Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance
Report for 2007
This report is supported by funds from the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act
(CERCLA) trust fund and the Office of Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), provided to Minnesota Department of Health under a cooperative agreement by the
Agency For Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. The contents of the documents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the official views of ATSDR.
Minnesota Department of Health ♦ Division of Environmental Health ♦ Environmental Surveillance and Assessment
P.O. Box 64975, St. Paul, MN 55164
651-201-4899, TTY 651-201-5797
Sep. 2008
Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
Executive Summary
Introduction
Methods
Results
Industries
Substances
Victims
Nearby populations
Evacuations
Decontamination
Response
Prevention Activities in Minnesota
Additional Use of MN HSEES data
Summary of Results, 1995-2006
References
Appendix Page iii
iv
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Table 1. List of Tables
Number of events meeting the surveillance definition, by county and type of event— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Table 2. Number of substances involved per event, by type of event— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Table 3. Industries involved in hazardous substance events, by category—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Table 4. Substances most frequently involved in events— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Table 5. Number of substances involved, by substance category and type of event—Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007 Table 6. Number of victims per event, by type of event— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Table 7. Frequency of substance categories in all events and events with victims—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Table 8. Frequencies of injuries/symptoms, by type of event— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Table 9. Responders to events— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Table 10. Data by year—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 1995–
2007
iii
List of Figures
Figure 1.
Areas of fixed facilities involved in events—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Figure 2.
Distribution of transportation events, by type of transport—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Figure 3a.
Primary factors reported as contributing to events—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Figure 3b.
Secondary factors reported as contributing to events—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Figure 4.
Number of victims, by population group and type of event—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Figure 5.
Injury disposition—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Figure 6.
Number of victims, by category and year—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 1995­
2007
iv
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system,
maintained by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), collects
information to describe the public health consequences of acute releases of hazardous
substances in participating states. This report summarizes events reported in Minnesota in
2007. Information collected about acute events involving hazardous substances includes
the substance(s) and quantity released; time, place, and cause of the event; number of
victims and injuries sustained; response; and public health protective actions taken.
A total of 595 events were reported. In 575 (96.6%) events, one substance was
released. The most commonly reported categories of substances were Other Inorganic
Substances; Pesticides and Fertilizers; and Paints, Coatings, Inks, and Dyes. During this
reporting period, 32 events (5.4%) resulted in 150 victims (two deaths). The most
frequently reported injuries were respiratory irritation, eye irritation, and gastrointestinal
system problems. Evacuations were ordered for 48 (8.1%) events.
Prevention outreach efforts for 2007 involved providing HSEES information
about unplanned hazardous substances releases to emergency planners and the public.
Because anhydrous ammonia is the most frequently released substance and often involves
a public health impact, some activities focused on this substance during 2007. Examples
of activities include creating an anhydrous ammonia information sheet, writing an article
for Minnesota Fire Chief Magazine, and investigating the feasibility of creating an
anhydrous ammonia safety sticker.
1
INTRODUCTION
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines surveillance as the
“ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data
essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health
practice, closely integrated with the timely dissemination of these data to those
who need to know. The final link of the surveillance chain is the application of
these data to prevention and control. A surveillance system includes a functional
capacity for data collection, analysis, and dissemination linked to public health
programs”[1].
Since 1990, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has
maintained an active, state-based Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance
(HSEES) system to describe the public health consequences of releases of hazardous
substances. The decision to initiate a surveillance system of this type was based on a
study published in 1989 about the reporting of hazardous substances releases to three
national databases: the National Response Center Database, the Hazardous Material
Information System (HMIS), and the Acute Hazardous Events Database [2]. A review of
these databases indicated limitations. Many events were missed because of specific
reporting requirements (for example, the HMIS did not record events involving intrastate
carriers or fixed-facility events). Other important information was not recorded, such as
the demographic characteristics of victims, the types of injuries sustained, and the
number of persons evacuated. As a result of this review, ATSDR implemented the
HSEES system to more fully describe the public health consequences of releases of
hazardous substances.
HSEES has several goals:
● To describe the distribution and characteristics of acute hazardous substances
releases;
● To describe morbidity and mortality among employees, responders, and the
general public that resulted from hazardous substances releases; and
● To develop strategies that might reduce future morbidity and mortality resulting
from the release of hazardous substances.
For a surveillance system to be useful, it must not only be a repository for data, but the
data must also be used to protect public health.
In the past few years, the last goal of the HSEES system has been emphasized; i.e., to
develop strategies to reduce subsequent morbidity and mortality by having each
participating state analyze its data and develop appropriate prevention outreach activities.
These activities are intended to provide industry, responders, and the general public with
information that can help prevent hazardous substances releases and reduce morbidity
and mortality if a release occurs.
2
This report summarizes acute hazardous substance release events and associated public
health consequences for 2007 in Minnesota and describes prevention activities to protect
public health.
METHODS
In 2007, fourteen state health departments participated in HSEES: Colorado, Florida,
Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon,
Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Minnesota has participated in the HSEES program since 1995. While a few datacollection questions have been adjusted by ATSDR over time, information collected has
continuously included substance(s) released, number of victims, injuries (adverse health
effects and symptoms), and evacuations.
Data sources used to obtain information about these events included the Minnesota Duty
Officer, the National Response Center, and the U.S. Department of Transportation
Hazardous Materials Incident Reporting System. U.S. census data were used to estimate
the number of residents in the vicinity of most of the events. Data were stored using a
Web-based data entry system provided by ATSDR.
HSEES defines hazardous substances emergency events as acute unplanned or illegal
releases or potential imminent releases of hazardous substances. Events involving
releases of petroleum only are excluded. Events are included if (a) the substance released
could cause adverse human health effects or (b) the release was potential, but the threat
led to an action (for example, evacuation) to protect public health. All hazardous
substances are included in quantities of a least one gallon or 10 pounds, unless the
substance has been designated for inclusion at any amount. HSEES defines victims as
persons who experience at least one documented adverse health effect within 24 hours
after the event or who die as a consequence of the event. Victims who receive more than
one type of injury or symptom are counted once in each applicable injury type or
symptom. Events are categorized as transportation if they occur (a) during surface, air,
pipeline, or water transport or (b) before being unloaded from a vehicle or vessel. All
other events are considered fixed-facility events.
For data analyses, the substances released were categorized into 16 groups. The category
“Mixture” comprises substances from different categories that were mixed or formed
from a reaction before the event; the category “Other inorganic substances” comprises all
inorganic substances except acids, bases, ammonia, and chlorine; and the category
“Other” comprises substances that could not be included in one of the other existing
categories. A complete list of substance categories is available in the Appendix.
RESULTS
For 2007, 595 events were documented by Minnesota HSEES (MN HSEES): Five
hundred ninety-two involved actual releases of substances; two (0.3%) were events in
which substances were both threatened to be released and actually released and one
3
(0.2%) of these events was a release threat. The county with the most events was
Hennepin (84 [14.1%]) (Table 1).
A total of 371 (62.4%) events were in fixed facilities. For fixed facilities involving
mining, utilities, or manufacturing, one or two area types or equipment involved in the
event could be selected. Among the 145 (39.1%) events with one area type reported, the
main types were classified as follows: 35 (24.1%) ancillary process equipment, 22
(15.2%) above ground storage, 20 (13.8%) piping, and 16 (11.0%) material handling area
(e.g., loading/unloading dock). Nineteen fixed-facility (5.1%) events involved two
locations. Many of these events involved combinations of ancillary process equipment
(12 events) and/or dump/waste areas (8 events) with piping, material handling areas,
process vessels, storage areas, heating and cooling for buildings, or transport within a
fixed facility. Percentages of area type for all reported locations (183) are shown in
Figure 1.
Of the 224 (37.6%) transportation events, 209 (93.3%) occurred during ground transport
(e.g., truck, van, or tractor) and 9 (4.0%) involved rail transport. Five events involved air
transportation and one involved pipeline transport (Figure 2). Most ground transportation
events involved trucks (177 [84.7%]). The largest proportion of transportation events
occurred en route and were discovered later at a fixed facility (86 [38.4%]), during
unloading of a stationary vehicle or vessel (67 [29.9%]), or from a moving vehicle or
vessel (58 [25.9%]).
Primary factors contributing to events were reported for 591 (99.3%) events (Figure 3a).
Of the reported primary factors, equipment failure was most the frequent primary factor
for fixed-facility events (182 [49.5%]) and human error was the most frequent for
transportation events (153 [68.6%]). Secondary factors were reported for 405 (68.1%)
events (Figure 3b). Of the reported secondary factors, equipment failure was most
frequently reported for fixed-facility events (86 [38.9%]) and improper filling, loading or
packing (87 [47.3%]) was most frequently reported for transportation events.
More than 96% of all events involved release of only one substance. Two substances
were released in 1.8% of the events, and 1.5% involved the release of more than two
substances (Table 2).
By month, number of events ranged from 30 (5.0%) in December to 63 (10.6%) in April.
By day of week, percentage of events on weekdays ranged from 13.9% on Fridays (83
events) to 19.8% on Wednesdays (118 events). For weekend days, 8.1% (48 events)
occurred on Saturdays and 6.2% (37 events) on Sundays. The time of day or time
category of event occurrence was reported for 594 events. A majority of events, 423
(71.2%), occurred between 6:00 a.m. to 5:59 p.m., while 98 (16.5%) occurred from 6:00
p.m. to 11:59 p.m. and 73 (12.3%) events occurred from 12:00 a.m. to 5:59 a.m.
Industries
The largest proportions of HSEES events were associated with transportation and
warehousing (180 [30.3%]) and manufacturing (121 [20.3%]) (Table 3). The largest
4
number of victim events occurred in the manufacturing industry (6 [18.8%]). Although
manufacturing had a larger number of events with victims, only 5.0% of 121 events
resulted in victims. Some industries had a high percentage of events with victims, such as
accommodation and food service (75.0%) and real estate (50.0%), but overall the number
of events in these categories was small (four and two, respectively).
Four events resulted in the majority of victims for four industry categories. The category
with the most victims was education (53 [35.3%]), where 52 of the 53 victims resulted
from one pepper spray release in a school. Accommodation and Food services, which
includes restaurants, had 30 victims, 27 of which were related carbon monoxide released
from a faulty heater in a restaurant. Health Care and Social Assistance had 19 total
victims. All of them were the result of a small phenol spill. Finally, The Construction
industry had 12 total victims, 11 of which resulted from a cement slurry release during a
building collapse. More information about these incidents is provided in the “Victims”
section that follows.
Substances
A total of 636 substances were involved in all events, of which four (0.6%) substances
were threatened to be released. The substances most frequently released were mercury;
paints, coatings, inks, and dyes; and anhydrous ammonia (Table 4).
Substances were grouped into 16 categories. The substance categories most commonly
released in fixed-facility events were Other Inorganic Substances (116 [29.1%]),
Ammonia (44 [11.1%]), and Oxy-organics (36 [9.0%]). In transportation events, the most
common substance categories released was Paints, Coatings, Inks, and Dyes (51
[21.4%]), Pesticides and Fertilizers (40 [16.8%]), and Acids (37 [15.5%]) (Table 5).
Two types of releases for each of the 636 substances released could be reported (e.g.,
spill and air release). Only one type of release was associated with the following: spills
(494 [77.7%]), air releases (85 [13.4%]), fire (4 [0.6%]), threatened release (4 [0.6 %]),
and explosion (1 [0.2%]). Of the 48 events with two types of releases, the following
combinations were reported: spill and air release (39 events), fire and explosion (six
events), spill and fire (one event), spill and explosion (one event), air release and fire (one
event). All substances had release types reported.
Victims
A total of 150 victims were involved in 32 (5.4%) events (Table 6). Of the events with
victims, 23 (71.9%) events involved only one victim, and three (9.4%) involved two
victims, while six (18.8%) events involved three or more victims. By event type, all
transportation events with victims involved only one victim. Six (37.5%) fixed-facility
events with victims had three or more victims. There were 16 (10.7%) victims injured in
transportation events and 134 (89.3%) injured in fixed-facility events. Additionally, 12
persons in five events (0.8%) were observed at a hospital but did not have symptoms.
They did not sustain injuries and were not counted as victims.
5
To determine if type of substance(s) released in an event was related to number of
victims in the event, substances released and victim totals were compared. In events that
involved substances from the same substance category, substances were counted once in
that category. In events that involved substances from different categories, substances
were counted once in the multiple substance category.
The comparison showed that substances released most often were not necessarily the
most likely to result in victims (Table 7). For example, events categorized as Paints,
Coatings, Inks and Dyes constituted 10.3% of all events but only one (3.1%) of the victim
events. Conversely, events in the Multiple Substances Category were 2.5% of all events,
but accounted for 12.5% of the victim events.
Employees constituted the largest proportion of the population groups injured (77
[51.3%]), followed by students (51 [34.0%]), general public (12 [8.0%]), unknown
classification (8 [5.3%]), and responders (2 [1.3%]) (Figure 4). All victims except 14
employees and two general public victims were injured in fixed facilities. The two
responder victims were volunteer firefighters.
Victims sustained a total of 288 injuries or symptoms (Table 8). Some victims had more
than one injury or symptom. The most common injuries/symptoms in fixed-facility
events were respiratory irritation (83 [30.6%]) and eye irritation (60 [22.1%]). In
transportation events, trauma (12 [70.6%]) and chemical burns (2 [11.8%]) were the most
commonly reported symptoms. The trauma injuries in all of the transportation events and
11 of the fixed-facility events were not substance-related; these injuries resulted from a
chain of events, such as a motor vehicle accident that involved release of a hazardous
substance, and not from exposure to the substance itself.
The median age of the 90 victims for whom exact age was reported was 35.5 years
(range: 1-78 years). For the 55 injured persons for whom only an age category was
reported, 51 (92.7%) were 15-19 years of age, and four (7.8%) were 20-44 years of age.
For the five injured persons for whom age was not reported, four were employees and
one was of unknown victim category.
Sex was known for 149 victims: 74 (49.3%) were males. Of the 79 employees and
responders, 45 (57.0%) were known to be males. Sex was not known for one employee.
Hazardous substances releases in a school, restaurant, and medical clinic contributed to
an increase in the proportion of female victims this year (about ½ of victims). In all
previous years, the majority of victims were male. Overall, about 60% of victims with
sex category reported were male from 1995-2006.
Severity was known for 149 victims. The severity ranged from minor injury to death
(Figure 5). Fifteen victims (10.0%) were observed at a hospital but did not require
treatment. Fifty-five victims (36.7%) required only on scene first aid. Three (2.0%)
experienced adverse health effects that were reported by an official. One victim (0.7%)
was seen by a private physician and 61 (40.7%) were treated at a hospital but not
admitted. Twelve victims (8.0%) required admission to hospital. Two deaths (1.3%) were
6
reported: one related to carbon monoxide poisoning and one related to trauma. Severity
was unknown for one victim.
The status of personal protective equipment (PPE) use was reported for 70 employeevictims (90.9%) and for two responder-victims (100.0%). Of these, most of the
employee-victims (59 [84.3%]) did not report wearing PPE. Among the 11 employeevictims who wore PPE, ten wore “level D” protection, and one wore eye protection and
gloves. Both of the injured emergency responders wore firefighter turnout gear with
respiratory protection.
There were four events that involved more than ten victims. The events involved a carbon
monoxide release from a malfunctioning water heater, a pepper spray release, a phenol
spill, and a structure collapse at a construction site.
The first event involved a malfunctioning water heater at a restaurant. Twenty-seven
victims, including employees and guests, required treatment at a hospital after being
exposed to carbon monoxide. Nausea and dizziness reported ranged from very minor to
severe. The fire department responded, the restaurant was evacuated, and a contractor
made repairs.
The second event involved release of pepper spray in a school cafeteria when a student
sprayed another student and staff member. The school cafeteria was evacuated and school
was dismissed early. Fifty-one students were treated at the scene for minor respiratory
irritation and eye irritation.
In the third event, nineteen people experienced respiratory irritation, nausea and
headaches after a bottle of phenol was spilled in a medical clinic. None of the 19 victims
required admission to a hospital and most symptoms resolved soon after victims exited
the area. The fire department responded and a hazardous materials clean up contractor
cleaned up the spill.
The fourth event involved the collapse of a building under construction. Eleven workers
received trauma injuries and skin irritation when a floor collapsed and spilled cement
slurry onto the levels below.
Nearby populations
The proximity of the event location in relation to selected populations was determined
using geographic information systems (GIS). There were 500 events with persons living
within ¼ mile of the event (84.0%); 575 events with persons living within ½ mile
(96.6%); and 589 events with persons living within one mile (99.0%). Additionally, there
were industries or other businesses within ¼ mile of 471 events (79.2%); recreational
areas within ¼ mile of 146 events (24.5%); licensed daycares within ¼ mile of 144
events (24.2%); schools within ¼ mile of 138 events (23.2%); nursing homes within ¼
mile of 22 events (3.7%); and hospitals within ¼ mile of 8 events (1.3%).
7
Evacuations
Evacuations were ordered in 48 events (8.1%). Of these evacuations, 36 occurred in
buildings or affected parts of buildings (75.0%); eight were downwind or downstream of
the event (16.7%), two were in a circle and downwind/downstream from the event
(4.2%), one was in a circle or radius from the event (2.1%) and one had no defined
criteria (2.1%). The number of persons evacuated was known for 33 events (68.8%) and
an estimate range was known for the remaining 15 events (31.3%). The number
evacuated ranged from one to 700 persons, with a median of 23. Evacuation length was
available for all 48 events (100.0%). The median length of evacuation was 4.0 hours
(range: 30 minutes to 168 hours). Of all 595 events, 315 (52.9%) had restricted access to
the area. In-place sheltering ordered by an official was reported for seven events.
Decontamination
Of the 147 victims (98.0%) for whom decontamination status was known, 121 (82.3%)
were not decontaminated, 23 (15.6%) were decontaminated at the scene, two (1.4%) were
decontaminated at a medical facility, and one (0.7%) was decontaminated at both the
scene and a medical facility.
In the 18 events (3.0%) where uninjured persons were decontaminated, the median
number of uninjured decontaminated individuals was three persons per event (range: 1 –
132 persons). One student was decontaminated at a medical facility. Decontamination at
the scene was done for 58 uninjured employees, 33 uninjured responders, 32 uninjured
members of the general public, and 100 uninjured students.
Response
Information on who responded to the event was available for all events. The category of
No Response was reported in 35 events (5.9%). Two or more responder categories were
reported for 167 events (28.1%), 83 reported three or more categories (13.9%), and 47
reported four or more categories (7.9%). Company response teams responded most
frequently to events (469 events [78.8%]), followed by third party clean up contractors
(115 events [19.3%]), fire departments (103 events [17.3%]), and law enforcement (88
events [14.8%]) (Table 9).
PREVENTION ACTIVITIES IN MINNESOTA
During 2007, the MN HSEES program performed prevention activities. These activities
included:
● Creating an anhydrous ammonia information sheet describing Minnesota
ammonia releases and safety tips.
● Investigating the feasibility and interest of creating an anhydrous ammonia
safety sticker for agricultural applications.
● Writing an article called “Hazardous Substances Release Information for Fire
Departments” for the May/June issue of Minnesota Fire Chief magazine.
● Compiling a 2006 HSEES data report and posting it on the Web.
● Alerting appropriate state and local health authorities about incidents related to
their areas of expertise.
8
The HSEES program also uses the data collected to analyze trends in chemical incidents
and promotes ways to reduce acute hazardous substance releases and health impacts
related to those releases. MN HSEES continues to seek opportunities to inform industry
health and safety representatives, emergency responders, emergency planners, and others
of the trends in unplanned or illegal acute hazardous substance releases.
ADDITIONAL USE OF MN HSEES DATA
The MN HSEES program continues to receive requests for data for a variety of uses.
Because the HSEES system has a large collection of unplanned hazardous substance
release events and the associated impact on public health, emergency planners, response
trainers, and health care facilities have requested the data for planning and training
exercises. The data are often requested to determine patterns of hazardous substances
releases within certain areas or to review trends in certain types of releases. Data continue
to be available upon request by contacting the program.
LIMITATIONS
Data included in the HSEES system are based upon incidents reported to sources
accessible to HSEES, such as the Minnesota Duty Officer, the National Response Center,
the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration, the media or
direct contact. Hazardous substances releases that are not reported via one of these
channels are not likely to appear in the HSEES system. It is unknown how many spills
occur that are not reported. Therefore, HSEES is a representation of reported spills and
does not necessarily reflect all of the releases that occur in the state.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS: 1995–2007
From 1995-2007, the largest proportion of events occurred in fixed facilities (Table 10).
In recent years, however, transportation events have represented an increasing proportion
of the total events. During 1995-2001 and 2003, transportation events were about one
fourth or less of the total events. In 2002, and 2004-2007, transportation events were
about one third or more of the total events. The cause for the increase is unknown, but
appears to be related to more complete reporting from transportation companies to the
U.S. Department of Transportation. It could also be related to a true increase in releases
during shipping.
The number of substances released per event has remained fairly constant, with an
average of about one substance released per event for all years except 1995 and 2004. In
1995 and 2004, there were fires at a chemical manufacturer and a laboratory,
respectively, which released many chemicals. Overall, most events (94.0%) involve only
one substance.
The percentage of events with victims from 1995-2007 is about 6.1%. The highest
number of victims (172), as well as the highest percentage of events with victims (10%),
occurred in 1995. The lowest percentage of events resulting in victims occurred in 2002
(4.5%), with a total of 16 victims.
9
Respiratory irritation has consistently been the most frequently reported injury and the
most frequently reported category of victims continues to be employees. However,
members of the general public constitute a large proportion of the victims as well (Figure
6). The number of injured responders has generally remained low, though in certain
instances unexpected chemical reactions or releases at crash scenes have resulted in
respiratory irritation and eye irritation for several responders.
The number of deaths per year associated with acute hazardous substances events varied
between zero and three from 1995-2007. Most of these deaths were attributed to
circumstances surrounding the events that lead to chemical release (e.g., vehicle crash),
and were not directly related to the chemical release.
The MN HSEES program continues to strive toward conducting activities that will help
reduce hazardous substance releases and associated public health effects. The HSEES
program also works to provide quality data to agencies engaged in emergency planning
and training, and continues to seek new opportunities for outreach.
10
REFERENCES 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Comprehensive plan for epidemiologic
surveillance. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services; 1986.
2. Binder S. Death, injuries, and evacuations from acute hazardous materials releases.
Am J Public Health 1989;70:1042–4.
11
Appendix Table 1.─Number of events meeting the surveillance definition, by county and type of event— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
All events
Fixed facility
No. events
Transportation
No. events
Total no.
(%)
Aitkin
1
1
2
0.3
Anoka
18
17
35
5.9
Becker
0
1
1
0.2
Beltrami
1
0
1
0.2
Benton
3
0
3
0.5
Big Stone
1
1
2
0.3
Blue Earth
5
1
6
1.0
Brown
1
4
5
0.8
Carlton
3
0
3
0.5
Carver
9
0
9
1.5
Cass
0
0
0
0
Chippewa
0
1
1
0.2
Chisago
1
0
1
0.2
Clay
5
5
10
1.7
Clearwater
0
0
0
0
Cook
2
0
2
0.3
Cottonwood
2
0
2
0.3
Crow Wing
0
0
0
0
Dakota
44
32
76
12.8
Dodge
1
0
1
0.2
Douglas
0
0
0
0
Faribault
2
4
6
1.0
Fillmore
4
2
6
1.0
Freeborn
7
1
8
1.3
Goodhue
2
0
2
0.3
Grant
1
1
2
0.3
Hennepin
64
20
84
14.1
Houston
0
0
0
0
Hubbard
2
0
2
0.3
Isanti
2
0
2
0.3
Itasca
14
1
15
2.5
County
Page 1 of 3
Table 1.─Number of events meeting the surveillance definition, by county and type of event— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
All events
County
Fixed facility
No. events
Transportation
No. events
Total no.
(%)
Jackson
1
3
4
0.7
Kanabec
0
0
0
0
Kandiyohi
7
3
10
1.7
Kittson
1
0
1
0.2
Koochiching
1
0
1
0.2
Lac Qui Parle
0
0
0
0
Lake
2
0
2
0.3
1
0
1
0.2
3
0
3
0.5
Lincoln
0
0
0
0
Lyon
3
1
4
0.7
Mahnomen
0
0
0
0
Marshall
3
0
3
0.5
Martin
2
3
5
0.8
McLeod
15
1
16
2.7
Meeker
0
0
0
0
Mille Lacs
0
0
0
0
Morrison
0
0
0
0
Mower
4
0
4
0.7
Murray
1
0
1
0.2
Nicollet
1
0
1
0.2
Nobles
1
0
1
0.2
Norman
0
0
0
0
Olmsted
7
3
10
1.7
Otter Tail
2
3
5
0.8
Pennington
0
0
0
0
Pine
0
0
0
0
Pipestone
2
0
2
0.3
Polk
0
2
2
0.3
Pope
1
2
3
0.5
Ramsey
44
34
78
13.1
Lake of the
Woods
Le Sueur
Page 2 of 3
Table 1.─Number of events meeting the surveillance definition, by county and type of event— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
All events
Fixed facility
No. events
Transportation
No. events
Total no.
(%)
Red Lake
0
0
0
0
Redwood
0
2
2
0.3
Renville
2
0
2
0.3
Rice
3
0
3
0.5
Rock
0
0
0
0
Roseau
1
0
1
0.2
St. Louis
10
3
13
2.2
Scott
4
7
11
1.8
Sherburne
9
2
11
1.8
Sibley
0
0
0
0
Stearns
6
8
14
2.4
Steele
2
5
7
1.2
Stevens
2
2
4
0.7
Swift
3
7
10
1.7
Todd
1
1
2
0.3
Traverse
0
0
0
0
Wabasha
1
1
2
0.3
Wadena
0
1
1
0.2
Waseca
0
0
0
0
Washington
24
37
61
10.3
Watonwan
1
0
1
0.2
Wilkin
0
0
0
0
Winona
4
0
4
0.7
Wright
0
1
1
0.2
1
0
1
0.2
371
224
595
100.0
County
Yellow
Medicine
Total
Page 3 of 3
Table 2.─Number of substances involved per event, by type of event— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Type of event
Fixed facility
No.
substances
No.
events
%
All events
Transportation
Total
substances
No.
events
%
Total
No.
substances events
%
Total
substances
1
358
96.5
358
217
96.9
217
575
96.6
575
2
8
2.2
16
3
1.3
6
11
1.8
22
3
1
0.3
3
3
1.3
9
4
0.7
12
4
2
0.5
8
0
0.0
0
2
0.3
8
2
0.5
13
1
0.4
6
3
0.5
19
371
100.0
398
224
99.9
238
595
99.9
636
≥5
Total*
*Percentages may not total 100% as a result of rounding.
Table 3.─Industries* involved in hazardous substance events, by category—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Industry category
Total events
Events with
victims
Percentage
of events
with victims
Total no.
victims
Maximum
number of
victims in a
single event
No.
%
No.
%
Accommodation and Food
Services
4
0.7
3
9.4
75.0
30
27
Administration and Support
and Waste Management and
Remediation Services
11
1.8
0
0
0
0
0
Agriculture, Forestry,
Fishing and Hunting
20
3.4
2
6.3
10.0
2
1
Arts, Entertainment, and
Recreation
1
0.2
0
0
0
0
0
Construction
13
2.2
2
6.3
15.4
12
11
Education Services
19
3.2
2
6.3
10.5
53
52
Finance and Insurance
0
0
0
0
N/A
0
0
Health Care and Social
Assistance
11
1.8
1
3.1
9.1
19
19
Information
2
0.3
0
0
0
0
0
Management of Companies
and Enterprises
0
0
0
0
N/A
0
0
Manufacturing
121
20.3
6
18.8
5.0
17
8
Mining
11
1.8
0
0
0
0
0
Other (includes residences)
49
8.2
0
0
0
0
0
Professional services,
Scientific and Technical
Services
3
0.5
0
0
0
0
0
Public administration
4
0.7
0
0
0
0
0
Real Estate, Rental and
Leasing
2
0.3
1
3.1
50.0
1
1
Retail trade
3
0.5
1
3.1
33.3
2
2
Transportation and
Warehousing
180
30.3
5
15.6
2.8
5
1
Utilities
47
7.9
3
9.4
6.4
3
1
Wholesale trade
74
12.4
4
12.5
5.4
4
1
Not an industry
11
1.8
2
6.3
18.2
2
1
Not identified
9
1.5
0
0
0
0
0
595
99.8%
32
100.2
5.4
150
52
Total
*
†
Based on responsible party.
Percentages may not total 100% as a result of rounding.
†
Table 4.─Substances most frequently involved in events— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007 Rank
1
2
3
Substance
Mercury
Paints, Coatings, Inks and Dyes
(Includes: Dye NOS (1), Ink (4), Ink
NOS (3), Paint NOS (51), Paint or
Coating NOS (3), Stain (1))
Number of releases and release threats
95
63
6
Anhydrous ammonia
Antifreeze (Includes Antifreeze (12),
Antifreeze NOS (1), Diethylene glycol
(1), Ethylene glycol (16), Ethylene
glycol NOS (1), Glycol NOS (1),
Propylene glycol (4))
Fertilizers (Includes: Ammonium
polyphosphate (1), Fertilizer Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium (6),
Fertilizer NOS (9), Liquid Fertilizer
NOS (1), Mixture: Ammonium
Phosphate/Ammonium
Sulfate/Potash/Urea (1),
Monoammonium phosphate (1),
Nitrogen fertilizer, dry (1), Potash (2),
Urea (2), Urea Ammonium Nitrate (5))
Sulfuric Acid (Includes: Battery Acid
NOS (1), Sulfuric Acid (21), Sulfuric
Acid NOS (1))
7
Sodium Hydroxide
21
8
Chlorine
16
9
Hydrochloric (or Muriatic) Acid
13
10a
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
10
10b
Resin NOS
10
4
5
53
36
29
23
Table 5.─Number of substances involved, by substance category and type of event—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Type of event
Fixed facility
Substance category
No.
substances
Transportation
%
No.
substances
All events
No.
substances
%
%
Acids
21
5.3
37
15.5
58
9.1
Ammonia*
44
11.1
10
4.2
54
8.5
Bases
26
6.5
20
8.4
46
7.2
Chlorine
21
5.3
0
0
21
3.3
Formulations
5
1.3
2
0.8
7
1.1
Hetero-organics
2
0.5
0
0
2
0.3
Hydrocarbons
7
1.8
2
0.8
9
1.4
8
2.0
14
5.9
22
3.5
25
6.3
9
3.8
34
5.3
116
29.1
11
4.6
127
20.0
36
9.0
12
5.0
48
7.5
Paints, coatings, inks, and
dyes
12
3.0
51
21.4
63
9.9
Pesticides and fertilizers
24
6.0
40
16.8
64
10.1
Polychlorinated biphenyls
10
2.5
0
0
10
1.6
7
1.8
8
3.4
15
2.4
34
8.5
22
9.2
56
8.8
398 100.0
238
99.8
636
100.0
†
Mixture
‡
Other
Other inorganic
substances§
Oxy-organics
Polymers
Volatile organic
compounds
Total
* Includes 53 anhydrous ammonia releases and 1 ammonium hydroxide release.
† Substances from different categories that were mixed or formed from a reaction before the event.
‡ Not belonging to one of the existing categories. § All inorganic substances except for acids, bases, ammonia, and chlorine
Table 6.─Number of victims per event, by type of event— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007 Type of event
Fixed facility
No. victims
All events
Transportation
No. events Total victims
No.
Total victims events
No. events
Total
victims
%
1
7
7
16
16
23
71.9
23
2
3
6
0
0
3
9.4
6
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
1
4
0
0
1
3.1
4
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
≥6
5
117
0
0
5
15.6
117
16
134
16
16
32
100.0
150
Total*
Table 7.─Frequency of substance categories in all events and events with victims—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance System, 2007* All events
Substance category
No.
Events with victims
%
Percentage
Percentage of events
of all
with
releases
victims in
with
substance
victims
category
No.
Acids
55
9.2
5
15.6
9.1
Ammonia
52
8.7
2
6.3
3.8
Bases
45
7.6
0
0
0
Chlorine
21
3.5
2
6.3
9.5
Formulations
5
0.8
0
0
0
Hetero-organics
1
0.2
1
3.1
100.0
Hydrocarbons
0
0.0
0
0
N/A
Mixture
22
3.7
2
6.3
9.1
Multiple substance category
15
2.5
4
12.5
26.7
29
4.9
2
6.3
6.9
117
19.7
3
9.4
2.6
Oxy-organics
47
7.9
5
15.6
10.6
Paints, coatings, inks, and
dyes
61
10.3
1
3.1
1.6
Pesticides and fertilizers
52
8.7
5
15.6
9.6
Polychlorinated biphenyls
10
1.7
0
0
0
Polymers
14
2.4
0
0
0
Volatile organic compounds
49
8.2
0
0
0
595
100.0
32
100.1
N/A
†
Other
‡
Other inorganic substances§
Total¶
* Substances in events that involved multiple substances were counted only once in a substance category
when all the substances were associated with the same category. If events involved multiple substances
from different substance categories, they were counted only once in the multiple substance category.
†
Substances from different categories that were mixed or formed from a reaction before the event.
‡
Not classified. §
All inorganic substances except for acids, bases, ammonia, and chlorine. ¶
Percentages do not total 100% because of rounding.
Table 8.─Frequencies of injuries/symptoms, by type of event*—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Fixed facility
Injury/symptom
Chemical burns
No.
injuries
%
Transportation
No.
injuries
%
All events
Total
no.
%
9
3.3
2
11.8
11
3.8
Dizziness/central nervous system
symptoms
31
11.4
0
0.0
31
10.8
Eye irritation
60
22.1
1
5.9
61
21.2
Gastrointestinal system problems
50
18.5
0
0.0
50
17.4
Headache
19
7.0
0
0.0
19
6.6
Heart problems
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
Heat stress
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
Other
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
83
30.6
1
5.9
84
29.2
Shortness of breath
0
0.0
1
5.9
1
0.3
Skin irritation
7
2.6
0
0.0
7
2.4
Thermal burns
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
Trauma
12
4.4
12
70.6
24
8.3
Total‡
271
99.9
17
100.1
288
100.0
Respiratory irritation
†
* The number of injuries is greater than the number of victims (150) because a victim could have had
more than one injury.
†
Of the 24 trauma injuries, one was related directly by the substance released and other factors. The other 11
were not directly caused by the chemical released and were caused by other factors, such as impact in a crash or fall.
‡
Percentages do not total 100% as a result of rounding.
Table 9.─Responders to events—
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007 Responder Category
No. of
responses
No response
35
% of
events
within
category
100.0
340
6
6
5
36
393
86.5
1.5
1.5
1.3
9.2
100.0
No. of events
(% of total
events)
35 (5.9%)
Single responder
(Events with one on-scene responder)
Company's Response Team
Environmental Agency/EPA Response Team
Fire Department
Law Enforcement Agency
Third party clean up contractor
Subtotals
393 (66.1%)
Multiple responders
(Events with two or more on-scene responders)
Certified HazMat Team
20
Company's Response Team
129
Dept. of Works/Utilities/Transportation
20
(includes Coast Guard)
Emergency Medical Services
36
Environmental Agency/EPA Response Team 47
Fire Department
97
Health Department/Health Agency
3
Hospital Personnel
1
Law Enforcement Agency
83
Other
2
Specialized Multiagency Teams
1
State, County Or Local Emergency
12
Managers/Coordinators/Planning
Committees
Third party clean up contractor
79
Subtotals
530†
Totals
958†
*
Does not total 100.0% because of rounding.
†
There could be more than one responder per event.
3.8
24.3
3.8
6.8
8.9
18.3
0.6
0.2
15.7
0.4
0.2
2.3
14.9
100.2*
167 (28.1%)
N/A
595 (100.1%*)
Table 10.─ Data by year— Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 1995-2007* Events with
victims
Type of event
Year
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Total
Fixed
facility
193
224
194
341
287
346
338
228
323
325
271
342
371
3783
Transportation
36
77
71
36
61
73
76
126
115
143
136
204
224
1378
Total
229
301
265
377
348
419
414
354
438
468
407
546
595
5161
No.
substances
released
386
340
283
440
370
459
472
376
499
740
456
584
636
6041
No.
victims
172
73
19
66
62
83
50
85
83
64
52
68
150
1027
No.
deaths
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
3
1
0
1
2
10
No.
23
21
16
22
24
29
19
16
30
26
26
31
32
315
* Numbers in the table might differ from those reported in previous years because of adjustments in
HSEES qualification requirements for events.
† Percentage of events with victims.
%†
10.0
7.0
6.0
5.8
6.9
6.9
4.6
4.5
6.8
5.6
6.4
5.7
5.4
6.1
Figure 1. Areas of fixed facilities involved in events,
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007*
Ancillary process equip
25.7% (47 events)
Transformer/capacitor
6.0% (11 events)
Building Heating/Cooling
1.1% (2 events)
Laboratory
1.1% (2 events)
Transport in facility
7.7% (14 events)
Dump/waste area
10.4% (19 events)
Process vessel
8.7% (16 events)
Storage area
15.3% (28 events)
Piping
14.8% (27 events)
* Nineteen of the 164 events with areas reported
involved two areas, for a total of 183 areas.
Percentages do not total 100.0% as a result of
rounding.
Material handling
9.3% (17 events)
Figure 2. Distribution of transportation events, by type of transport, Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
Air
Rail
2.2%
4.0%
(5 events)
(9 events)
Pipeline
0.4%
(1 event)
Ground
93.3%
(209 events)
Figure 3a. Primary factors reported as contributing to events, Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007*
Illegal, 17 events, 3%
Weather/Natural disaster (includes
temperature fluctuation), 8 events,
1%
Intentional releases†, 7 events, 1%
Unknown, 4 events, 1%
Equipment failure, 245 events, 41%
* A primary factor was not available for four of the 595 events.
These are shown as "Unknown" in the chart.
†
Releases related to maintenance or other legal activities outside of
normal operations (e.g., release of substances during maintenance
or cleaning activities)
Human error, 314 events, 54%
Secondary factor
Figure 3b. Secondary factors reported as contributing to events,
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007*
System startup/shutdown
1
Loadshift
1
Explosion
1
Power failure/electrical problems
3
Overspray/misapplication
3
Improper mixing
3
Illicit drug production
4
Fire
7
Vehicle or Vessel collision
8
Other
9
Human error
12
System/process upset
13
Improper dumping
19
Performing maintenance
20
35
Forklift puncture
38
Vehicle or Vessel derailment/rollover/capsizing
113
Equipment failure
115
Improper filling, loading, or packing
189
No secondary factor
*A secondary factor was not available
for one event.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Number of events
140
160
180
200
Figure 4. Number of victims, by population group and type of event, Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
70
63
Fixed facility
Transportation
60
51
Number of victims
50
40
30
20
14
10
8
10
2
2
0
0
0
Student
Unknown
0
Employees
General Public
Responders
Population group
Figure 5. Injury disposition,
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 2007
70
61
60
55
Number of victims
50
40
30
20
15
12
10
3
1
2
1
Death
Unknown
0
Injuries reported
by an official (no
other treatment
verified)
Seen by private
physician within
24 hours
Hospital
observation (no
treatment)
Treated on scene Treated at hospital Treated at hospital
(first aid)
(not admitted)
(admitted)
Injury disposition
Figure 6. Number of victims, by category and year,
Minnesota Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, 1995-2007
90
85
81
Employees
General public
80
77
Responders
Students
70
65
63
Number of victims
60
52
51
50
44
42
40
36
35
33
31
30
30
26
21
19
20
10
27
15
19
15
14
9
9 9
1
2 2
7
1996
1997
3
0
0
0
12
1011
6
0
25
0
1 0
4
3
0
3
0
5
1
0
1
2
0
1995
1998
1999
*Category could not be obtained for 12 victims in one 2006 event
and 8 victims in 2007
2000
2001
Year
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006*
2007*