Alaska Toxic Substance Incidents Program (ATSIP)

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ATSIP started in July 2012 under the Environmental Public Health Program in the Alaska Section of Epidemiology, Division of Public Health. ATSIP aims to collect data on acute toxic substance releases that have public health consequences.

ATSIP data can be used to prevent or reduce the harm caused by toxic substance incidents. ATSIP can also help experts when a release does occur. Key ATSIP features include:

  • Tracking releases of toxic substances
  • Analyzing public health risks and impact
  • Contributing to a national database
  • Conducting event notification and follow-up with agencies involved in hazardous material (hazmat) incident response
  • Performing educational, outreach, and prevention activities with community partners

ATSIP contributes to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR) National Toxic Substance Incidents Program (NTSIP). NTSIP is a collaborative effort between ATSDR and stakeholders such as the Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the National Response Center, and state and local health departments. For more information on NTSIP, visit the NTSIP website.

Alaska is one of ten state partners currently participating in ATSDR's NTSIP. ATSIP collects information on toxic substance releases in Alaska and enters the data into ATSDR's database. This national level of surveillance allows ATSIP to monitor hazmat incident trends across states, leading to adoption of best practices for incident response, surveillance, and prevention.

Data Sources

ATSIP works with several state and federal partners to learn about incidents and to supplement initial reports with additional information. Data sources include:

  • National Response Center (NRC)
  • Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
  • Alaska HAZMAT work group
  • Possibly, we'll have Alaska Occupational Safety and Health on board soon

Case Definition

ATSIP tracks uncontrolled or illegal acute releases of toxic substances. "Acute" may refer to the duration of the incident or to the consequences.

A toxic substance includes, but is not limited to, any element, substance, compound, or mixture including disease-causing agents. Exposure to these substances will or may cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutation, physiological malformations including malformation in reproduction, or physical deformation in such organisms or their offspring. Toxic substances include chemical, biological, radiological, and medical materials.