ODHS developed a public health consultation report on the View-Master factory supply well, and ATSDR
has released the report for public comment. The report describes the preliminary findings of a review of
the mortality among former View-Master workers. It proposed follow-up activities that would include
both (1) an environmental exposure assessment to confirm ODEQ's estimate of how long TCE was in the
supply well and to provide a historical understanding of the concentration of TCE in the well, and (2) an
epidemiologic study to determine whether former workers have experienced adverse health and reproduc-
tive outcomes as a result of TCE exposure.
Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance System (HSEES)--HSEES was established
by ATSDR in 1990 to collect and analyze information about releases of hazardous substances that need to
be cleaned up or neutralized according to federal, state, or local law, as well as threatened releases that result
in a public health action, such as an evacuation. The goal of HSEES is to reduce the morbidity and mortality
of first responders, employees, and the general public resulting from hazardous substances emergencies.
participated in HSEES since 1992.
The HSEES system is used to generate information for use by states to
1. conduct presentations on planning prevention strategies for industries that account for a significant
number of spills;
2. conduct HazMat training courses, including information on the risk for injury from methamphetamine
labs;
3. establish and maintain protection areas for municipal water systems;
4. assist with the proper placement of HazMat teams;
5. develop fact sheets on frequently spilled chemicals or chemicals that cause a disproportionate number
of injuries (e.g., chlorine and ammonia);
6. develop newsletters for industry, responders, and environmental groups; and
7. conduct presentations for state and local emergency planners.
Emergency Response Training
In September 1992, ATSDR staff collaborated with the design team and were part of the control team for a
Coast Guard community-wide tabletop drill for the Portland Marine Safety Zone. Forty to 60 persons
participated in the drill, and 300400 persons watched it on closed-circuit television. Key to the success of this
drill was the interaction between the federal on-scene coordinator and the regional response team. This exercise
also provided an opportunity to test the local community's ability to deal with a chemical release.
Toxicological Profiles
ATSDR develops toxicological profiles that describe health effects, environmental characteristics, and other
information, for substances found at NPL sites. These profiles describe pathways of human exposure and the
behavior of toxic substances in environmental media such as air, soil, and water. In the past five years, more than
800 of these profiles have been supplied directly by ATSDR to requesters, including representatives of federal,
state, and local health and environmental departments; academic institutions; private industries; and nonprofit
organizations in Oregon.
For more information, contact ATSDR toll-free at 1-888-42ATSDR
(1-888-422-8737) or visit the ATSDR Web page at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov.
May 2003
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