Health Effect of Chemical Accidents

Chemical accidents affect people in a number of ways, including:

— the effects of explosion;

— the effects of fire;

— the toxic effects of the chemicals.

Chemicals enter the body through the skin, eyes, lungs or digestive tract. The rate of absorption via these paths is different for different chemicals, and is also affected by the concentration of the chemical in contact with the body (the concentration may change over time), the length of time that the chemical is in contact with the body, the air temperature, humidity and the person’s age.

Within the body itself, the effect depends upon the actual toxicity of the chemical and on the biologically effective dose (i.e. the quantity of chemical taken into the target tissue). The way the dose is accumulated in the target tissue can make a difference to its impact. Even if the exposure is short, the peak level might be high enough to cause toxic effects. When the exposure is prolonged and the dose rate low, it may be the total cumulative dose that causes toxicity.

Effects can be local (e.g. burning or blistering of the skin, eyes or respiratory tract) or systemic, and the pattern may be influenced by age, gender, immune state, concomitant exposures and general fitness. Some effects (e.g. eye and respiratory irritation or central nervous system depression) can occur within minutes or hours of the exposure. Other effects (e.g. congenital malformations or cancers) may take months or years to appear.

Public-health effects of chemicals

Stress and anxiety: The occurrence of major chemical incidents has shaped the way members of the public perceive exposure to chemical substances. Such incidents are fear-inducing because they have the potential to cause large numbers of deaths and illness and because they raise questions about the fragility of technologies over which the public may have little or no control. 

Deaths and illness: Large incidents 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 (Bowen et al., 2000). These chemical incidents remain unreported unless a specifically designed and targeted reporting system is in place. 

Societal and economic costs:

Significant economic costs relate to livelihoods, inward investments, and other costs such as closures of health care facilities, schools, factories, etc., litigation and compensation, and helping affected communities recover.

Source By http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/emergencies/em2002chap12.pdf