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CAMEO: Frequent Questions

Here are answers to some questions people have asked about:

CAMEO FAQs

Here are answers to some questions people have asked about CAMEO:

Q. I'm using Internet Explorer 5+ and the Acrobat Reader 4.x plug-in on a Windows PC. When I try to download the CAMEO, MARPLOT, or ALOHA manual (all are PDF documents), my browser freezes. What's going on? (July 2, 2001)

A. This seems to be a problem with the Acrobat Reader plug-in itself. There are some workarounds you can try:

- Download any of the manual files to your hard drive from its webpage link, so that you can view it directly in Acrobat Reader, as follows: (1) right-click the link to the file, then choose Save Target As from the pop-up menu; (2) in the Save As dialog box, select a location on your hard drive, then click Save. 

- Start Acrobat Reader, choose Preferences/General from the File menu, then uncheck Web Browser Integration. The process of viewing a PDF will be a little more complicated--but your browser won't crash! 

Q. I just installed my new copy of CAMEO 1.2 for Windows--but I can't get it started! Each time I try to start it up, it asks for my "User Name" and "Password." What would those be? (October 12, 1999)

A. When you start CAMEO for Windows for the first time, in the User Name box, type "rapid" (without quotes), leave the Password box empty, then click OK. (You can change your user name and password later, if you'd like.) For more help getting started with CAMEO, try following the CAMEO for Windows 1.2 Guided Tour, which you'll find on your CAMEO CD or on the Tutorials page.

Q. When I printed out the CAMEO, ALOHA, and MARPLOT manuals, the text on the cover pages printed out as Courier, and doesn't look very nice. Is there something I can do about this? (October 12, 1999)

A. You're probably using an out-of-date version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Upgrading to Acrobat Reader 4.0, then printing the cover pages again, should solve your problem (download Acrobat Reader 4.0 from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html) Exit EPA .

Q. I get an error when I try to install MARPLOT, ALOHA, and CAMEO on my Windows computer. The error message talks about " ISINST30". What's the problem? (October 12, 1999)

A. If you have the new, Microsoft Intellimouse (using the Microsoft Intellipoint 2.2 software) and Windows 98, there's a conflict with the CAMEO suite of installers (this problem is described in document Q102403 on the InstallShield website, http://www.installshield.com) Exit EPA .

We're working on a permanent fix for the installers. Meanwhile, there's a workaround:

  1. Create a temporary directory on your computer, and copy the installer files from the CD to this directory.
  2. Restart your computer in safe mode (see the instructions below).
  3. Run SetUp from your temporary directory (open up your temporary directory, then double-click Setup.exe).
  4. After installation, delete the temporary directory, then restart your computer as you usually do (not in safe mode).

To start Windows in safe mode:

  1. Click Start, then click Shut Down.
  2. Click Restart, click OK, then, when you hear a "beep," immediately press and hold down the CTRL key until the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu appears. On some computers, you'll need to hold down F8 rather than CTRL. (Wait for the "beep" to press the key; if you hold the key down right from the start of rebooting, you may get a "key stuck" message.)
  3. Type in the number for Safe mode, then press ENTER.
Q. Can I use CAMEO's Screening and Scenarios module to make the Offsite Consequence Analyses required under the Risk Management Program?

A. No. Screening and Scenarios looks like an appropriate tool for your Risk Management Plan (RMP) consequence analyses, but it's not. We've prepared a report at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) explaining why you shouldn't use it for your RMP work, and suggesting some alternatives.

Q. CAMEO doesn't run on my fast, new Windows computer (450 MHz or faster). What's the problem?

A. Our apologies--this is a bug in FoxPro 2.6 (the underlying software that CAMEO for Windows was developed with), and we're looking for a solution to it. For now,

  • if your operating system is Windows 95 or 98, there is a workaround: you'll see an error message when you first start CAMEO. Click Ignore in order to run CAMEO.
  • if your operating system is NT, there is no workaround at this time.
Q. Will NOAA and EPA ever make CAMEO the same in both Windows and the Macintosh?

A. Both ALOHA and MARPLOT look and act almost identically on both platforms. For the next major CAMEO upgrade, making CAMEO functionally identical on both platforms is a top priority for us.

Q. What's the difference between ALOHA and CAMEO's Screening and Scenarios calculations? And why are they different?

A. They're intended for very different purposes. Here's an explanation of just what the differences are. One of the most important things to know is that you can use ALOHA for RMP consequence analyses, but you can't use CAMEO's Screening and Scenarios module for your RMP work--here's why at NOAA .

Q. I'm using CAMEO on a Macintosh, and I'm trying to search for a chemical. I know its CAS number, but not its name. When I search for its CAS Number, CAMEO doesn't find the card for the chemical. But it's an important hazardous chemical; I was sure it would be in CAMEO. Is there another way to check?

A. Generally, CAS numbers include hyphens; they're of the form 11-22-3. But, for technical reasons, the hyphens aren't included in any CAS numbers stored in CAMEO on the Macintosh (they are included in CAMEO for Windows; when searching for a CAS number in CAMEO for Windows, you must include the hyphens). When you search in CAMEO on a Macintosh for a particular CAS number, be sure not to include the hyphens when you type it in. CAMEO should then have no problem searching for it.

Problems Working With Chemical Records

Q. What's a "Preferred Chemical Name," and what's a synonym?

A. The Preferred Chemical Name is the name we've assigned to each of the 6080 unique chemical records in CAMEO. Since most chemicals are known by more than one name, and some are known by many names, we've tried to choose the single best name for each chemical to use as its preferred name. We then refer to all the other names for that chemical as synonyms. Most often, for the preferred name for a given chemical, we've used the name listed in the Title III List of Lists. For the preferred names for other chemicals, we've chosen names assigned by the U.S. Department of Transportation (as listed in 49 Code of Federal Regulations at GPO 172-- Subpart B--Table of Hazardous Materials and Special Provisions, and in the DOT Emergency Response Guide at the Department of Transportation (DOT)). Less often, we've chosen names from a few other sources as well.

Q.  When I choose "Chemical Information" from the File menu of CAMEO for Windows, I see a spreadsheet containing a long list of names of CAMEO chemicals. In the spreadsheet, there's a column titled "Preferred Chemical Name?," which contains a lot of "Fs," and a few "Ts." What does this column represent?

A. A "T" in this column next to the name of a chemical indicates that this name is the preferred name for that chemical. An "F" indicates that the name is a synonym for that preferred name. There are many more synonyms than preferred names in CAMEO's chemical list. For example, the list contains more than 30 names for ammonia in various forms, including names in French as well as English. For most of those names, an "F" in the "Preferred Chemical Name?" column indicates that each of these names is a synonym. For just seven of the names, including "Ammonia (anhydrous)," "Ammonia (Conc. 20% or Greater)," "Ammonia solution with more than 50% ammonia," and four others, a "T" indicates that these are preferred names for different forms of ammonia.

Q.  How can I find out the Preferred Chemical Name for a chemical I'm working with?

A. From CAMEO's File menu, choose Chemical Information, then find the name of your chemical in the list (from the View menu, choose Find All or Quick Chemicals). If a "T" appears next to this name in the "Preferred Chemical Name?" column, then the name you're using is the Preferred Chemical Name for this substance. Otherwise, it's a synonym. If it's a synonym, double-click on the name to see the record for your chemical. The Preferred Chemical Name for this chemical appears in the Chemical Name box at the top of the record, and you'll see the synonym you've used in the box just below.

Q.  I searched in CAMEO for Windows for the record for a particular chemical. What I got was the record for a chemical with a different name. Why?

A. The chemical name that you used in your search was a synonym, rather than the preferred name for that chemical. For example, if you had searched for "ammonia gas," and then double-clicked on that name to view the record for this chemical, you would have seen "Ammonia (Anhydrous)" in the Chemical Name box at the top of the record. In such a case, it's easy to check that you're viewing the correct record: for this example, just below the Chemical Name box, you'd see the text, "Synonym selected: Ammonia Gas." In this example, "Ammonia gas" is a synonym for the substance with "Ammonia (Anhydrous)" as its preferred name.

Q. I'm creating a new chemical inventory record for my facility, using CAMEO for Windows. I typed the name of my chemical in the Chemical Name box, then pressed Tab (or Enter). CAMEO then showed me a list of chemical names to choose from. The list included the name I typed in, shown multiple times. Which one should I pick?

A. This is happening because the name you typed in is a synonym, rather than the preferred name for your chemical, and because this synonym is used for different forms of that chemical. For example, if you were trying to add a chemical inventory record for methanal, once you had typed in this name and pressed Tab, you would have seen a list containing "methanal" four times, as well as "methanal solution." To solve this problem, you'll need to find out your chemical's preferred name BEFORE you create a new chemical inventory record for it. To do this for methanal,

1. From CAMEO's File menu, choose Chemical Information. Then, from the View menu, choose Find All. For the Field to Search in, choose Chemical Name. For the Value to Search For, type "methanal." Press Set. CAMEO will display a list containing "methanal" four times, as well as "methanal solution"--the same list you would have seen when you tried to create a new inventory record.

2. Double-click on the first name in the list (the first listing of "methanal") to see the record for this substance. In the record, check the Chemical Name box to see the preferred name for this chemical--it's "Formaldehyde (environmentally hazardous substances, solid, N.O.S.)." To see more information about this form of methanal, click RIDS. You'll find that substances with this preferred name "are generally solids containing formaldehyde."

3. If this doesn't look like the form of methanal you have at your facility (for example, you may be storing a solution of methanal rather than a solid substance), then check the records for the remaining occurrences of "methanal" in your list. To see the next record, first click Cancel if necessary to close the RIDS window, then click the red triangle in your toolbar to advance to the next record. It's for "Formaldehyde, 37% solution." Press RIDS again, if necessary, to see more details about this particular form of methanal.

4. Continue checking the remaining records for all the substances known by the synonym "methanal," until you've identified the one that best describes the form of methanal at your facility (click the red and blud triangles in your toolbar to go forwards and backwards between records). Return to that record, then carefully write down the preferred name for this substance, exactly as it appears in the Chemical Name box.

5. Now, create a new chemical inventory record for your facility, as you did before. This time, in the Chemical Name box, carefully type the complete preferred name that you just wrote down, then press Tab. CAMEO should show you a list containing just that name. Click Select to create an inventory record for this chemical. For example, if you had determined that "Formaldehyde, 37% solution" was the preferred name for the form of methanal at your facility, you would have typed this preferred name in the Chemical Name box, pressed Tab, and then clicked Select to create a record for it.

ALOHA FAQs

Answers to questions people have asked about ALOHA at NOAA.

MARPLOT FAQs

 Here are answers to questions people have asked about MARPLOT:

Q. When I tried to delete an object in MARPLOT while CAMEO was running, all objects on that layer except the selected object were deleted. What is going on? (October 12, 1999)

A. We have identified a serious bug in MARPLOT (Windows and Macintosh), which occurs only when CAMEO is running: If you select an object on the CAMEO Map and attempt to delete it, all objects on that layer except the selected object will be deleted.

You now can download a new, fixed version of MARPLOT (Windows and Macintosh) Every MARPLOT user should install this fixed version as soon as possible.

Until you have installed the new, fixed version of MARPLOT, avoid deleting objects from MARPLOT layers while CAMEO is running. To further protect yourself, back up your CAMEO Map folder frequently. If you experience this bug, first save a copy of everything in your CAMEO Map folder (since it may be possible to recover the deleted objects), then go to the "Contact Us" page, and send us a message letting us know that you have experienced the problem and telling us how to contact you; we'll then help you try to recover your deleted objects.

Q. I just downloaded the new MARPLOT installer. When I try to run it, I get the following error message: "An error occurred during the move data process: -132". What's wrong? (January 6, 2000)

A. You probably downloaded the installer into your MARPLOT folder, and then tried to run it from there (it becomes confused when it tries to update that folder). Just move the installer to a location on your hard disk OTHER than inside your MARPLOT folder (we recommend moving it to the top level of your hard disk, or to your desktop, if you're using a Macintosh). Then run it again. It should work fine once it has been moved.

Q. Where can I get MARPLOT maps?

A. You can download free MARPLOT maps of U.S. counties, boroughs, and/or territories from the MARPLOT Maps Page. 

Q. What's Landview, and how is it related to MARPLOT?

A. LandView incorporates both MARPLOT and the LandView database management system. You can use LandView not only to view maps of U.S. counties or other geographic areas, but also to see environmental and census data describing those counties.  You can see a description of Landview, and order a CD containing Windows and Macintosh versions of LandView from the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Q. I'm not in the U.S. Is there a way for me to use MARPLOT?

A. Yes. We've written a report describing several options at NOAA that you can try.

Q. My ALOHA footprint doesn't appear on my MARPLOT map. Why not?

You probably set up a release scenario in ALOHA, then started MARPLOT, clicked on a location on your map, and chose Set Source Point from the ALOHA menu (in MARPLOT's Sharing menu). But there's one more step you need to do: before ALOHA can place a footprint on your MARPLOT map, a footprint needs to be displayed in ALOHA. To solve your problem, in ALOHA, choose Footprint from the Display menu, then return to MARPLOT. You should now see the footprint on your map.

Q. My computer crashed while I had an ALOHA footprint plotted on a map in MARPLOT (Windows or Macintosh). Now whenever I reopen the map, I see the old footprint on the map, and I can't delete it; MARPLOT tells me that the ALOHA layer is locked. What do I do now?

A. To delete a footprint remaining on a map after a crash, delete the entire ALOHA layer (open the map again in MARPLOT, choose Layer List from MARPLOT's List menu, click on the lock icon for the ALOHA layer to unlock the layer, then click Delete while the ALOHA layer is highlighted in the layer list). A new ALOHA layer will automatically be added next time you plot a footprint on the map.

Q. I'm running MARPLOT with ALOHA while I respond to a spill, and I'm using a SAM to collect weather data. I've had a footprint displayed in MARPLOT for the last half hour. I know the wind has shifted direction but the footprint hasn't changed at all. What's wrong?

A. Whenever you bring MARPLOT forward (so that its windows are in front of ALOHA's windows), you halt data transmission from the SAM to ALOHA. Bring ALOHA forward to update the weather data and footprint.

Q. I just downloaded and installed all the CAMEO software for Windows. Then I started up MARPLOT and it displayed the Prince William County map--but I don't see any of the CAMEO-related symbols that are supposed to show up on the map, according to the manuals. Why not?

A. The problem is that MARPLOT and CAMEO don't yet know how to communicate with each other. To "wake up" the programs so that they can communicate properly:
1. Start MARPLOT and leave it running.
2. Start CAMEO, then either leave it running or quit from it.
3. Check back in MARPLOT. The symbols now should show up on the map. (You only have to do this once; from then on, MARPLOT will remember about CAMEO Map symbols, unless you completely reload your CAMEO software.)

More Help With MARPLOT provides answers to additional MARPLOT questions.


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