Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism: Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs) and Toxic Industrial Materials (TIMs) - September 2026
Includes a Live Web Event on 09/08/2026 at 8:50 AM (EDT)
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Register
- Non-member - Tier I - Free!
- Non-member - Tier II - Free!
- Non-member - Tier III - Free!
- Non-member - Tier IV - Free!
- Member - Tier I - Free!
- Member - Tier II - Free!
- Member - Tier III - Free!
- Member - Tier IV - Free!
Overview
The Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism course is a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-approved awareness-level training course addressing the medical and psychological impact of industrial chemicals used as terrorist weapons. Since 2005, ACMT has offered this course over 100 times to more than 10,000 attendees throughout the US and internationally.
Target Audience
1-Day Course Designed for:
- Pre-Hospital First Responders (EMTs and Paramedics)
- Public Health Professionals
- Law Enforcement
- Emergency Providers
This 10-module course will utilize a symptom-based clinical approach to describe the medical impact of various chemical poisons. It will provide a framework to enhance recognition of the common health effects of apparently disparate chemical toxins, describe the risk to various healthcare workers, and introduce clinical and public health management strategies.
Course Objectives:
- Identify the common health effects (toxidromes) caused by chemical exposures.
- Discuss safe and effective management strategies for chemical poison exposures.
- Identify resources that can be used throughout different stages of a chemical public health emergency.
- Describe how healthcare workers along the trajectory of a chemical event can effectively collaborate to offer comprehensive care.
Continuing Education: Interprofessional continuing education credits through the CDC are available.
Agenda | Tuesday, September 8
8:50 AM - 9:00 AM ET Welcome & Opening Remarks*
CAPT Jill Shugart
Associate Director
Coordinating Office for Environmental Readiness, Response and Recovery (COER3)
National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Paul Wax, MD, FACMT
Executive Director, American College of Medical Toxicology
9:00 AM - 9:40 AM ET Toxic Disasters: Beyond Conventional Chemical Weapons
Charles McKay, MD, FACMT
Medical Toxicologist, Physician Consultant
9:40 AM - 10:00 AM ET Chemical Explosions
Daniel Nogee, MD, MHS
Chief of Consultation, Chemical Casualty Care Division
US Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD)
10:00 AM - 10:40 AM ET Toxic Gases as Threats
Bryan Wilson, MD
Medical Director, Southeast Texas Poison Center
University of Texas Medical Branch
10:40 AM - 10:50 AM ET Break*
10:50 AM - 11:30 AM ET Why are Cyanide and Fumigants So Worrisome?
Sukhi Atti, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Associate Medical Director, Alabama Poison Information Center
11:30 AM - 12:10 PM ET Food, Water and Medication as Vehicles for Toxic Threats
Emily Kiernan, DO, FAACT, FACEP
Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine, Medical Toxicology, and Addiction Medicine
Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
12:10 PM - 1:00 PM ET Clinical Neurotoxicology of Chemical Threats
Alaina Steck, MD, FACMT, FASAM
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
1:00 PM - 1:30 PM ET Lunch*
1:30 PM - 2:10 PM ET Delayed Toxic Syndromes
Michael Beuhler, MD
Medical Director, North Carolina Poison Control
2:10 PM - 2:50 PM ET The Psychological Impact of Mass Exposures
Matthew Dernbach, MD
Addiction Psychiatrist, Carilion Clinic
2:50 PM - 3:00 PM ET Break*
3:00 PM - 3:40 PM ET After Event Population Monitoring: Pros and Cons
Hannah Hays, MD, FACEP, FAACT, FACMT
Medical Director, Central Ohio Poison Center
Chief of Toxicology, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
3:40 PM - 4:40 PM ET Scenario-Based Discussion
Sukhi Atti, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Associate Medical Director, Alabama Poison Information Center
Michael Beuhler, MD
Medical Director, North Carolina Poison Control
Matthew Dernbach, MD
Addiction Psychiatrist, Carilion Clinic
Hannah Hays, MD, FACEP, FAACT, FACMT
Medical Director, Central Ohio Poison Center
Chief of Toxicology, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Emily Kiernan, DO, FAACT, FACEP
Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine, Medical Toxicology, and Addiction Medicine
Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
Charles McKay, MD, FACMT
Associate Clinical Professor, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Daniel Nogee, MD, MHS
Chief of Consultation, Chemical Casualty Care Division
US Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD)
Alaina Steck, MD, FACMT, FASAM
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
Paul Wax, MD, FACMT
Executive Director, American College of Medical Toxicology
Bryan Wilson, MD
Medical Director, Southeast Texas Poison Center
University of Texas Medical Branch
4:40 PM - 4:50 PM ET Closing Remarks/Adjourn*
Charles McKay, MD, FACMT
Associate Clinical Professor, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Paul Wax, MD, FACMT
Executive Director, American College of Medical Toxicology
Note: Sessions marked with an asterisk (*) are not eligible for continuing education (CE). CE will not be provided for scheduled breaks or lunch periods.
Sukhshant (Sukhi) Atti, MD
Associate Medical Director
Alabama Poison Information Center
Sukhi Atti is an Assistant Professor and practices Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology. After finishing medical school at St. George’s University, she pursued residency (Emergency Medicine) at Beth Israel Medical Center, then a fellowship (Disaster Medicine) at Beth Israel Deaconess and a second fellowship (Medical Toxicology) at Emory University. She moved to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the summer of 2020 to work with the emergency medicine residency and medical toxicology programs. She currently is a staff toxicologist with the Alabama Poison Information Center and the course director for Medical Toxicology for UAB emergency medicine residents and medical students.
Michael Beuhler, MD
Medical Director
North Carolina Poison Control
Matthew Dernbach, MD
Addiction Psychiatrist
Carilion Clinic
Hannah Hays, MD, FACEP, FAACT, FACMT
Medical Director
Central Ohio Poison Center
Hannah Hays, MD, FACEP, FAACT, FACMT, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at The Ohio State University, Chief of Medical Toxicology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Medical Director of the Central Ohio Poison Center. She is triple board-certified in Emergency Medicine, Medical Toxicology, and Addiction Medicine and serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology. Her work focuses on toxicologic emergency preparedness, poison-center surveillance, and response to large-scale chemical incidents. She has participated in responses including the East Palestine train derailment, the Vinton County nitric acid release, and the My Way Trading fire, with roles in exposure assessment, population monitoring, clinical guidance, and risk communication.
Emily Kiernan, DO, FACMT, FAACT, FACEP
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology
Emory University School of Medicine
Dr. Emily Kiernan is an Assistant Professor at Emory University School of Medicine. She is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician who recently completed a medical toxicology fellowship at Emory University/CDC. She has served as the fellow co-chair for the AACT Radiation Special Interest Section group as well as a chair in the ACMT Fellow-in-training association.
Charles McKay, MD, FACMT
Associate Clinical Professor
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Dr. McKay was trained in Anatomic and Surgical Pathology, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Medical Toxicology and was a Medical Director of Occupational Health and Medical Review Officer for a hospital system during more than 30 years of clinical practice, during which he provided toxicology consultation at 3 hospitals, directed a medical toxicology fellowship training program, and provided medical oversight of a regional poison control center. He provides medical legal consultation across the country on toxicology-related issues, and has provided education and consultation in chemical preparedness, including via the ACMT Chemical Agents of Opportunity course, for more than 20 years.
Daniel Nogee, MD, MHS
Chief of Consultation, Chemical Casualty Care Division
U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense
Dr. Daniel Nogee is a board-certified medical toxicologist and emergency medicine physician currently serving as the Chief of Consultation within the Chemical Casualty Care Division (CCCD) of the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD). Dr. Nogee earned his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. While in medical school, he completed a research year at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, MD through the Medical Research Scholars Program. Dr. Nogee completed internship and residency in emergency medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and completed a Masters in Health Sciences through the Yale University School of Medicine as well as a research fellowship in emergency medicine as part of the Yale Emergency Scholars program. Dr. Nogee completed fellowship training in Medical Toxicology through the Emory University School of Medicine-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Medical Toxicology Fellowship in Atlanta, GA. While serving as a medical officer for the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health he was deployed as a field investigator for an outbreak of non-viral hepatitis in the Las Vegas area.
During medical school, Dr. Nogee commissioned as an officer in the United States Army/Maryland Army National Guard. He is currently assigned as a Field Surgeon with the 224th Medical Company (Area Support) in Olney, MD. During 2020 he deployed in support of COVID-19 response efforts in Maryland. In 2021, he deployed to the Middle East as a Battalion Surgeon with the 29th Infantry Division Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion.
Alaina R. Steck, MD, FACMT, FASAM
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
Emory University
Dr. Alaina Steck is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine in the Emory School of Medicine. She is board-certified in Emergency Medicine, Medical Toxicology, and Addiction Medicine, and practices at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Her focus is on medical education at the undergraduate and graduate levels; she currently serves as the Pharmacology Thread Director for Emory's School of Medicine and as Core Faculty in both the Medical Toxicology and Addiction Psychiatry fellowships at Emory.
Paul M. Wax, MD, DFACMT
Executive Director
American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT)
Dr. Wax is the Executive Director of the American College of Medical Toxicology. He received his B.A from Dartmouth College, his M.D. from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, his Emergency Medicine training at the UCLA Hospitals, and his Medical Toxicology training at Bellevue Medicine Center / New York University. He is Board-certified in both Medical Toxicology and Emergency Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Medical Toxicology.
Bryan Wilson, MD
Medical Director
Southeast Texas Poison Center
Dr. Bryan Wilson is a medical toxicologist. He completed medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, a combined emergency medicine and pediatrics residency at the University of Arizona, and his medical toxicology fellowship at the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center. He is currently Medical Director of the Southeast Texas Poison Center.
Registration Rates
ACMT Member | Free |
Non-member | Free |
Registration will include:
- Access to the on-demand recordings of all lectures for 2 years
- Continuing Education (provided at no cost through CDC via TRAIN) - PENDING.
- Downloadable Attendance Certificate
Please note that for proprietary reasons, PDFs of the presentation slides will not be available for download. You will have access to an on-demand recording of the course for two years from the event date.
Interested in becoming an ACMT Member? Contact our Membership Manager at [email protected]. Learn more at: www.acmt.net/membership
First time attending an ACMT Course?
We're happy to have you!
Please use the following link to create an ACMT non-member account to register for this course.
Continuing Education
Objectives
- Identify the common health effects (toxidromes) caused by chemical exposures.
- Discuss safe and effective management strategies for chemical poison exposures.
- Identify resources that can be used throughout different stages of a chemical public health emergency.
- Describe how healthcare workers along the trajectory of a chemical event can effectively collaborate to offer comprehensive care.
Available CE Categories
CME: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designates this live activity for a maximum of 6.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
CNE: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designates this activity for 6.75 nursing contact hours.
CPE: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated this (Knowledge-based) event for pharmacists to receive 0.675 CEUs in pharmacy education. The Universal Activity Number is pending.
Once credit is claimed, an unofficial statement of credit is immediately available on CDC TRAIN. Official credit will be uploaded within 60 days on the NABP/CPE Monitor.
CEU: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is authorized by IACET to offer 0.7 CEU's for this program.
CECH: Sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designed for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 7 total Category I continuing education contact hours. Maximum advanced level continuing education contact hours available are 7. Continuing Competency credits available are 7. CDC provider number 98614.
Instructions for Obtaining CE
To receive continuing education (CE) for WC4898-Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism: Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs) and Toxic Industrial Materials (TIMs), please visit CDC TRAIN and search for the course in the Course Catalog using [WC4898]. Follow the steps below by 10/08/2026.
1. Register for and complete the course. The registration code is acmt2.
2. Pass the post-assessment at 70%.
- All CDC continuing education courses allow two attempts to pass the post-assessment. If you do not pass on the first attempt, you have 30 days to retake it. Failing both attempts will result in a failed course status, and the course cannot be retaken during the current accreditation period. Please refer to the course description page for specific start and end dates.
3. Complete the evaluation.
4. Visit Your Learning to access your certificates and transcript.
Hardware/Software Requirements
Computer or Other Internet-Enabled Device; Internet Connection; Browser or Zoom Application.
Materials
None.
Prerequisites
None.
Format
This activity is Web-based/Web on Demand.
Fees
There are no fees for CE.
Accreditation Statement
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT), and Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Disclosure
In compliance with continuing education requirements, all planners and presenters/moderators must disclose all financial relationships, in any amount, with ineligible companies over the previous 24 months as well as any use of unlabeled product(s) or products under investigational use.
CDC, our planners, and presenters/moderators wish to disclose they have no financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Presentations will not include any discussion of the unlabeled use of a product or a product under investigational use.
CDC did not accept financial or in-kind support from ineligible companies for this continuing education activity.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, age, disability, religion, or sex. To learn more visit: https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/nondiscrimination/index.html.
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