1. Section One: Hazardous Materials Overview Analyze Plan Implement
Evaluate
Please explain to the audience that the overall goal of this
program is to impart the knowledge, skills and abilities
necessary for them to respond to a hazardous material incident
using the A.P.I.E. framework. A.P.I.E. is the overarching
theme of NFPA 472.
Section One

2. Just an ice-breaker, get your attention type clip. More to follow.
Section One

3. Course Objectives
Provide information to develop street smart hazardous material incident problem solving skills
Assist those preparing for the Haz Mat Operations Level Responder Certification Process
Section Objectives:
Define a hazardous material
Describe the different levels of hazardous materials training: Awareness, Operations, and Technician
Understand the laws that govern hazardous material response activities
Explain the difference between hazardous materials incidents and other emergencies
Explain the need for a planned response to a hazardous materials incident
Hazardous materials are present in virtually every community
Firefighters may be called to incidents involving chemical spills, emergencies at industrial plants, or railroad or truck crashes
These incidents threaten lives, property, and the environment
Section One

4. What Is a Hazardous Material?
Any material that poses an unreasonable risk of damage or injury to persons, property, or the environment
An estimated 2,000 new chemicals are introduced annually; mostly in 3 categories:
Industrial chemicals
Household cleaners
Lawn care products
A loosely interpreted street definition by Ludwig Benner, who is the grandfather of Haz-Mat Response is simply: Any material that when outside of its container can harm people, property, and/or the environment.
Department of Transportation: “A material that poses an unreasonable risk to the health and safety of operating emergency personnel, the public, and/or the environment if it is not properly controlled during handling, storage, manufacture, processing, packaging, use and disposal, or transportation.”
Any substance that stores potentially harmful energy when not contained in its intended container.
Hazardous materials can be found anywhere
Pure chemicals and chemical mixtures are used to create millions of products
Section One

5. What Is Hazardous Waste?
What remains after a process has used some of the material and it is no longer pure
Can be just as dangerous as pure chemicals
Can be mixtures of several chemicals, resulting in a hybrid substance
It may be difficult to determine how such a substance will react
when it is released or comes in contact with other chemicals.
Section One

6. DOT Hazard Classes (Department of Transportation)
Class 1 – Explosives
Class 2 – Gases
Class 3 – Flammable combustible liquids
Class 4 – Flammable solids
Class 5 – Oxidizers
Class 6 – Poisons
Class 7 – Radioactive materials
Class 8 – Corrosives
Class 9 – Other Regulated Materials (ORM)
This is just to introduce the students to how hazardous
materials are classified by the DOT. We will explore each of
these categories in greater detail in the following Sections.
Section One

7. Regulations
Regulations are issued and enforced by governmental bodies such as:
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
HazWoper is codified at 29 CFR
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Non OSHA states fall under 40 CFR 311
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8. OSHA 1910.120 Levels of Training
OSHA identifies five levels of training:
Awareness
Operations
Defensive
Technician
Specialist
Incident Commander
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9. Standards
Issued by nongovernmental entities and are generally consensus-based
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a body that issues consensus-based standards
National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) issues standards that
the public can comment on before they are adopted.
Others that may issue non-binding Standards are The
National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH)
and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and
the ACGIH - American Conference of Governmental
Industrial Hygienists, Inc.
Section One

10. WMD= Weapon of Mass Destruction
NFPA Standards
Two NFPA standards address hazardous materials response:
NFPA 472- Competence of Responders to HM/WMD
NFPA 473- Competence of EMS Personnel Responding to HM/WMD
WMD= Weapon of Mass Destruction
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11. NFPA 472 Levels of Training
NFPA identifies nine levels of training:
Awareness
Operations (Defensive)
Operations (Mission Specific Roles)
Technician
Incident Commanders
Specialists Employee
Hazardous Materials Officer
Hazardous Materials Safety Officer
Technicians with Specialty
Tank Car, Cargo Tank, Intermodal, Marine Tank Vessels
Section One

12. Operations Level Responders
Operations-level responders can:
Recognize a potential hazardous materials/WMD incident
Isolate the area
Take defensive actions without touching the product
Operations-level responders can take defensive actions
Firefighters should be able to recognize potential hazardous
materials incidents, isolate and deny entry to other responders
and the public, evacuate persons in danger, and take defensive
actions without having contact with the product.
Engage group DISCUSSION on defensive actions and what the
students perceive of this method of operation; i.e., risk based
response, risk a lot to save a lot; risk nothing to save nothing.
Life safety considerations: go or no go. (Risk based response will be discussed in greater detail in a later section.)
You may want to use the example of a gasoline tanker vs. private car with entrapment. Gasoline is leaking from the tanker with no fire. The victim is viable; is this a rescue or recovery situation? What protective measures are possible?
How about if the substance was marked “corrosive” ?
Section One

13. Technician Level Hazardous materials technicians can:
Enter heavily contaminated areas using the highest levels of protection
Hazardous materials technicians take offensive actions
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14. Other Hazardous Materials Laws, Regulations, and Regulatory Agencies
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulates the transportation of goods by highways, rail, air, and, in some cases, marine transport
The U.S. EPA regulates worker safety as well as environmental aspects of hazardous materials
OSHA issues guidance on respiratory protection, personal
protective equipment, and a multitude of other topics regarding
worker safety.
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15. Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)
Original driver for HAZWOPER regulations
Indicated that workers handling hazardous waste should have a minimum amount of training
The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)
was one of the first laws to affect how fire departments respond
in a hazardous material emergency.
Laid the foundation that allowed fire departments in the community to obtain information about hazardous materials in the community
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16. Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act
EPCRA requires a business that handles chemicals to report storage type, quantity, and storage methods to the fire department and the local emergency planning committee
Section One

17. Why Are Hazardous Materials Incidents Different?
Engage the class in discussion regarding the differences between haz mat incidents and other routine calls (fires, car accidents, etc.)
Firefighters cannot approach a hazardous materials incident with the same mindset used for a structure fire.
Fires are fairly predictable
Turnout gear is basically the same for every fire
Tactics and strategy depend on the structure and degree of fire involvement, rarely the actual chemical nature of the fire.
Suppressing a fire is usually more straightforward than handling a hazardous materials incident.
At a hazardous materials incident, actions taken are largely dictated by the chemicals involved.
Hazardous materials incidents move more slowly than structure fires.
Response objectives, the choice of personal protective equipment, and the type of decontamination are complicated decisions that depend on the chemical properties of the hazardous material.
It is critical to identify the material(s) involved before taking action.
Section One

18. Summary Hazardous materials are found everywhere Homes Businesses
Manufacturing processes
Transportation
Illegal activities (e.g., drug labs)
The picture is of the “one-pot” method of manufacturing methamphetamine. The glass jar in the middle is the one pot into which all chemicals are combined for a quick cook. It is a very dangerous method, as the speed of the reaction needs to be closely controlled or the container will rupture due to over pressurization.
June-2005 KMart Meth Lab Creator CAUGHT! Last week, a 34-year-old Eddie Young of Georgia went into his local KMart and started buying classic meth-making supplies. Then, he was so desperate for a fix that he couldn't even make it home ... so he set up a lab in the KMart bathroom. He was arrested for possession of items to manufacture methamphetamines and possession of a controlled substance.
Section One

19. Summary
It is imperative that firefighters recognize the presence of a hazardous materials incident and understand what actions can be taken
Hazardous materials incidents require slowing down and taking actions based on the properties of the hazardous materials involved
Here is an extreme example of recognizing the presence of a
hazardous material:
A haz mat incident occurred in Western MA (Colrain) in which
eels were actually jumping out of a river due to the high acidity
caused by an sulfuric acid spill up stream.
Would you be able to interpret this phenomenon while
responding or on arrival?
Section One