Abstract
The overall aim of the research was to develop environmental management techniques to assess, monitor and react to acute pollution, primarily of the air. This was done through the management and investigation of a number of incidents and management approaches to establish commonalities, and areas where new protocols and guidance were required. This was done through hands-on experience of managing and investigating a series of chemical incidents, working with the Chemical Incident Response Service, CIRS (now Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division (London)(CHPD(L)) of the Health Protection Agency). The research focused primarily on the detailed investigation of acute chemical incidents, with special emphasis on certain categories, such as fires, odour related events and the public health implications of incidents involving asbestos, always with a view to the protection of public health. The current and potential role of atmospheric dispersion modelling for public sector response to chemical incidents was established. In addition, a sensitivity study was conducted to evaluate the significance of user error and uncertainties in input information as may occur when working in an emergency. From this work, a series of lessons learnt, protocols and recommendations for improved incident response were developed. These have been adopted into CIRS/CHPD(L) incident management procedures, used for training purposes and contributed to a new manual in the Chemical Incident Management Series: The Environment and Public Health. A better understanding of how and why existing dispersion modelling facilities were used, or not used, was gained through two surveys of public sector personnel involved with chemical incident management at different levels. This lead to recommendations for improved use in the future and was fed-back into multi-agency incident procedures. Guidance on the avoidance or minimisation of certain information errors was created, and protocols for the management of inherently uncertain modelling information given.