Chemical incident
- Slovak term: Slovenský termín
- A chemical incident has been defined as "an unexpected uncontrolled release of a chemical from its containment". A public-health chemical incident has been defined as "where two or more members of the public are exposed (or threatened to be exposed) to a chemical". (WHO, 1999)
Explanation
In the majority of cases, this is an acute release, where the exposure or dose is rising or likely to rise rapidly. When the release is chronic, the exposure and dose do not rise quickly and public-health measures do not have to be taken so rapidly, though the public-health concern may emerge suddenly and acutely. Chemical incidents affect people in a number of ways, including: the effects of explosion, the effects of fire, and the toxic effects of the chemicals.
Example
Large incidents can cause considerable numbers of deaths (e.g. the explosion at Bhopal, India in 1984). However, there are many more less-serious incidents which cumulatively have a large health impact but data on these are limited because they are not reported widely. Smaller incidents include, for example. explosion or leakage from chlorine cylinders used for water treatment, affecting workers and neighborhood.
