UTMB’s Annual HF Symposium

November 2, 2017 in Galveston Texas

Venue: To be determined

Hydrogen Fluoride (HF) or Hydrofluoric Acid is used in large volumes in our region. If released into the atmosphere, HF produces a persistent, heavier than air vapor cloud that is toxic to humans, animals, and plants. UTMB Galveston considers HF to be the number one priority chemical risk in our preparedness program, so each year UTMB convenes an ‘HF Symposium’ – bringing together national-level experts in various aspects of preparedness and response. We review the latest thinking regarding HF and in the afternoon we conduct a Whole Community / Healthcare Coalition tabletop exercise using scenarios developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory supercomputer modeling of the release  plume and estimates  of casualties. This year’s exercise will also benefit from modeling done by the  Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center and by the National Weather Service. Calcium Gluconate is needed to treat HF injuries, but it is on the national shortage list so for this year’s exercise, we will estimate the volume of Calcium Gluconate needed based on the number of injured and test whether we can effectively respond to the exercise scenario.

We will conduct a regional exercise with area hospitals, industry, and responders on 3 Nov, and the UTMB students plan to hold a Disaster Day on 4 November (modeled after a TAMU annual event) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtivNCGJdkI )

So please mark your calendars for the HF Symposium on 2 November. We will have information on the venue shortly.

For more information contact: Mike Mastrangelo, Program Director, Institutional Preparedness

UTMB Galveston, Cell – 512 705-8112