Over the past two decades, the CAMEO suite has brought first responders from an era in which they gleaned emergency response information from maps and reference books spread out on the hoods of their trucks to a time when up-to-date, comprehensive information on chemical plumes, toxicity risks and susceptibility of chemical mixtures to burn or explode can be displayed with a few strokes on a computer keyboard.
"CAMEO is the most widely used chemical response software in the world," said Capt. Ken Barton, acting director of the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration. "With CAMEO Chemicals, we've responded to user requests to improve access and ease of use of this vital information. While the Web site is newly operational, it already has been placed in service with a major chemical release on the Mississippi River and a dangerous train derailment in New York."
CAMEO Chemicals is an online, easy-to-use version of the most popular components of CAMEO, the chemical database and the reactivity prediction tool. Key features include:
- Extensive Chemical Database: CAMEO Chemicals uses the same chemical database as CAMEO, which contains response recommendations for more than 6,000 chemicals. The database also contains more than 100,000 chemical synonyms and identification numbers, which aid emergency responders in identifying unknown substances during an incident.
- Critical Response Information: The revised search engine and new ranking order for search results makes finding chemicals easier. Data sheets on each chemical provide physical properties, health hazards, information about air and water hazards, and recommendations for firefighting, first aid and spill response.
- Chemical Reactivity: This tool predicts what hazards could arise if chemicals were to mix.
