Public health risks of railroad hazardous substance emergency events

The number of railroad events reported to the Agency for Toxic Substances a nd Disease Registry's Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance sy stem increased from 84 in 1993 to 177 in 1998. Comparisons of data on railr oad and non-railroad events were made. The results overall indicated a grea ter potential impact of railroad events on public health. A median number o f 2039 persons were living within a 1-mile radius of railroad events versus 982 for non-railroad events. The percentage of events during times when pe ople are more likely to be home was also greater for railroad events. Railr oad event victims were more likely to need hospital treatment than non-rail road event victims, which suggested the need for better community planning, reevaluation of current federal regulations and priorities for railroad ha zardous material transport, and enhanced railroad industry commitment to sa fety.