Oregon Chemical Surveillance Project

CROET investigator Joan Rothlein, Ph.D. has collected eight databases describing hazardous chemicals used and stored in Oregon, the extent of releases and associated human exposures, and adverse health effects. With the aid of sophisticated cartographic techniques, the spatial distribution of chemicals throughout the state of Oregon can now be displayed visually. The Oregon Chemical Database is the first step toward the goal of defining with precision the geographical distribution of specific chemical hazards. This unique system has demonstrated unexpected relationships between chemical use, chemical releases and human exposure. Superimposition of human poisoning cases on the existing data will provide an optimal system to investigate medical geography.

CROET places selected updated portions of this database and its analyses on the Internet. Currently, information is available on the following:

Oregon State Fire Marshal's Hazardous Substance Survey which examines the growth in Oregon of hazardous substance use between 1993 and 1998, as reported in the survey.

Oregon Workers' Compensation Claims which examines accepted claims from Oregon workers between 1994-1997, in which a chemical or hazardous substance is the source of the injury or illness.

CROET's Oregon Chemical Database is a tool to promote health and prevent disease. Detection of chemical hazards, exposures and health effects helps target CROET's applied research programs on problems of greatest relevance to public health. The database is also used in CROET training and education courses/programs on chemical hazards. Order a report depicting information from these databases through our publications page or by emailing croetweb@ohsu.edu.