Hazardous Materials

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that a hazardous material emergency is any uncontrolled release or possible release of a hazardous material or substance that requires assistance from a local fire department or "hazmat" team to control it. The author points out that the first steps for the incidence commander are to assess the situation, determine which level of magnitude the situation is (HAZMAT level 0, 1, 2, or 3), and then pass this information to whichever local, state, and federal organizations are required. The paper relates that air surveillance at the site of a hazardous material incident is vital to ensure that the personnel involved are not exposed to chemicals or materials in the air and that lingering particles do not contaminate local surrounding areas, placing the public in danger.

Table of Contents
Hazardous Material Emergency
How to Command an Incident Response
Researching Identified Materials in an Incident
Main Objectives of Site Control
Standard Operating Procedure for Response Activities
SARA Title III
Essential Personal Protective Equipment
Decontamination of Personnel
Role of Hazard and Risk Assessment and Decision Making in Hazardous Material Control
Basic and Advanced Hazardous Material Control: Similarities and Differences
How Chemicals Behave and Knowledge is Vital
Toxicity
Basics of Air Surveillance and Strategies
Importance of Computer
Common Symptoms of Mental Stress
Temperature Stress and its Importance
Physical Fitness and Leadership
Benefits of Exercising an Emergency Response Plan
Terminology

From the Paper:

"Identifying materials in any hazardous materials accident is vital to site containment. Whenever there are unidentified products at a containment site, the incident commander must attempt to identify those products. First, visual inspection should be made to attempt to identify the materials. This can be done via binoculars if the materials appear to be corrosive to the eye. Additionally, the commander must look for the presence of smoke, vapor, or fire to help determine the chemical nature of the compound. The commander can also look for the original containers, to help identify the products."

More papers on Hazardous Materials:

• Analytical Essay # 136418 : "Hazardous Materials on Aircraft"
• Descriptive Essay # 69014 : "Scientific Investigation of Hazardous Materials "
• Analytical Essay # 109384 : "Terrorism and Toxic Industrial Materials"

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