HSEES Home Page

A HSEES event is any non-petroleum substance release or threatened release is at least ten pounds, one gallon, or a lesser amount if it is determined to be extremely hazardous; such as ammonia, chlorine.
A substance is considered hazardous if it might reasonably be expected to cause adverse health effects to humans.
Events are included in the system, if the amount released or threatened to be released, is required to be cleaned up according to federal, state, or local law.
For threatened releases to be included in HSEES they must result in an action to protect public health, such as an evacuation.

Approximately 8,000 hazardous substances releases occur annually in the 14 states reporting.
Releases at facilities account for 70 to 75 percent and transportation-associated releases account for 25 to30 percent of reported events.
Most releases occur on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Releases tend to increase in spring and summer when shipments of pesticides and fertilizers for agricultural activities occur.
Equipment failure and human error cause most releases at facilities.
Human error and equipment failure cause most releases during transport.
More than 90 percent of events involve the release or threatened release of only one hazardous substance.
Releases of hazardous substances most often injure employees followed by the general public and less frequently by first responders and school children.
Respiratory irritation and eye irritation are the most commonly reported symptom or injury.
Approximately 50 percent of people who reported developing symptoms or injuries from a HSEES event were treated at a hospital and released.

States use information from the HSEES system to develop strategies for reducing injuries and death. Appropriate prevention outreach activities can provide industry, responders, and the general public with knowledge to prevent chemical releases and to reduce injuries and death when such releases occur. Researchers and other government agencies request HSEES data for their prevention activities.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has identified 3,400 chemical facilities that each could affect more than 1,000 people if attacked. HSEES receives program funding from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registries' Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), and from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Coordinating Office for Terrorism Planning and Response (COTPER).

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