Chemical Exposure Event
CDC supports local and state public health laboratories in testing human samples following a suspected chemical exposure event. The responsible senior health official may request CDC laboratory help by contacting the CDC Emergency Operations Center. The CDC has the ability to deploy the Chemical Emergency Response Team to establish chain of custody and utilize established LRN-C shipping protocols. Priority samples are then tested using the Rapid Toxic Screen (RTS), a testing panel that can measure 40 samples for 150 high threat chemical agents in 36 hours. The CDC reports RTS findings to the senior health official to assist in detecting, diagnosing, treating and preventing further exposures to chemical agents. For response to a large number of patient samples, the LRN-C can be engaged for rapid, high capacity laboratory testing. LRN-C labs report results to CDC, which then provides a completed report to the responsible senior health official.
