Assessing Chemical Risks to Deployed Military Personnel. N. L. Tran, S. N. Juzych, T. A. Burke, K. Chossek, and D. Sivin; Johns Hopkins University, and Pew Environmental Health Commission
Many precautions are taken to protect deployed military personnel from environmental health threats including provision of treated drinking water, vaccination against various bacterial diseases, and protection against physical hazards such as UV and other radiation sources. However, recent experiences in the Vietnamese conflict and in the Persian Gulf War have underscored the necessity for understanding chemical risks which troops may face. Because many modern-day deployments are often in areas of industrialization, troops may be exposed through routine facility operations, through accidental or deliberate releases, or may be exposed to chemical hazards as a result of military actions that destroy or degrade industrial facilities. This paper presents a stepwise approach developed to assist the military in evaluating potential threats to deployed personnel in order to prevent exposures. Through the use of standard industrial classification codes (SIC) and information on accidental chemical releases, a hazard ranking of various industries has been developed. This information and approach has widespread application beyond the military and can be used by local, state, and federal agencies for planning of emergency response to industrial chemical releases.
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