Street Smart Haz-Mat Response Chad Ponder Mississippi Fire Academy

Basic Principles Surveying The Incident The Identification Process Starts With A Survey Of The Incident Site And Surrounding Conditions. The Identification Process Is Built Upon The Following Basic Elements: Recognition — recognize The Presence Of Hazardous Materials. Identification — identify The Hazardous Materials Involved And The Nature Of The Problem. Classification — determine The General Hazard Class Or Chemical Family Of The Hazardous Materials Involved.

Occupancy And Location Hazardous Materials Surround Us Every Day—potential Locations Can Be Categorized Into Four Basic Areas Production Transportation Storage Use The Key For Determining These Potential Sites Is Through The Hazard Analysis Process. Information Should Include A List Of The Hazmats On-site, Their Quantity And Location, And Hazards.

Container Shapes All Hazardous Materials Are Controlled As Long As They Remain Within Their Container. The Size, Shape, And Construction Features Of A Container/Packaging Are The Second Clue To The Standard Hazmat Identification Process, Packaging Used For Transporting Hazardous Materials Is Regulated By DOT.

Haz Mat Recognition Clues Markings and Colors Placards and Labels I. How do you know about chemicals, if they pose a hazard or not. II. Markings and Colors Skulls and Crossbones. Yellow nuclear trefoil signs. III. Placards and Labels This type of placarding is the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 704 system. 1 4

Hazard Classes and things that act like them I. These Placards are required by the U.S. Department of Transportation and are displayed on vehicles used in transportation. II. Similar labels may be found on chemicals brought into your facilities.

Explosives (Class 1) Powder Actuated Cartridges Commercial explosives Fireworks Ammunition Fertilizer bombs (Ammonium nitrate & fuel oil) Hydrazine (A flammable liquid. Forms explosive mixtures [hypergolic] - a high energy rocket fuel, corrosive and poisonous) Powder Actuated Cartridges [don’t spend too much time in this section] I. Internal - are hazards that are present in our hospitals. External - hazards that are present in the community. II. Even if your facility does not have any chemicals that are “technically” classified as EXPLOSIVE, there may be situations that cause an EXPLOSIVE atmosphere. III. Two chemicals may not be classified as an explosive, but the combination of the two can create an explosive atmosphere.

Compressed Gases (Class 2) Acetylene Propane Oxygen Nitrogen Nitrous Oxide Carbon Dioxide Anesthetic Gases Medical Air Argon Hydrogen Sulfide Phosgene Methyl Bromide Ammonia I. With compressed gases: a BLEVE (blev-ee) can occur - BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion). This occurs when the container holding the gas ruptures, releasing the liquefied gas. The liquefied gas quickly expands resulting in a fireball.

Flammable/Combustible Liquids (Class 3) Diesel Alcohols Xylene Methyl Methacrylate Methyl Ethyl Ketone Gasoline Hydrazine Methanol Diesel Acetone I. Flammable Liquids: Have a flash point below 100 degrees F. The vapors of flammable liquids are generally heavier than air and will not dissipate rapidly. Gasoline is one of the most common products involved in HazMat incidents. II. Combustible Liquids: Combustible liquids differ from flammable liquids in that they are not easily ignited at ambient temperatures. Combustible liquids will be much easier to ignite in hot environments. Oxygen enriched atmospheres (23.5% oxygen) will cause combustible liquids to ignite more easily and burn more intensely.

Flammable Solids (Class 4) Barium Aluminum phosphide Naphthalene Sodium Carbon I. Flammable solids: Flammable solids burn vigorously and persistently once ignited. Small fires involving combustible metals require the use of special Class D extinguishing agents. Burning metals produce hazardous gases that may be toxic, corrosive or asphyxiating.

Oxidizers & Organic Peroxides (Class 5) Red Fuming Nitric Acid (a corrosive) Nitrogen Tetroxide Ammonium Nitrate Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide Fluorine, Chlorine (also poison, compressed gas, corrosive) Oxygen (actually a compressed gas or cryogenic liquid) Peroxyacetic Acid I. Oxidizers: Oxidizers are materials that may cause or enhance the combustion of other products, generally by yielding oxygen or other oxidizing agents. II. Organic peroxides: Organic peroxides may be flammable and unstable. Their explosive and unstable nature is a more serious hazard than their character as oxidizers.

Poisonous & Infectious Materials (Class 6) Phenol (Carbolic Acid) Chemotherapy drugs Biohazardous Waste Blood Borne Pathogens Solvents Sewage Vesicants (blistering agent, Doxorubicine, Vincristine) Mercury ETO (ethylene oxide) Glutaraldehyde & Formaldehyde Pesticides WMD (Sarin, VX) Solvents Bioterrorism Tear Gas Vesicants (mustard gas, Lewisite) I. Poisons and Infectious materials: Avoid contact with any poisonous or infectious substance. Sometimes it is best to allow fires involving these materials to burn. Fire can destroy the toxic properties of some poisons. II. Pesticide container labels must include additional signal words: danger (highly toxic), warning (moderately toxic), or caution (relatively low toxicity).

Radioactive Materials (Class 7) Terrorist use Military Facilities Nuclear Reactors Commercial/Rese arch facilities Industrial x-ray material Nuclear Medicine I. Radioactive materials: Radiation can only be detected with special instruments. It cannot be seen or smelled. Protect yourself as much as possible using time, distance and shielding. Radiation exposures should be maintained as low as is reasonably achievable.

Corrosive Materials (Class 8) Lab acids (e.g., Hydrochloric Acid) Boiler treatment caustics Pool chemicals Sulfuric acid Nitric acid Muriatic acid Sodium Hydroxide Chlorine, Fluorine I. Corrosives: The strength of a corrosive is measured by pH. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. 0-6 on the pH scale are acidic (acids). 8-14 are alkaline (bases). Corrosives are also measured in terms of their concentration, which refers to the percentage of acid or base in water. Acids and Bases are not compatible with each other.

Miscellaneous. Hazardous Materials (Class 9) Hazardous waste Asbestos Anesthetics Pepper spray/mace Molten Sulphur I. If it doesn’t fit somewhere else, it goes into the miscellaneous category.

Not Always Reported as Haz-mat Incidents Spilled liquids Traffic accident Medical aid Fire, person down, etc. I. Haz Mat Incidents Not Always Reported as Haz Mat Incidents. Be careful or something may sneak up on you. Be a little paranoid. Initial report may not indicate presence of hazardous materials!

Markings & Colors NFPA 704 Suggested method for identifying hazardous materials Scale of 0-4 (4 being the worst hazard) Used only for facilities when mandated by local ordinances I. Health, Flammability, Reactivity hazard ratings: 0=Minimal 1=Slight 2=Moderate 3=Serious 4=Severe

Hazardous Materials Incident Cargo Tank Containers Identify examples of cargo tanks, by type.

Fiberboard, wooden boxes Non-bulk containers are in wide use across the U.S. and may be found in any transportation port or location. Drums Cylinders Dewars Carboys Bottles Bags Aerosol cans Fiberboard, wooden boxes

Intermediate bulk containers are based on UN Recommendations and can transport a wide variety of materials. Flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBCs) Rigid intermediate bulk containers (RIBCs) Photos courtesy of Rich Mahaney

What is safe PEL REL TLV-STEL,TWA,C IDLH HARM=C3 UNSAFE Chemical Container Coordinates UNSAFE H=C+T

What is UNSAFE IDLH HARM=C3 UNSAFE Energy and Matter Chemical Container Coordinates UNSAFE H=C+T Energy and Matter