Emergency Response Assistance Program

The Emergency Response Assistance Program started as an off shoot of the Louisiana Hazardous Substance Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) program (2001 - 2009), which was replaced by the Louisiana Toxic Substance Incidents Program (LaTSIP) (2010 - 2013). As part of these programs, SEET staff would receive 30-50 reports per day (approximately 12,000 per year) from the Louisiana State Police (LSP) and the National Response Center (NRC) containing information on chemical releases. SEET Emergency Response staff would review the reports and provide the nine LDH regions of the state with copies of all the LSP and NRC reports specific to their region. If follow up public health action was necessary, the program would provide an emergency response packet consisting of information about the event, the chemical(s) of concern, health effects and medical management, and map(s) of the area, which display the incident location, points of interest, hospitals, schools, day care centers, nursing homes, and current contact information. A Material Safety Data Sheet(s) may also be sent, when all necessary information was provided. Although Louisiana no longer participates in these federal programs, SEET continues with the Emergency Response Assistance portion of those programs.