Chemical Response Laboratory
About the CRL
The Chemical Response Laboratory (CRL) was established in 2004 to provide laboratory support to the State in the event of a chemical mass casualty incident such as a chemical terrorist attack or large-scale chemical release. The CRL is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and organized as part of the State Laboratories Division, Laboratory Emergency Response Program.
CRL is responsible for:
- partnering with key emergency response stakeholders to prepare for, respond to and recover from chemical exposure incidents.
- providing guidance and training to hospitals and clinical laboratories for clinical specimen collection from potentially exposed victims as well as specimen packaging and shipping.
- testing for chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals or their metabolites in blood and urine specimens.
- coordinating specimen transport to CDC and other Chemical-LRN (LRN-C) State Chemical Terrorism Laboratories.
- ensuring secure storage for forensic blood and urine specimens.
- reporting test results to affected hospitals and clinics for proper patient management.
Why Analyze Clinical Specimens for toxic chemicals or their metabolites?
Some chemical warfare agents and other toxic chemicals do not persist in the environment for very long and are very difficult, if not impossible, to detect after awhile. Analyzing clinical specimens collected from people potentially exposed to a chemical warfare agent or toxic industrial chemical is oftentimes necessary to:
- Identify an unknown toxic chemical substance
- Determine exposure levels in sick people
- Establish appropriate therapeutic dosages
- Identify “worried well” individuals
- Assess geographical and temporal extents of exposure, and
- Provide evidentiary information for law enforcement
Chemical Emergency Information for Hospitals and Clinical Laboratories
- Hospital Response Flowchart for a Chemical Terrorism Incident
- CRL Illustrated Job Aid: Chemical Terrorism Event Collection,Packaging & Shipping Instructions for Blood Specimens
- CRL Illustrated Job Aid: Chemical Terrorism Event Collection,Packaging & Shipping Instructions for Urine Specimens
- CDC Illustrated Job Aid: CDC Specimen-Collection Protocol for a Chemical Exposure Event
- CDC Illustrated Job Aid: Instructions for Shipping Blood Specimens to CDC after a Chemical Exposure Event
- CDC Illustrated Job Aid: Instructions for Shipping Urine Specimens to CDC after a Chemical Exposure Event
Chemical Emergency Resources
- Chain of Custody Form
- Chain of Custody Form Instructions
- Blood Shipping Manifest
- Blood Shipping Manifest Instructions
- Urine Shipping Manifest
- Urine Shipping Manifest Instructions
