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For Release: November 22, 2005

Contra Costa is home to numerous refineries and chemical plants making the potential for accidental emissions a reality. A new episode of a locally produced television show focuses on the County's unique Industrial Safety Ordinance that works to prevent the release of hazardous chemicals and features a safety inspection by the County's Hazardous Materials Management Program.

The Spanish-language show premiers December 1 and 8 at 3:30 p.m. and December 2 and 9 at 5 p.m. ¡Vida Sana en Vivo! airs on Contra Costa Television, channel 27 for Comcast viewers and 32 for Astound viewers in Contra Costa. (An English version--Get Ready, Get Healthy--will air December 5 at 7:30 p.m. and December 8 at 10:30 a.m.) The broadcast features Eric Jonsson, a Hazardous Materials Specialist with the Contra Costa Health Services Hazardous Materials Programs, and host Elizabeth de Dios with the Richmond Fire Department. They discuss how the Industrial Safety Ordinance works to prevent chemical emissions and what the public can do to get involved.

"The Industrial Safety Ordinance is really the fruit of the community's efforts. With the number of releases that occurred in the nineties, the community mobilized to get this ordinance passed by the Board of Supervisors. As a result we now have an ordinance that is at the forefront of preventing releases and is a role model for the rest of the country," said Jonsson.

The show will also discuss the importance of community involvement and what to do in case of a chemical emergency. "It's important that folks know what's happening in their local refineries and plants and it's also important that they know how to shelter-in-place during an emergency," said Jonsson.

Other topics that will air this month on Vida Sana en Vivo include First Aid, Emergency Preparedness for Vulnerable Populations and Asthma Triggers.

More information about ¡Vida Sana en Vivo! and the Industrial Safety Ordinance is available online at cchealth.org.

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