UTMB Health and Valero conducted a Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) Burn Exercise in November of 2021 as part of a follow-up from an actual HF incident earlier that year. The goal of this annual exercise is to improve preparedness and familiarity with procedures and resources so that our combined response is the most effective it can be. 

Scenario: Two Valero employees received an occupational HF exposure (including contact with the eyes). The employees were deconned on scene and received some treatment during transport to the UTMB Galveston emergency department where they were treated in the burn unit. 

Participants: UTMB Health, Valero, Galveston County Health District, Southeast Texas Poison Center

Hydrofluoric Acid Burn Exercise with Valero

Chemical Industry Symposia

This effort was built around the idea of whole community preparedness. Symposia address various aspects, including healthcare, industry response, using modeling as a preparedness tool (and the limitations of modeling), and focusing on our priority risk chemicals. The symposium was put on hold due to Covid19, but in 2021 UTMB resumed doing chemical drills with industry. 

Participation came from over 40 different entities, including city officials, county officials, state officials, various universities and independent school districts, fire departments, police departments, health departments, industry (e.g. Marathon, BP), the US Coast Guard, hospitals, and etcetera.