Safe Oversight of Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals in Disaster Management
Chapter from the book:
Sümer,
E.
H.
&
Nur,
N.
(eds.)
2026.
Environmental Health in Disasters: A Conceptual Framework, Health Services Management, and Multidisciplinary Approaches.
Synopsis
Disasters are crises that damage public and environmental health as a result of natural events such as earthquakes, volcanic activities, floods, and hurricanes or large-scale anthropogenic accidents. Safe management of pharmaceuticals and chemicals during a disaster is a critical component of disaster preparedness and safeguarding health. The production, storage, and transport of hazardous materials carry a constant risk of accidents. In disasters, these risks increase exponentially and lead to catastrophic results if they are not managed well. Therefore, emergency response plans must be ready. Learning lessons from past responses helps in creating plans for the safe management of medicines and chemicals in disasters. The Kahramanmaraş and İzmit earthquakes in Turkiye, the Gumi hydrofluoric acid leak disaster in South Korea, hurricanes and earthquakes around the world, and the COVID-19 pandemic which caused many deaths both in Turkiye and globally not only emphasize the need to be prepared but also provide ideas about what should be done before and during disasters. In disasters, health experts should have knowledge on how to manage medicines and chemicals safely. It is the duty of health professionals to evaluate the appropriate storage and distribution conditions of medicines. Identifying the potential risks of chemicals and pharmaceuticals on the environment and human health, and managing medical waste, chemicals, and radiopharmaceuticals according to scientific guidelines are essential. Poorly managed waste causes the development of resistant pathogens, food toxicity, decrease in biodiversity, serious chronic diseases, cancer, and genetic damage. In conclusion, ensuring pharmaceutical and chemical safety along with necessary infrastructure conditions will prevent secondary public health disasters caused by the mismanagement of these substances.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Ergün Haldun Sümer- Naim Nur; Serkan Çelikgün- İmran Şahin Düz- Sanem Nemmezi Karaca- Naim Nur- Nagehan Ekici Koşaroğlu- Nurcan Bağlam- İrem Akova- Şahin Yıldırım- İbrahim Furkan Sarkım- Zeynep Sümer- Yaşam Deniz- Nuriye Dinç- Yeltekin Demirel- Emre Sarı- Elif Alıcı Bıyık- Veysel Kenan Çelik- Yusuf Kenan Tekin- İlhan Korkmaz- Gülaçan Tekin- Ergün Sümer- Gülay Yıldırım- Sema Merve Sümer- Ferdağ Yıldırım