Chemical Facility Information System for Hawaii (CFISH) Final Report

Abstract

The computer program, the Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations (known as CAMEO), contains detailed information about more than 3,000 chemicals, allows air plume modeling, and contains databases with much related information. While CAMEO provides a ready base of information on hazardous materials, it is not designed for use by the general public. In the interest of making the chemical information contained in CAMEO available to the private citizen and thereby meeting the public's right-to-know objectives as expressed under SARA TItle lIl, the Department of Health with funds provided by the Environmental Protection Agency has contracted with the University of Hawaii, Environmental Center, to develop a user-friendly computer program based on the chemical and facility data contained in CAMEO. The new program, CFISH, for Chemical Facility Information System for Hawaii, is designed to facilitate public awareness of the storage, location, use, or accidental spillage of hazardous chemicals in the community. The CFISH program permits the public to examine some 590 chemical facilities within the State with regard to what chemicals are used in their operations, the amounts released to the environment as a routine component of that use, and records of any spills or other accidental releases. The following report reviews our efforts to develop the Chemical Facility Information System for Hawaii (CFISH) and the means taken to educate the public on its content and availability .