This year’s award presentation took place on August 19 as part of the fall 2024 meeting of the American Chemical Society in Denver, Colorado, where two OR&R scientists also presented on different areas of environmental toxicology. Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) scientist Dalina Thrift-Viveros, who serves as the primary chemistry subject matter expert for the CAMEO suite, accepted the award on behalf of the team. The OR&R development team members on the CAMEO team currently include Program Manager Brianne Connolly, Dalina Thrift-Viveros, Jerry Muhasky, Melodie Hardwick, Michael Katz, Mike Orr, and Naomi Wilkins.

The award’s presenter emphasized that the CAMEO team has made significant contributions to the safety community since the CAMEO software suite tools were first introduced in 1986, becoming the most widely used chemical emergency response and planning tool in the U.S. They also highlighted that the uses of the CAMEO suite go beyond emergency response by providing safety resources for universities, environmental groups, and state and local government agencies. 

Developed jointly by NOAA and the EPA for over 35 years and provided to users at no cost, the CAMEO suite offers vital tools that include:

• An air hazard model program (ALOHA®),
• A hazardous chemical database and reactivity prediction tool (CAMEO Chemicals),
• A GIS mapping tool (MARPLOT®), and
• Two database programs for managing data about chemical facilities in local communities (CAMEO Data Manager and Tier2 Submit™).

During the award’s acceptance, Dalina presented on how the CAMEO software suite is used to mitigate hazards before and during chemical pollution emergencies. As the Chemistry Team Lead in OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, Dalina has first-hand experience using CAMEO tools to provide scientific support expertise during chemical incidents.