Evacuations due to chemical accidents: experience from 1980 to 1984

Abstract

This report describes evacuations associated with chemical accidents from 1980 through 1984. A data base describing each accident was constructed from wire service accounts of the accidents. Using this data, a profile of evacuations is developed. Each evacuation is also listed in an appendix. During the time period studied nearly 300 evacuations took place. The average size of an evacuation was 1000 people and the largest involved 30,000 evacuees. The most frequent cause of evacuations were industrial accidents followed by train derailments. For every 1000 people who evacuated, eight were injured by exposure to chemical. Injury occurred in 25% of the evacuations. No injuries from the act of evacuating per se were found. Over the five-year period, the yearly total of evacuations fluctuated midly, however, the number due to industrial accidents rose steadily. 3 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.

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