PHEMC

Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise

The Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) coordinates Federal efforts to enhance chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats (CBRN) and emerging infectious diseases (EID) preparedness from a medical countermeasure (MCM) perspective. The PHEMCE is led by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and includes three primary HHS internal agency partners: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as several interagency partners: the Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

	PHEMCE Strategy and Implementation Plans The HHS PHEMCE Strategy articulates the strategic direction and will guide policies and decisions for the end-to-end mission of the PHEMCE.  The HHS PHEMCE Implementation Plan identifies priorities across the PHEMCE mission areas.   Learn More >>
	​PHEMCE Multiyear Budget The multiyear budget highlights spending plans for the various HHS agencies within the PHEMCE and provides Congress and our external stakeholders with information on funds that have been invested in specific threat areas and future plans for investments in specific threat areas, based on availability of funds.​​ Learn More >>
	2010 PHEMCE Review The vision to combat emerging infectious diseases, pandemics, and bioterrorism is simple: our nation must have the nimble, flexible capability to produce MCMs rapidly in the face of any attack or threat, whether known or unknown, novel or reemerging, natural or intentional.    Learn More >>
	PHEMCE Mission Components The PHEMCE coordinates medical countermeasure-related efforts within HHS and in cooperation with PHEMCE interagency partners.  This is a complex mission space and many Federal agencies have responsibilities that are critical to its success.  Learn More >>
	PHEMCE Governance The PHEMCE evolved to address a wider array of challenges, including CBRN threats, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious diseases.  Under this new paradigm, the PHEMCE is better positioned to address the range of cross-cutting activities that comprise the MCM development process. Learn More >>

NY Times

NY Times

History Channel

NY Times :  “High levels of the carcinogen benzene were detected in a Houston neighborhood close to a Valero Energy refinery, local health officials said Tuesday, heightening concerns over potentially hazardous leaks from oil and gas industry sites damaged by Hurricane Harvey….”

NY Times :  “Public health officials are investigating a case of dangerous liquid mercury that appears to have washed or blown ashore here, east of Houston, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.  Bobby Griffin found the clusters of shiny silver mercury globules scattered across his San Jacinto riverfront property on Tuesday, a few hundred yards from the San Jacinto Waste Pits….”

BBC

“…..The incident comes a day after UN human rights investigators said they had concluded a Syrian Air Force jet had dropped a bomb containing the nerve agent Sarin on a rebel-held town in April.

At least 83 people were killed in that attack, most of them women and children, according to the investigators……”

Washington Post

“…..The plant had 19.5 tons of organic peroxides of various strengths, all of them requiring refrigeration to prevent ignition.
But the power went out, and then the floodwaters came and knocked out the plant’s generators. A liquid nitrogen system faltered. In a last-ditch move, the workers transferred the chemicals to nine huge refrigerated trucks, each with its own generator, and moved the vehicles to a remote section of the plant.
That was doomed to fail, too. Six feet of water swamped the trucks, and the final 11 workers gave up. At 2 a.m. Tuesday, they called for a water evacuation and left the plant to its fate…….”

“…..Texas has more than 1,300 chemical plants, a large number of them in low-lying areas near the coast that are vulnerable to flooding. …..”

NY Times

• “….Runoff from the city’s sprawling petroleum and chemicals complex contains any number of hazardous compounds. Lead, arsenic and other toxic and carcinogenic elements….”
• “….hundreds of thousands of people across the 38 Texas counties affected by Hurricane Harvey use private wells….”
• “….Harris County, home to Houston, hosts more than two dozen current and former toxic waste sites designated under the federal Superfund program. The sites contain what the Environmental Protection Agency calls legacy contamination: lead, arsenic, polychlorinated biphenyls, benzene and other toxic and carcinogenic compounds from industrial activities many years ago…..”
• “….Damaged refineries and other oil facilities have already released more than two million pounds of hazardous substances into the air this week, including benzene, nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds….”

CNN