vxEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5104)
March 1998
550-F-98-003
CAMEO®
Computer-Aided Management of
Emergency Operations
FACTSHEET
CAMEO® is a system of software applications used widely to plan for
and respond to chemical emergencies. It is one of the tools developed
by EPA's Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office
(CEPPO) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
to assist front-line chemical emergency planners and responders. They can
use CAMEO to access, store, and evaluate information critical for developing
emergency plans. In addition, CAMEO supports regulatory compliance by
helping users meet the chemical inventory reporting requirements of the
Emergency Planning and Community Right~to-Know Act (EPCRA, also
known as SARA Title HI). CAMEO also can be used with a separate software
application called LandView™ III to display EPA environmental databases
and demographic/economic information to support analysis of environmental
justice issues.
The CAMEO system integrates a
chemical database and a method
to manage the data, an air
dispersion model, and a
mapping capability. All modules
work interactively to share and
display critical information in a
timely fashion. The CAMEO
system is available in Macintosh,
Windows, and DOS formats.
ORIGIN
CAMEO initially was developed because NOAA recognized the need to assist
first responders with easily accessible and accurate response information.
Since 1988, EPA and NOAA have collaborated to augment CAMEO to assist
both emergency responders and planners. CAMEO has been enhanced to
provide emergency planners with a tool to enter local information and
develop incident scenarios to better prepare for chemical emergencies. The
Bureau of Census and the U.S. Coast Guard have worked with EPA and
NOAA to continue to enhance the system.
Why was CAMEO
created?
Rapid action by firefighter,
police, and other emer-
gency response personnel -
often is severely hampered
by lack of accurate informa- •
tion on the substance
spilled and safe response
actions. Emergency plan-
ners lack a tool to store and
easily use information that
is'essential for emergency
planning.
Who Uses
CAMEO?
Firefighters ,
State Emergency Response
Commissions (SERCs) and
Tribal Emergency
Response Commissions
(TERCs)
Local Emergency Planning
Committees (LEPCs)
Industry
Schools •
Environmental
Organizations
Police Departments
Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office
Printed on recycled -paper
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CAMEO
March 1998
What is in CAMEO®?
CAMEO is actually a suite of three separate, integrated software
applications:
•CAMEO
•MARPLOT
•ALOHA
CAMEO® - The Database and Information
Management
The original application called CAMEO, contains a chemical
database of over 4,000 hazardous chemicals, 50,000 synonyms,
and product trade names. CAMEO provides a powerful search-
engine that allows users to find chemicals instantly. Each one is
linked to chemical-specific information on fire and explosive
hazards, health hazards, firefighting techniques, cleanup
procedures, and protective clothing. CAMEO also contains basic
information on facilities that store chemicals, on the inventory of
chemicals at the facility (Tier FT) and on emergency planning
resources. Additionally, there are templates where users can store
EPCRA information. CAMEO connects the planner or emergency
responder with critical information to identify unknown
substances during an incident.
MARPLOT® - Mapping Applications for Response,
Planning, and Local Operational Tasks
MARPLOT is the mapping application. It allows users to "see"
their data (e.g., roads, facilities, schools, response assets), display
this information on computer maps, and print the information on
area maps. The areas contaminated by potential or actual
chemical release scenarios also can be overlaid on the maps to
determine potential impacts. The maps are created from the U.S.
Bureau of Census TIGER/Line files and can be manipulated quickly to show possible hazard areas.
ALOHA® - Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres
ALOHA is an atmospheric dispersion model used for evaluating releases of hazardous chemical vapors.
ALOHA allows the user to estimate the downwind dispersion of a chemical cloud based on the
toxkological/physical characteristics of the released chemical, atmospheric conditions, and specific
circumstances of the release. Graphical outputs include a "cloud footprint" that can be plotted on maps with
MARPLOT to display the location of other facilities storing hazardous materials and vulnerable locations such
as hospitals and schools. Specific information about these locations can be extracted from CAMEO
information modules to help make decisions about the degree of
hazard posed.
Ordering CAMEO
For more information on ordering
CAMEO or the CAMEO Today
newsletter, on CAMEO training, or for
free CAMEO software for local
governments, contact;
The National Safety Council (NSC)
800-99CAMEO
(800-992-2636)
or Visit the NSC website at:
wwvv.nsc.org/ehc/cameo,htm
Contacts
For more information on emergency pre-
paredness, planning and prevention pro-
grams mentioned in this factsheet
contact:
Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Hotline
Monday through Friday
9am tbSpmEST
(800)424-9346
(703)412^9810
(800) 535-7672 TDD
Or
Visit the EPA CEPPO website at:
www.epa.gov/swercepp
Hardware/Software Requirements
CAMEO for Windows
IBM or Compatible 486 (Pentium, recommended)
Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Windows 95
VGA Color Monitor
8 MB RAM (16 MB recommended)
30 MB free hard disk space
CAMEO for MAC 4.5
HyperCard
5 MB RAM, System 7.x
20 MB free hard disk space
Math co-processor for ALOHA (not required for Power PCs)
Other Planning/Response
Tools
LandView™ III - software that provides
federal environmental and census data on
maps
Chemical Reactivity Worksheet - provides
information about the reactivity of 4,300
chemicals or mixtures of chemicals
RMP Calculator - a software program that cal-
culates vulnerable zone distances based on
the Risk Management Program (RMP)
Guidance for Offsite Consequence Analysis
Printed on recycled paper
Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office
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