CDC’s Assessment of Chemical Exposures (ACE) team activation

The Incident Command System (ICS) failed to contact CDC’s Assessment of Chemical Exposures (ACE) team in evaluating the exposure to the community in conjunction with the Waxahachie chemical incident.

 A toxic substance release qualifies for ACE assistance when two conditions are met:

• 100 people or more may have been exposed, and

• Exposure levels are high enough to cause acute health effects

 All of above conditions were met yet the ACE team was not contacted by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Specifically, the DSHS state epidemiologist must issue or approve the request.

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