SNS Chempack Project

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established the SNS CHEMPACK Project to augment the nation's ability to respond to a nerve agent attack or a significant organophosphate insecticide incident.

The toxic effects of nerve agents may be immediate or delayed for many hours depending on agent and route of exposure. Complete decontamination and immediate pharmaceutical intervention for severely exposed patients are the best countermeasures to reduce mortality. Long-term care in a hospital with significant additional pharmaceutical & supportive care is often required in significant exposures.

The SNS CHEMPACK Project places federally owned and maintained antidote assets in all 50 states across the nation. The forward deployed assets remain federal property and are stored in secured local sites, monitored by the CDC and held in an environmentally controlled location by the host site. The assets remain ready to be activated locally and/or regionally in the event of a nerve agent attack or significant organophosphate event.

The Minnesota Department of Health’s Office of Emergency Preparedness, Resource Management and Tracking Unit coordinates the CHEMPACK Project in Minnesota.

What this means for Minnesota

• Minnesota has selected and staged its CHEMPACK containers based on the amount and variety assets allocated, hazard vulnerability analysis, public health regional planning and placement sites meeting the strict criteria for the Program. Each container can treat an estimated 454 to 1,000 victims depending of the type of CHEMPACK container and the severity of the exposures.
• The antidotes are either replaced by the CDC at or before their expiration date or the assets are eligible for the Shelf Life Extension Program to assure the assets are safe and effective. MDH serves as a liaison to the Project sites and to the CDC during these sustainment operations.
• MDH assists the regional emergency response planning for the CHEMPACK Project assets by providing guidance, review and subject matter expertise.
  

Additional information:

For more information about the SNS CHEMPACK Program in Minnesota, contact sns@health.state.mn.us.

For further information about Bio-Terrorism agents or Chemical Agents, visit the CDC’s Bioterrorism Website.