By the Numbers – Chemical Safety

DID YOU KNOW?

Geography

A total of 57,975 chemical incidents were reported by the nine states to HSEES during 1999-2008. In 4,621 (8%) of these incidents, 15,506 persons were injured. The number of incidents with injuries during this period varied among states because of differences in population and industry composition, from 157 in Colorado to 1,260 in New York. The proportion of incidents in which injuries occurred varied from 2% in Texas to 27% in Washington. In both Oregon and Washington, the proportion of incidents resulting in injury decreased over the 10-year period.

Sex / Age

The sex of 12,611 injured persons was known; 8,096 (64%) were male and 4,515 (36%) were female. The majority of responders (91%) and employees (70%) of the responsible party were male. More members of the general public who were injured in chemical incidents were male (54%), whereas more students injured at school were female (58%). The mean age was similar for employees (37 years), responders (36 years), and the general public (34 years). Students exposed at school were an average age of 13 years.

Injured

Employees of the company responsible for the chemical release were the persons most frequently injured in these incidents (7,616) . The next most commonly injured groups were members of the general public (4,737) and…