1. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS : RECOGNITION & IDENTIFICATION
Here I usually give examples of why it is so important to know if the puddle in the middle of the bridge is a hazardous chemical or just milk. I tell the “closed the bridge in San Francisco during rush hour” story sometimes, although I have never seen actual documentation of this spill.
Chapter 2
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2. What is a Hazardous Material?
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of Transportation
Ludwig Benner
OSHA: A chemical that may cause physical or health hazards to a person exposed in the workplace. Any chemical with a published exposure limit; any chemical regulated by EPA or DOT.
EPA: A substance (includes chemicals and other substances such as pathogens [germs]) that can cause harm to people or other living things through exposure in the environment.
DOT: A material that may cause harm to people or the environment or property if not handled properly during shipment.
Ludwig Benner: a material that might jump out of its container and cause harm
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3. First Responder Awareness Level
DO:
Recognize hazardous materials
Identify them if possible
Protect yourself and others
Isolate and secure the area
Make proper notifications
This module will address the first two points.
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4. RECOGNITION & IDENTIFICATION
Know what the chemical is by:
Name
Hazard class
Know how the chemical can harm:
People
Property
The environment
Where we can identify the material involved in a release, this information can be used in planning and executing a response.
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5. RECOGNITION & IDENTIFICATION
Personal Knowledge
Shipping Papers
Labels, Placards, Markings
Containers
Occupancy and Location
Biological Indicators
Human Senses
Recognize clues to what may be causing the hazmat problem based on what you already know, or can see as you arrive on the site.
Occupancy: What kind of business or facility it it?
Location: Inside an industrial facility, where in the plant is the spill? What does your preplanning site drawing say is stored there? What part of the plant is the spill in, and what do they do there? On a larger scale, is this an agricultural area where ammonia trucks may be on the road, or fertilizer being carried? Are you called to a heavy industrial zone, or a residential area where spills might be expected to be household chemicals, or maybe a clandestine drug lab?
Environmental indicators: Visible plume (gas or vapor); dead fish (poison or corrosive water spill upstream); coughing, gasping humans or other animals (respiratory irritant). Etc.
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6. Personal Knowledge Ways to know hazards that may be released
Visit facilities in jurisdiction, including factories, mines, stores, warehouses
Be aware of transportation routes
Watch for signs of dumping or improper storage
Discuss these with the class. Each tribe is different. This is a good place to find out where their exposures are.
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7. RECOGNITION & IDENTIFICATION
Shipping Papers:
Bill of Lading
Rail Consist or Wheel Report
Air Waybill
Dangerous Cargo Manifest
Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest
These are names for shipping papers associated with different modes of transportation
Bill of Lading – Highway carrier
Rail Consist or wheel report – railway
Air Waybill – air
Dangerous Cargo Manifest – vessel
Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest – special for transporting hazardous waste
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8. RECOGNITION & IDENTIFICATION
Further clues are visible here. The flame at the top is a further indication of flammability, and can be seen even by people who don’t see color. The “3” at the bottom indicates the flammable material is a liquid. All three of these clues is required to always be present on a label or placard.
DOT HAZARD CLASS PLACARDS & LABELS
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9. U.S. Department of Transportation
Symbol
Nine hazard classes
Primary hazard
Information shown four ways
Color
Obvious
Words
Class number
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10. DOT Hazard Classes Refer to DOT Chart 12 1 Explosive 5 Oxidizer 2 Gas
3 Flammable liquid
4 Flammable solid
5 Oxidizer
6 Poison
7 Radioactive
8 Corrosive
9 Miscellaneous
Have them get out the chart and look at all the nine classes. Differentiate labels from placards on the chart. Look at Tables 1 and 2 on the back of the chart – talk about placarding requirements. Stress the possibilities of hazmats inside nonbulk loads without placards.
Refer to DOT Chart 12
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11. Class 1 Explosive Divisions 1.1 - 1.6 1.1 is most hazardous
1.6 is least hazardous
Give examples of each, or at least of 1.1 and 1.6.
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12. Class 2 Gases Gas at normal temperature and pressure
Shipped and stored under pressure
This is a good place to talk about the fact that chemicals are classed according to their primary hazard. Also to teach the difference between solid, liquid and gas. Discuss each of these, stress the 2 at the bottom of all of them. Give examples of each. Stress the 2 again, as this is something they seem to have trouble holding onto. Talk about expansion ratio, and where gases go when they get out of their containers.
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13. Class 3 Flammable Liquid
Primary hazard: fire
Liquid gives off enough vapors to ignite at 100º or less
Don’t belabor the flash point thing here, as you will get to it in Outcomes, but try to give the general idea that 100 degrees ambient temperature is easily achievable (especially if you are in a southern state) and so these chemicals are fire hazards much of the time.
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14. Class 4 Flammable Solid Ignite without ignition source Ignite when wet
Burn at very high temperatures
Flammable solids burn very intensely. An example of dangerous when wet material is calcium carbide which reacts with water to release acetylene gas.
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15. Class 5 Oxidizer React with other chemicals -- give off oxygen
Cause other materials to burn faster
People really have trouble with oxidizers. Stress they are not themselves flammable, but talk about reactions.
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16. Class 6 Poison Cause illness or death in humans Three packing groups
These are liquids. Have them notice the 6 at the bottom, and refer back to the poison gas label they saw earlier.
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17. Class 7 Radioactive Emit ionizing radiation
Packaging designed to contain the radiation
Talk about what kinds of industry use or dispose of radioactive materials, and where they might be found. I usually stress the extreme lengths packaging specs go to so that the container can withstand a good deal of stress. If you are in New Mexico or anywhere else on the WIPP route, there will be a lot of interest in this.
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18. Class 8 Corrosive pH 2.0 or lower pH 12.5 or higher
Damages steel and human tissues
Point out that both acids (pH < 2.0) and bases (pH > 12.5) are corrosive.
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19. Class 9 Miscellaneous
Describe some of the criteria used to classify materials in this class: strong smell, harmful to aluminum (airplanes) if spilled, etc.
Materials that may cause a hazard during transportation, but do not fit definition of any other hazard class
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20. Placards for bulk containers
Each material has a unique 4-digit identification
I.D. number must be present on bulk containers
Must be displayed on tank cars, cargo tanks, portable tanks, and other bulk packaging (over 8,820 pounds).
Compartmented trailers must have a placard for each compartment.
Have them look up 1993 in the DOT ERG just for practice to identify it.
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21. FIXED FACILITY MARKINGS
NFPA Hazard Class System
Rates hazard (4 highest)
A voluntary system used
by some companies
HMIS System is similar
(horizontal / same colors)
NFPA ratings are explained more fully in the manual, page 9. Describe the HMIS system: same colors and numbers, arranged in horizontal lines.
I find people get the numbering system of DOT placards and labels confused with this one. Stress the difference in what the numbers mean; maybe go back and remind them that on a DOT placard the number indicates which class it is in, not level of hazard. W
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22. CONTAINERS Container material Size Shape
Labels and other printed information
This is just an intro slide to containers. Point out that the closer a responder can come to knowing what’s inside, the closer he can target a safe response without having to protect against a hazard that is not there.
Each of these is covered on an individual slide to come.
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23. Non-bulk Containers Hold less than 119 gallons (see page 5)
Tell them how we can narrow down the contents of this metal drum: liquid, not corrosive (probably to both). Discuss what may be found inside each. Mention that the only container shown here with a safety feature is the cylinder, and explain pressure relief valves and fusible plugs. A trainee at Pojaque Pueblo was present when a cylinder fell over and its valve broke off. It rocketed down a hall, knocking over a few people who were in the way, and smashed through a wall into the next room.
Also mention the lack of uniform color coding for cylinders.
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24. Container Material Material Hazard Class Steel/ All hazard classes
Painted except corrosive
Steel, with Corrosives
plastic liner
Plastic Corrosives
Shiny metals Unusual chemicals
Glass All hazards
Obvious. In the book.
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25. Bulk Containers (low pressure)
Large upright tanks with various roof styles
Describe location and contents of each.
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26. Bulk Containers (high pressure)
Homes and public facilities in Indian Country frequently are heated with propane. This one should be familiar to them. Talk about the false impression some fire fighters have that they can safely approach from the sides.
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27. TRUCKS
1203
1203
Give examples of chemicals commonly shipped in this truck. Click for a placard of Have them look up 1203 in the ERG. Start getting them used to using this book. Several people in each class will pick it up as soon as you talk about the 4-digit id#, as they have had prior training.
Also, as long as we are talking about a very common product every one knows about, have them look up gasoline in the NIOSH PG. Just point out where the 4-digit # is, and look at the health hazard columns. That’s enough for now.
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28. TRUCKS
DOT 407 – Low Pressure chemical carrier. Talk about the difference between this and the previous truck. Give some examples.
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29. TRUCKS
DOT412 – Corrosive Tank. I always mention here the smaller diameter, and that the distinctive rings are there because corrosives are heavier than many other chemicals. Also that they usually are the same color as the tanker, and not as distinct as those shown here.
Click for a placard. Ask them what’s missing from this placard (the 4-digit id# required on a bulk load.)
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30. TRUCKS
MC 331Talk about this one, how to tell it contains pressurized gas, then click for a placards. This placard is missing its required 4-digit id#. If the truck is carrying propane, what should the number be? Have them look up propane in the blue pages of the ERG.
Then look up propane in the NIOSH PG and again talk about the hazards. Here you might point out that even though propane is hazardous to health (toxic) the label says flammable gas. That’s because DOT classifies chemicals by their primary health hazard. I don’t usually tell these classes about multiple labels/placards required for some chemicals. It’s hard enough for them to grasp the basics.
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31. TRUCKS
This is a cryogenics carrier, MC338. It has gases that have been liquefied by cooling. If they leak, the rapidly expanding gas can freeze anything nearby.
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32. TRUCKS
Here it is fun to play “What’s in this truck?” both without and with the placard.
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33. DO YOU KNOW? 1203 The main hazard of this placard?
What the numbers mean?
The color of a label on a drum of acid?
What’s in a truck with a DANGEROUS placard?
1203
Pop Quiz. Don’t call out the answers, don’t even write them down. Just want to see who knows all these answers, but won’t ask you to tell them. When you get to Dangerous, click again for the last placard.
How many knew all the answers?
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34. General Indicators Occupancy & Location Human Senses
Type of facility (Dry Cleaners)
Human Senses
Odors
Visual Clues
Symptoms and Irritation
Biological Indicators
Dead animals
These are usually much less specific, but can serve as warnings of the presence of hazardous materials.
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35. Ways to Recognize & Identify
Personal Knowledge
Shipping Papers
Placards, Labels, Markings
Container Characteristics
Occupancy and Location
Human Senses & Biological Indicators
These are listed in order of decreasing specificity. Use this to review.
If you have printed out the color Placard and Label Exercise, you can use it at this point to review the module.
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