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About

DERMaL (Dermal Exposure Risk Management and Logic) eToolkit

Version 1.0
March 18, 2015

Product Purpose/Goal/Objectives

The goal of the project is to develop informational resources and tools associated with dermal exposures to chemicals to aid in pre-event planning in addition to during an event. These resources and tools are intended to be used to assist in assessing the hazards associated with dermal contact with chemicals during emergency response activities. By selecting the type of information in this tool, users will be able to access critical information about

How to Use the DERMaL eToolkit

The main page of the dermal e-tool offers a selection of Incident phases (Preparedness, recovery, and response), with hot buttons searches for the response phase (Decon, PPE, Health Info). Upon selection of the incident phase, the search can be narrowed down by the information category and/or type of information. Each resource was reviewed and rated by a team of subject matter experts in the emergency management field. This ensures the most relevant resources (according to selected criteria) are displayed at the top of the list (the relevance is indicated by the shaded circles). The "word or phrase" search box may be used to identify specific resources by the resource name. The DERMaL eToolkit does not produce chemical specific searches.

Acknowledgments/Credits

This Web page was prepared for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) through an interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). ORISE is managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) under DOE contract number DE-AC05-06OR23100. The DERMaL e-tool is a product from the CDC's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR)-funded project Characterizing Dermal Exposures to Chemicals within Emergency Settings. Andrew Maier, Ph.D., CIH, DABT, a toxicologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health at the University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine contributed greatly to the development of the DERMaL eToolkit. Special appreciation is expressed to the following individuals for serving as independent, external reviewers and providing comments that contributed to the development or improvement of this:

Those responsible for the development of DERMaL are listed below:

Project Management:

Name Expertise Agency Degree/Certifications

Naomi Hudson

Epidemiologist

CDC/NIOSH

Dr.P.H., MPH

G. Scott Dotson

Toxicologist, Senior Team Lead of Document Development Branch

CDC/NIOSH

Ph.D., CIH

Pertti (Bert) Hakkinen

Toxicologist, Acting Head, Office of Clinical Toxicology, Specialized Information Services

NLM/NIH

Ph.D., F-SRA

Subject Matter Experts:

Name Expertise Agency Degree/Certifications

Chad H. Dowell

Industrial Hygienist

CDC/NIOSH

MS, CIH

PL Estacio

Medical Director Health Services

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

PhD, MD, MPH

Jennifer Hornsby-Myers

Senior Certified Industrial Hygienist

CDC/NIOSH

MS

CAPT Joselito Ignacio

CBRNE Science Advisor, Industrial Hygienist, Safety & Environmental Health

DHS/FEMA/Response Directorate/CBRNE Office

MA, MPH, CIH, CSP, REHS

Jeffrey J. Leifel

All-Hazards EM Specialist / Fire Instructor / Hazmat Technician / Red Cross

DOE/ORAU

BS, CEM, MEP

Murrey E. Loflin

Investigator-Fire fighter fatality Investigation prevention program

CDC/NIOSH

MS

Steven W. Munsell

Industrial Hygienist, Industrial Hygiene Service

Army Institute of Public Health

MS, CIH

Dina M. Siegel

Industrial Hygiene

Los Alamos National Laboratory

BS, MSc, CIH, CSP, CBSP

Terry Tincher

Chemical Process Safety/Safety

CDC/NCEH

MC, CSP

Ken Uzeloc

Deputy Chief Operations & Technical Teams

Calgary Fire Department

BAppBus: ES, CFO, NFPA 472 Specialist

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  1. Why does the DERMaL e-tool not search by chemical?

    Answer: The DERMaL e-tool is designed such that it can be used during any phase of an emergency. For example, the resources that populate the “Response, Decontamination” query includes the NIOSH Emergency Safety and Health Database and the Medical Management Guidelines for Chemical Agents (by CDC) and Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders(WISER). These resources contain chemical specific information; however, the Field Management of Chemical Casualties Handbook (by USAMRICD), also included in the resource list, contains useful information pertinent to the scenario that is not chemical specific information. To meet emergency responder’s needs for the ability to search for chemical specific information, there is an option to conduct a pre-defined Google search.

  2. Why is the “ID” column not in chronological order?

    Answer: The “ID” is the resource ID. The resource ID does not change with each source. As such, it is possible to find a resource using the ID only.

  3. How are the resources prioritized within the DERMaL e-tool?

    Answer: The DERMaL e-tool is designed to have the most relevant resources appear at the top of the list. As such, the most relevant resources on the web application are illustrated by the shaded circles in the “Relevance” column. The relative rankings for the resources were determined using a Value of Information (VOI) score, which allows for key criteria, i.e. the accessibility and reliability of the data source, to be incorporated into the prioritization of information resources based on the emergency phase and need of the Emergency Management responders. Using subject matter experts (SMEs) recruited from various technical fields, the resources included in the tool’s database were ranked on a set of variables (i.e. quality, accessibility, and popularity). These rankings were used to generate a VOI score that is unique for each resource.

  4. How can I submit a resource to be included in the DERMaL e-tool?

    Answer: Please submit resources that may have been omitted by using the Contact Us tab. Please contact us to comment on the dermal research content (including additional resources and style/design issue), or to report web site problems such as broken links or browser issues.

Publications about DERMaL 

Dotson GS, Hudson NL, Maier A. A decision support framework for characterizing and managing dermal exposures to chemicals during Emergency Management and Operations. J Emerg Manag. 2015 Jul-Aug;13(4):359-80. [PubMed Citation]

DERMaL System Requirements

To fully experience the DERMaL eToolkit, we recommend using a modern web browser, such as:

The DERMaL eToolkit uses JavaScript. JavaScript must be enabled in your browser.

This Web page was prepared for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) through an interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). ORISE is managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities under DOE contract number DE-AC05-06OR23100. This Web site is hosted and maintained by the National Library of Medicine.