INTERIM FINAL EPA 560-5-85-029(a)
ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTS DATA BASE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Prepared for
The Office of Toxic Substances
Economics and Technology Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
under
EPA Contract No. 68-02-4055
Prepared by
Industrial Economics, Inc.
Cambridge, MA
Management Technology and Data Systems, Inc.
. Boston, MA
PEI Associates, Inc.
Cincinnati, OK
December 1985
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FORWARD
EPA published criteria for selecting substances on a listing
of acutely hazardous substances, as well as a list resulting from
the application of those criteria, in December 1985. Guidance
documents for staking use of the criteria and list were made
available at the sane time. These materials were published as
interim final documents, with opportunity for public review and
comment.
The data base that is the subject of this report was devel-
oped as a part of the process of establishing the criteria, and
information from the data base was used in drafting the published
criteria. EPA plans to add other records to the historical
profile presented in this interim final report, in order to aid
in the validation of the list-making criteria. Current plans are
to supplement the current 3,121 records with records from two
additional years of data from the National Response Center and
from one or more State sources.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was conducted undtr EPA Contract Number C8-02-
4055 by Industrial Economics, Inc.; Management Technology and
Data Systems, Inc.; and PEI Associates, Inc. The principal
members of the project team were: Dr. Janes Cummings-Saxton, He.
Laura Lechner, and Ms. Anne E. Crook (Industrial Economies,
Inc.)> Or. Samuel J. Ratick, Mr. Patrick Buckley, and Mr. Stephen
wu (Management Technology and Data Systems, Inc.); and Mr. Thomas
K. Corvin, Mr. Edwin A. Pfetzing, Mr. E. Radha Krishnan, and Ms.
Barbara A. Bruce (P£I Associates, Inc.).
The project team received valuable and generous assistance
froa individuals in several organizations in acquiring and making
use of the data that vent into the study. Among these are the
EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response and the Trans-
portation Systems Center of the U.S. Department of Transportation
for access to the National Response Center data; EPA's Region 7,
for making available its computerized data base; the California
Highway Patrol and Office of Emergency Services; the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Quality; the Ohio Environmental
Protection Agency; and the Texas Air Control Board.
Several EPA employees had active roles in the project. Mr.
Frederick W. Talcott was responsible for assembling and coding
records from the news media; he was assisted by staff members of
the EPA Headquarters Library and the Office of Standards and
Regulations. Both Mr. Talcott and Ms. Karen East conducted
analytic studies using the data base that have substantially
contributed to this report. Mr. James Cottrell of the EPA Office
of Toxic Substances, Information Management Division, provided
valuable assistance in assigning CAS codes to several hundred
listed substances.
We vould like to thank the EPA project officers, Mr.
Frederick W. Talcott and Mr. Neil Patel, for their active
guidance and participation. Overall design and direction was
provided by the Analysis Subgroup, led by Mr. Talcott, and inclu-
ding Ms. East, Mr. Patel, and Mr. David Wagner. These indivi-
duals and ether members of the Acute Hazards List Workgroup
provided reviews, comments, and ether valuable assistance
throughout the study effort.
Copies of this Executive Summary and of the full report, Acute
Hazardous Events Data Base (-report number EPA 560-5-85-029) are
available to the public from the National Technical Information
Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161
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ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTS DATA BASE:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Acute Hazardous Events (AHE) Data Base was assembled as
part of EPA's review of the dangers posed to the U.S. public and
industrial workers by sudden, accidental releases of toxic
chemicals. Concern over such releases was heightened by the
tragic incident that occurred on December 3, 1984 in Bhopal,
India. EPA formed an Acute Hazards List Workgroup to investigate
the safety-related characteristics of U.S. industry with regard
to accidental chemical releases that could pose exceptional risks
to human health, and to identify the chemicals or situations that
appear to represent unusually high risks. In late Kay 1985, the
decision was made to assemble an Acute Hazardous Events Data Base
as part of the Acute Hazards List review process.
PURPOSE AND APPROACH
The aain purpose of the AHE Data Base is to characterize the
kinds of events releasing acutely toxic substances in the U.S.,
the substances involved, and the causative factors leading to
their release. The AHE Data Base provided an historical perspec-
tive to members of the Acute Hazards List Workgroup, in order to
select criteria for a priority list of acutely hazardous
substances. EPA wanted to ensure that the resulting priority
list was relevant to recent accident history in the U.S. The AHE
Data Base was not constructed to serve as a basis for nation-wide
estimates of frequencies of events, quantities released, or their
consequences. Emphasis was placed on acquiring a measure of the
scope of events, rather than on estimating quantities precisely
or frequencies of releases. .
An important factor in the AHE Data Base development was the
need for it to be assembled quickly in order to support other
aspects of the analysis process. Because of the rigorous time
constraints, several criteria were employed to screen data for
inclusion in the AHE Data Base. Emphasis was placed on incidents
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that had acute hazard potential. Incidents that involved death
or injury were given highest priority. EPA further directed that
priority be given to incidents involving chemicals released into
the air. Chemical releases were given priority over petroleum-
related and other types of releases. Releases involving large
quantities of aaterial were given priority, and events releasing
less than one pound of materials were not coded. Incidents
involving evacuations also were given priority.
Although the data base includes events of many types and
with a vide range of consequences, the AHE Data Base has been
purposely biased (through these data collection criteria) toward
events considered to have the greatest potential for sudden,
large-scale harm to the populace. Thus, the summary statistics
obtained from the data base are not reflective of the totality of
potentially hazardous domestic materials.
DATA SOURCES AND COVERAGE
The data base contains 3,121 records which, through
sampling, represent 6,928 separate events. The records came from
thirteen public sources chosen because of their accessibility,
their potential to yield a large number of events meeting the
selection criteria described above, and their geographic'
coverage. The events occurred mostly from 1980 to mid-1985, with
1983 and 1984 most heavily represented.
One nation-wide government source, the National Response
Center, contributed 1,225 records. A multi-state regional
source, EPA's Region 7, provided 513 records. Five offices of
four state governments were the source of 1,029 records. Four
daily newspapers and one wire service contributed 290 records.
Finally, 64 records were obtained from a summary prepared by an
engineering consulting firm specializing in industrial accidents.
See Exhibit A.
EVENTS WITH INJURIES OR DEATHS
Human casualties occurred in fewer than seven percent of the
recorded events. These events a total of 468 led to 138
deaths and 4,717 injuries, ranging in severity from temporary
respiratory problems treated on-site to critical injuries and
extended hospitalizations. Information on causation was scanty
in most records. See Exhibit B.
Four high-volume industrial inorganic chemicals (chlorine,
ammonia, hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid) together were
reported to have been released in over 25 percent of the events
recording human casualties. See Exhibit C. More than 200
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additional identifiable substances were recorded as released
during events associated with deaths or injuries, with industrial
organic chemicals, as a class, contributing the largest number of
vents with human casualties. See Exhibit D. At least another
200 substances vere recorded as being released in events not
resulting in deaths or injuries.
Events reported with human casualties included some with
very large quantities and some with very small quantities re-
leased. See Exhibit E. Similarly, the inherent toxicity of the
substances released need not necessarily be particularly high for
deaths or injuries to have occurred. Exhibit F illustrates this,
showing that as many events were recorded with substances in the
two least toxic Reportable Quantity categories (i.e. RQ 5,000
pounds and 1,000 pounds) as were recorded for the two most toxic
categories (i.e. RQ - 1 pound and 10 pounds.) When the charac-
teristics of the released substances are examined, toxicity ap-
pears to be the cause of most of the injuries recorded, while
flammability and explosivity are the mechanisms associated with
most of the fatalities in the data base. See Exhibit C.
Transportation releases account for 25 percent of all events
in the data base, and a somewhat higher percent of death or
injury events (33 percent.) See Exhibit R. Trucks are the pre-
dominant mode of transport in the death and injury events. Among
events with human casualties at fixed facilities, storage vessels
play a much larger role as release points than they do among
events not leading to deaths or injuries.
When viewed from an industry perspective, the Chemicals and
Allied Products and the Petroleum Refining industries together
account for 34 percent of the reported injuries, and more than
half of the reported deaths. The transportation industries
account for 36 percent of the reported injuries and about one-
fourth of the reported deaths. Industries or vendors that use or
tore chemical or fuel products account for about 25 percent of
the deaths and injuries. See Exhibits Z and J.
OTHER EFFECTS
Information on evacuations, property damage and environmen-
tal damage was seldom provided in the records examined. In
records furnishing such information, evacuations totaled more
than 217,000 individuals, with one event accounting for an esti-
mated 20,000 evacuated people. Information on environmental and
property damage was usually expressed in vague terms. However,
one source reported 64 large-scale industrial accidents (over a
28 year period) having an average estimated economic cost of
$30 million each (in 1984 dollars), with one event resulting in
more than §100 million in estimated damages. See Exhibit K.
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QUANTITIES RELEASED AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS
Eighty percent of the events reported a quantity for the
material released, and the amount ranges from a few pounds to
veil over 100,000 pounds. See Exhibit L. Amount released
exceeds 1,000 pounds for over 38 percent of the recorded events.
Releases over 100,000 pounds occur in less than three percent of
the events, but these events account for 93 percent of the total
quantity of materials released. The total quantity reported
released for all events exceeds 420 million pounds.
Over 80 percent of the events in the data base reported that
at least one of the substances released was a liquid; 16 percent
of the events involved the release of a gas; and 3 percent of the
events involved the release of a solid.
Among events occurring at fixed facilities, spills are the
predominant end effect, followed by vapor releases, fires, and
explosions. Storage vessels, process vessels, and valves or
piping are responsible for nearly equal shares of in-plant
events, (see Exhibit M) but storage vessels typically release
much larger quantities than the other release points in a plant.
Equipment failure is the cause most frequently reported for in-
plant events, followed by operator error. See Exhibit N.
Accident causes are difficult to assess for many of the events in
the data base, however.
Over half of the in-transit events involve trucks, and
another 36 percent involve rail cars. See Exhibit 0. Over 38
percent of the in-transit releases stem from a leak, and another
20 percent from collisions. See Exhibit P. Although few events
were reported for pipelines, those spills dwarf other in-transit
releases in terms of total quantity released.
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EXHIBIT A
OimisuTiON or EVENTS ST scuta AND TEAR
First
8efor«
Souret
National Response Cantrr
United Press International
Harsh 1 NcLonnsn
IP* Its for, 7
Newspapers:
loa Angele* Tim
MM Orleans TIOM*Mcayww
Chicago Tribune
tw Tor* TIBM
Subtotal
States:
Calif. Office of Energency Services
California Highway Patrol
TOMS Air Control loard
Ohio EPA
New Jersey Department of
Environmental Ouallty
I960
»
*
48
1
1
*
1
>
«9gQ
..
..
S
1
S
31
7
10
S3
-.
19
--
1981
*>
1
101
34
5
19
H
**
*
44
1
..
1982
o>*
1
3
144
10
..
..
12
22
*
..
^^
77
1
1983
539
54
4
108
3
..
..
4
^J
..
32
57
59
44
1984
479
48
3
107
1
..
..
1
~2
119
32
127
103
34
Mlf
1985
7
34
SI
..
..
..
"o
22
3
109
23
33
Total
1225
139
At
513
28
45
12
44
isT
141
47
442
243
114
Subtotal 0 19 47 142 194 417 190 1,029
TOTAL SO 78 235 312 908 1,254 282 3.121
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ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTS DATABASE
OCCURRENCE OF INJURIES
OCCURRENCE OF DEATHS
ALL EVENTS
ALL EVENTS
INJURIES
0.6X
DEATHS
0.9X
NUMBER OF EVENTS = 6928
NUMBER OF EVENTS =
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EXHIBIT
EVENTS
ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTS DATABASE
DISTRIBUllON OF EVENTS BY CHEMICAL FOR DEATH/INJURY EVENTS
Contribution of the 10 Most Frequently-Occurring Chemicals to the Events with Deaths or Injuries
OTHER
64.3%
NUMBER OF EVENTS = 468
CHLORINE
9.6%
ANHYDROUS AMMONIA
6.8%
SULFURIC ACID
4.7%
PCB
2.8%
HYDROCHLORIC ACID
5.6%
NITRIC ACID
1.5%
TOLUENE
2.4%
METHYL ALCOHOL
0.4%
SODIUM HYDROXIDE
1.9%
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EXHIBIT D
DISTRIBUTION OF EVENTS WITH INJURIES
Contribution of Chemical Categories
Unknown (5.5%)
Other Chemttials (3.6%)
Petroleum Refining (6.4%)
Explosives (O.7%)
Fertilizer (11.7%)
Pesticides (4.6%)
Chlorine/Alkalies (1O.1%)
Indust Inorganics (18.7%)
Industrial Gases (2.2%)
Plastics (5.7%)
Industrial Organlcs (3O.8%)
NUMBER OF EVENTS = 468
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o
ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTS DATABASE
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION BY RELEASE SIZE
FOR EVENTS INVOLVING DEATHS AND INJURIES
95-
e\f\
90-
85-
80
75-
70-
65-
60-
55-
50-
45-
40-
35-
30-
25-
20-
15-
10-
5-
NUMBER OF EVENTS s 229
i
AMOUNT RELEASED a 29.0 MILLION POUNDS
.
i
1
' s S
%
y//kmV7^W,
.;
;._ '
V
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>
i.
X '
.. .
'»
'.'.'
> *.
4
f
..1
,';! '
.1
I** *
** .
.»'.
1 /
;*<
.1*
';i
»
jr"
'*. .
** .
»
».
«
.^
Legend
NUMBER
AMOUNT
si7F
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EXHIBIT
ACUTE HAZARDOUS WENTS DATABASE
NUMBER OF EVENTS BY REPORTABLE QUANTITY
FOR DEATH AND INJURY EVENTS
80
60-
O 40-
o:
LU
m
20-
0-
239 EVENTS INVOLVED CHEMICALS
MIT1I REPORTABLB QUANTITIES
10 100 1000 5000
REPORTABLE QUANTITY
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V)
JC
*J
o
Q)
o
in
Q>
«»-
o
100
EXHIBIT G
ROLE of FIRE/EXPLOSION vs TOXICITY
As Apparent Cause of Deaths or Injuries
90 -
80 -
70 -
6O -
50
4O
3O
20
10 -
97
by Number of Injuries (N«OO53)
92
8
by Number of Deaths (N«=103)
[771 Fire/Explosion
U7A Toxiclty
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L riA^AKUUUb £VLNTS DATABASE
IN-PLANT VS. IN-TRANSIT EVENTS
IN-PLANT VS. IN-TRANSIT EVENTS
ALL EVENTS
DEATH/INJURY EVENTS
NUMBER OF EVENTS = 6928
NUMBER OF EVENTS = 468
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EXHIBIT I
Reported Number of Injuries
Distribution by Industry Sector
'
T '
:o : :
L. i
....
'
5-
/s
: : Chemicals Unknown : :
JOS
Chemicals
1 C OJ
' » "9
-
H
+
Final
Prods
4 5S
Agriculture ftc 2 S5
. - Other
Manufacturing
v ^
13 S
lltiliti^^ and Wfi^t^ Mnt ? 9!
Trade and
Other Services
' : : : ' 9 ss '::''':':
u
n
i
e
n
t
3
: : In - Transit and Transpor
:::::::::::::::: 36 E
"tatiftn ^prvirp^ ....
-
TOTAL INJURIES: 4717 in five year period
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EXHIBIT J
Reported Number of Deaths
Distribution by Industry Sector
Petroleum-
; Refining ;
: : i3s: :
Chemicals -- Unknown 02,
B 1
s(
1
c
c
H
E
M
& T5
55liftirt|
$M£ : :
Chemical
Intermediates
: end 25 S .
; . Finished ; ; ;
Products
In-Transit and Transportation Ser
: Other Manufacture
Utilities and Waste Mgt.
f*9
Wholesale
. . and Retail
Trade 12 S
i and Other !
Services
U
n
n
2
uifOC 94 5
VlbCS .* ^»
i
TOTAL DEATHS: 138 in five year period
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LJ
&
li.
o
DC
UJ
m
EVENTS WITH HIGHEST DAMAGE COSTS
(COVERING A 28 YEAR PERIOD)
10
5 H
$10-29
$3O-49
s s s s s
$5O-69
Y/////J7//A Y/////(///A
$70-89
Over $90
COST RANGES; MILLIONS OF 1984 DOLLARS
\7~7\ TRANSPORT KXl CHEMICALS V77X PETROLEUM
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EXHIBIT L
ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTSTDATABASE
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION BY RELEASE SIZE
FOR ALL EVENTS
90-
80-
70
< 60-
i
i
0
*- 50
.
IJL_
O
N "0-
30-
20-
10-
NUMBCR OF CVtNTS a 5207
AMOUNT RCLCASCD = 420 MILLION POUNDS
«, I
I i
1
1
i
... Y/\^k Vs/mm i . v?
*"4
i* '
^
'
.
."'
\
t \t
*
L.
IMBB^
Legend
EZl NUMBER
i AMOUNT
RELEASE SIZE - Ibs
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EXHIBW M
ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTS DATABASE
IN-PLANT EVENTS BY LOCATION
IN-PLANT EVENTS BY LOCATION
ALL EVENTS
DEATH/INJURY EVENTS
VALVES/PIPES
19.4%
NUMBER Or EVENTS = 5179
NUMBER OF EVENTS = 304
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EXHIBIT!
ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTS DATABASE
IN-PLANT EVENTS BY CAUSE
IN-PLANT EVENTS BY CAUSE
ALL EVENTS
DEATH/INJURY EVENTS
UPSCT CONO.
3. IX
UPSCT CONO.
4.6X
NUMBER OF EVENTS = 5179
NUMBER OF EVENTS = 304
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EXHIBIT
ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTS DATABASE
IN-TRANSIT EVENTS BY MODE
IN-TRANSIT EVENTS BY MODE
ALL EVENTS
DEATH/INJURY EVENTS
\
OTHER
2.SX
PIPCtlNi:
3.IX
BARGt
3.HX
OTHER
4.9X
PIPtUNC
I.8X
NUMDER OF EVENTS = 1749
NUMBER OF EVENTS = 164
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EXHIbll r
ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVtNTS DATABASE
IN-TRANSIT EVENTS BY CAUSE
IN-TRANSIT EVENTS BY CAUSE
ALL EVENTS
DEATH/INJURY EVENTS
NUMBER OF EVENTS = 1749
NUMBER OF EVENTS = 164
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EATA3.\SE_££TBY FORMAT
Size of Fie
1. Source: <3 character database identifier> c3
«_ ID : i c70
-» Each record MUST have a unique ID in order for it
to be retrieved by the database for editing.
2. Date of Event: ' c2,c2,c2
Enter -
MM - Number of Month
DD - Number of Day
YY .- Number of Year
If the date is unknown,/ leave this blank. If the month
and/or day is not known, enter "01" where necessary.
3. Time of Day: c2:c2
Use the 24 hour clock convention.
4. Location of Event; c30,c20,
Use P.O. state abbreviations
5. Company Name: c50
6. Telephone No.: <(Area Code)-Number> c3,c7
7. SIC Code: c4
8. Substances Involved: (1) c2,c30
(2) c2,c30
(3) ^ c2,c30
Circle one of the following codes for physical state -
SO - for Solid SW - for Solid Waste
LQ - for Liquid LW - for Liquid Waste
GS - for Gas GW - for Gaseous Waste
UU - for Unknown UW - for Waste of Unknown State
and -
The name of the substance can be up to 3JJ characters
long. If more than three substances are reported, enter the
three largest here and place the remainder in the Comment
field.
Comments: c70
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AC U.TJL _B
FORMAT
Size of Tit
9. Quantity Released:
*:; For each substance: enter a Number up to 9 digits
- or - leave blank. If the quantity is provided in
descriptive terms (e.g., "a small puddle") rather
than in specific units, place that description in the
General Comments field.
m.
and -
Circle the appropriate Unit of Measure -
GA - Gallons
LB - Pounds
TN - Tons
CF - Cubic Feet
10. Affected Media:
Air:
Water:
Land:
c9,c2
cl
cl
cl
Circle -
Y -
N -
0 -
Yes
No
Unknown
A response is required for each media. If the EFFECT
(122) ie a fire or explosion, then AIR should be
considered to be the only media affected, unless
otherwise indicated by the data.
11. Duration of Event:
Enter - '" '
DDD - Number of Days, up to 3 digits
BH - Number of Hours, up to 2 digits
MM - Number of Months, up to 2 digits
12. Property Damage:
c3,c2,c2
cl
Circle -
Y -
N -
U -
Yes
No
Unknown
A response MUST be selected.
Comment :
c70
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Size of Fie
13. Environmental Damage: cl
* Circle -
* Y - Yes
N - No
U - Unknown
A^response MUST be selected.
VV
Conunent: c70
14. Event Situation: cl
Circle -
P - If event occurred in plant
T - If event occurred during transit
A response MUST be selected.
Comment: c70
15. In-Plant Location: c2
- Circle -
PR - Process Vessel
ST - Storage Vessel
VA - Valves or Piping
OT - Other
UU - Unknown
A response MUST be selected if the event is in-plant;"
Comment: " c70
16. Primary Cause of Eventj V c2
Circle - - -
EF - Equipment Failure
OE - Operator Error
CC - Upset Condition
FI - Fire
OT - Other
UU - Unknown
A response MUST be selected if the event is in-plant.
c70
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ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTS FILE DATABASE ENTRY FORMAT
Size of Fie
17. Operational Configuration: c2
Circle -
V DP - Process Start-up
DN - Process Shut Down
LL - Loading or Unloading
i SS - Steady State
e MT - Maintenance
OT - Other
UU - Unknown
~ A response MUST be selected if the event is in-plant.
Comment: C70
18. High Temperature Contributing: cl
Circle -
Y - Yes
N - No
U - Unknown
A response MUST be selected if the event is in-plant.
19. High Pressure Contributing: " . Cl
Circle -
Y - Yes ""':. " "'
N - No -.'
U - Unknown ''."''.
«' .....
A response MUST be selected if the event is in-plant. :
20. In-Transit Mode: , A . : cl
Circle -
R - Rail
T - Truck
B - Barge
P - Pipeline
0 - Other
A response MUST be selected if the event IB in-transit.
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ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTS FILE
Size of Fields
21. In-Transit Accident Cause: c2
.Circle -
\ CO - Collision
t LK - Leak
OT - Other
UU - Unknown
Alresponse MUST be selected if the event is in-transit.
22. End Effect: c2,c2,c2,c:
Circle -
SP - Spill
FI - Fire
VR - Vapor Release
EX - Explosion
OT - Other
UU - Unknown
Codes MUST be selected for four effects. Assign "UU"
as default values where necessary.
Comment: c70
23. Injuries: cl
Circle -
Y - Yes
R - Yes, the number of injuries is unknown
' ' N - No
U - Unknown
A response MUST be selected.
24. Number of People Injured: <9999999, 0> c7
Enter up to 7 digits the default value is zero. _, """"'
25. Deaths: cl
Circle - . '.-:-' ": -I/ ' ' .
Y - Yes "''
R - Yes, the number of deaths is unknown
N - No -
U - Unknown
A response MUST be selected.
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ACUTE HAZARDOUS EVENTS FILE DATABASE ENTRY FORMAT
Size of Field
26. Number of Deaths: O999999, 0> cl
«. \
Enter up to 7 digits the default value is zero. .
27. Evacuation Required: cl
^Circle -
Y - Yes
N - No
0 - Unknown
A response MUST be selected.
''"' T A
Comment: c/U
28. General Comments: c280
Include here important information which is not
included elsewhere/ such as:
o descriptive information about release quantity,
o remedial response,
o value of property damaged,
o number of people hospitalized,
o extent of injuries,
o more information about the cause of the event, and ;: ; /"
o important industry information. ''Tr:; '^"::j
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