long-term health effects."
The DHEC has established a regi
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