United States
                    Environmental Protection
                    Agency
 Hazardous Waste Engineering
 Research Laboratory
 Cincinnati OH 45268
                    Research and Development
 EPA/600/S2-86/016 July 1986
4>EPA         Project Summary
                    Documentation and Analysis for
                    Prevention  and  Control of
                    Hazardous  Material  Spills
                    D. B. Heard, L M. Krasner, and B. G. Vincent
                     The overall objective of this study was
                   to develop a computerized system for
                   documenting and analyzing hazardous
                   material spill data. The present program
                   improves the data collection and proc-
                   essing so that information can be gen-
                   erated  in a form that can be used
                   effectively to prevent and control haz-
                   ardous material spills.
                     The program established an open-
                   ended, dual data base system that can
                   produce reports on request and gener-
                   ate statistics on any or all spill incidents
                   that are encoded in computer storage.
                   Two logically  linked data  sets were
                   established. The first set consisted of
                   incident-related data, and the second
                   was made up of material-related data.
                   The previously developed  computer
                   codes were modified to accommodate
                   the large number of incidents acquired
                   and the dual data base system. New
                   coding techniques also minimized  the
                   potential of multiple entries and greatly
                   increased the amount of information
                   that can be stored. These changes have
                   made  the  data  system more nearly
                   universal and provided a more acces-
                   sible means of retrieving information
                   than was possible using previous  re-
                   trieval methods.
                     This Project Summary was developed
                   by EPA's Hazardous Waste Engineering
                   Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH,
                   to announce key findings of the research
                   project that is fully  documented in a
                   separate report of the same title (see
                   Project Report ordering information at
                   back).

                   Introduction
                     Prevention and control of a problem as
                   complex as that of hazardous material
spills and their ensuing effects on the
population and environment can only be
approached by using a comprehensive,
reliable system for collecting and ana-
lyzing spill data. This study developed a
completely computerized system for docu-
menting and analyzing hazardous mater-
ial spill data.  Earlier work was done to
obtain  a  prioritized  list of  hazardous
material spill causes reflecting the quanti-
ty andthe hazard potential of the material
spilled,  number of casualties sustained,
and identity of the operational and geo-
graphic areas where the spill occurred
(Hazardous Material Spills: A Documen-
tation and Analysis of Historical Data,
EPA-600/2-78-066, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1978). The current
project codes provide more detailed data
and develop a  more comprehensive com-
puter program for analysis purposes. An
open-ended, dual  data base system was
developed that could generate both sta-
tistical reports and histograms. The sys-
tem consisted of a Spill Incident Data
Base, containing  relevant statistics on
individual hazardous material spill inci-
dents; a Material File Data Base which
catalogs and  retains vital physical and
toxicological data for a variety of haz-
ardous substances; and a data manipula-
tion and analysis program.
Procedures
  The work was divided into three phases:
data documentation, spill hazard deter-
mination, and data analysis.
  Approximately 22,500 spill  reports
were examined during the data documen-
tation phase. Of those, 5,616 incidents
were selected for inclusion  in the Spill
Incident Data Base. These incidents oc-

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   curred between 1975 and 1979 and were
   drawn  from 17 different sources.  The
   bulk  of the data  came from the  U.S.
   Department of Transportation (DOT),
   which provided 78% of the total number
   of incident reports.
     Data for the Material File came from
   the Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical
   Substances  (RTECS) published by the
   National Institute for Occupational Safety
   and Health (NIOSH). Physical and toxi-
   cological data for more than 600 different
   substances were cataloged in the Mater-
   ial File. A spill documentation reportform
   and a  Material File update form were
   developed by Factory Mutual Research
   Corporation (FMRC) for documenting and
   coding  information for entry into the two
   data bases.
     The primary advantage of the dual data
   base system is that it eliminates the need
   for including material-related statistics in
   spill incident  reports. The only require-
   ment is that the materials be uniquely
   identified in both data bases. This  goal
   was accomplished through the use of the
   RTECS reference number system used by
   NIOSH. The system is alsof lexible enough
   to allow for the input of new or additional
   incident and material data as they become
   available.
     To provide some quantitative measure
   of the hazard associated with the release
   of different materials in varying amounts,
   a spill hazard potential rating was devel-
   oped. This hazard potential was computed
   using the mass of material released and
   its relative  toxicity  (called  a relative
   hazard) rating. Though not perfect, the
   hazard potential ratings provided  for a
       relative measure of toxicological  and
       ecological  dangers presented  by the
       release of various materials.
         Once the data sets  were finalized,
       efforts were directed toward developing
       an analysis program capable of manip-
       ulating the  data and producing statistics.
       The resulting analysis program consisted
       of more than  2,000  statements  and
       included several assembly language sub-
       routines. It was capable of partitioning
       the data set by any one or a combination
       of up to three data fields (called X-, Y-, and
       Z-parameters).  For  example, partitions
       could be obtained for all incidents occur-
       ring on a certain date in a given state that
       involved a  specified material. The pro-
gram  could also  be used  to  generate
histograms, although these plots accom
modate just two parameters.
  Included with the full report are date
partitions considered of general interes
to EPA and to those involved in the stud^
of hazardous material releases. They arf
distributions by primary cause of incident
secondary cause of incident, operations
area (in which  incidents occurred) an<
frequency  distribution  of materials in
volved.
  The full  report was submitted in ful
fillment of Contract No. 68-03-0317 b'
Factory Mutual  Research  Corporatioi
under the sponsorship of the U.S. Environ
mental Protection Agency.
          D. B. Heard. L M. Krasner, and B. G. Vincent are with Factory Mutual Research
            Corporation, Norwood, MA 02062.
          John E. Brugger is the EPA  Project Officer (see below).
          The complete report, entitled "Documentation and Analysis for Prevention and
            Control of Hazardous Material Spills," (Order No.  PB 86-156 775/AS; Cost:
            $40.95, subject to change) will be available only from:
                  National Technical Information Service
                  5285 Port Royal Road
                  Springfield, VA 22161
                  Telephone: 703-487-4650
          The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
                  Releases Control Branch
                  Hazardous Waste Engineering Research Laboratory—Cincinnati
                  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                  Edison, NJ 08837
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
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Penalty for Private Use $300
EPA/600/S2-86/016

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