Weekly Safety Notes November 22, 2010 RESPONSE TO A SPILL

First Responder While Mangan is not in the business of hazardous chemical response or clean up, our work puts in the vicinity of chemicals which could result in a spill or release. This week’s subject is on responding to a spill which in some aspects goes beyond our responsibilities or training. A Mangan employee’s primary role is to seek safety and report the event immediately.

Identify the Chemical From a safe distance: Find out where the chemical is coming from Look for labels, signs, and placards Determine if it is liquid, gas, or solid Determine its color Identify any odors Slide Show Notes Make the effort to identify the material and where it is coming from only if it is safe to do so. Stay at a safe distance from the spill or release. Identifying the released chemical or material can be very helpful to the trained spill response team. However, it is not essential because the response team will also attempt to identify the chemical when they arrive. Look for labels, signs, or placards on the chemical container, drum, or tank. Pipes are also often labeled or color-coded to indicate what material they contain. Determine the form (solid, liquid, or gas) of the material being released. Determine the color of the chemical release. Identify any specific odors associated with the chemical release. Discuss the different specific ways that a released chemical could be identified at your facility.

Evaluate Site Conditions Vapor clouds Smoke Injured persons Surrounding populations Dispersion pathways Environmental damage Slide Show Notes You can provide important information to the emergency response team. As you evacuate, try to evaluate the site conditions around the spill and pass on this information to the incident commander. Look for vapor clouds from the chemical release. When evacuating the area, move in the opposite direction of the vapor cloud. Move upwind of the chemical release. Smoke could indicate there is also a fire related to the release. When evacuating, move away from the smoke. If your designated meeting area is in the path of the smoke, move to the secondary meeting location described in your emergency response plan. Look for any injured persons who will need to be rescued by the emergency response team. Consider surrounding home and work populations. They may need to be evacuated. Identify the direction in which smoke or vapor is blowing, the direction in which liquids are flowing, and the direction in which solids or powders are flowing. Identify all potential environmental damage such as contaminated soil, contaminated stormwater, or regular waterways.

Nonhazardous Spills Incidental or small spills Handled by the employees in immediate area Get help if you are unsure Slide Show Notes Nonhazardous incidental or small spills do not require the implementation of the emergency response plan because the spilled or released material is not hazardous to human health, is not endangering the environment, and is in a small enough quantity so that it is easy to control and clean. Nonhazardous chemicals are normally handled on a day-to-day basis by employees in that department. You work with the chemical, so you should know how to manage small spills and whether a spill might be too large for you to manage. In any case, if you are not sure if a chemical is hazardous or you are not sure how to clean up a chemical release, do not attempt to do it. Call for help. Discuss some specific incidences at your company when small spills occurred but did not require the implementation of your emergency response plan.

Dangers of a Release Flammable liquids or gases Toxic cloud Reaction with nearby chemicals Irritants Mild hazards or non-hazardous Slide Show Notes Some chemicals are flammable or produce flammable gases when released, so it is important to remove potential ignition sources by turning off machinery, forklifts, etc. Beware of the potential of a toxic cloud that could be created by toxic materials, corrosive fumes, or reactions with other chemicals. Stay upwind of any type of chemical release. Some chemicals might react with other chemicals that are stored or used nearby. For example, an acid might burn through a steel drum of oil and cause a reaction such as an explosion, fire, or release of toxic fumes. Some chemicals might just be irritating and cause your eyes to water, make you sneeze or cough, or cause a slight skin reaction. Other chemicals may have only mild hazards and just create a mess and a loss of production. Discuss the specific dangers associated with a release of the types of chemicals used or stored at your company’s facility.

How Chemicals Harm You Skin or eye contact Inhalation Swallowing Avoid contact and evacuate immediately Slide Show Notes Skin or eye contact: Irritation (i.e., itchiness, blisters) can be caused by solvents, degreasers, soaps. Burns may be caused by corrosives. Internal reactions (i.e., toxins) might be caused by hydrocarbon solvents. Allergic reactions (i.e, hives) could be caused by chromates or nickel. Inhalation: Breathing a chemical might cause headache, nausea, dizziness, lung damage, etc., depending on exposure. Swallowing: This usually means contact with food or smoking, not openly drinking a hazardous chemical. Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, liver or kidney damage are typical reactions. To avoid exposure to chemicals, never touch a released or spilled chemical (remember, you are not a trained responder). Evacuate the area as soon as possible to avoid inhalation exposure. Inhalation will be the most likely exposure to a chemical during a release.

Report the Spill After identifying a spill and evacuating the area: Contact the emergency response team Request additional resources if necessary Ask for instructions EXAMPLE: Know the site’s procedure for reporting an emergency Slide Show Notes Once you have identified a spill and safely evacuated the spill’s immediate area, it is safe to call for help. Contact your company’s emergency response team by following the procedures outlined in the Emergency Response Plan. Request additional resources if necessary. Ask for instructions on what you should do until help arrives. Describe the specific reporting procedures to be used at your facility. If your company does not respond to spills in-house, employees may be reporting a spill to a private outside response company or to an agency such as the fire department.

Report Information Chemical names and hazard information Locations of release Quantities of released chemical(s) Site conditions Evacuation and victims Slide Show Notes Provide information to the emergency response coordinator including the name(s) of the chemical(s) involved in the release and the hazards of the chemical(s). Describe the location of release and how it has released, such as a gas into the air, a liquid spray, or liquid flowing over the ground, etc. Estimate the quantity of released material. Describe the site conditions such as fire, fumes, and smoke. Describe if the chemical release has reached or soon will reach environmentally sensitive areas. Describe whether the area has been evacuated and if there are victims of the release that will need rescue or emergency medical treatment.

Protect Yourself and Others Report the release to others in the immediate area Signal an alarm Retreat to a safe distance, shelter-in-place, or evacuation assembly area Slide Show Notes Once you have determined that a release of a hazardous chemical has occurred, report it to others in the immediate area so that they can evacuate with you. Signal an alarm or yell to warn the other employees. Retreat to a predetermined assembly area or shelter-in-place that is a safe distance from the spill or release. Describe the alarms or signals that can be used in areas with hazardous materials. Now may be a good time to review your company’s evacuation procedures, particularly in the areas containing or using hazardous chemicals.

Secure the Area Keep people a safe distance from the spill Use caution tape, rope, or cones Guard the spill scene until trained responders arrive Slide Show Notes Once you have reported the spill or release to the response personnel, secure the area around the release to keep unauthorized personnel out while waiting for the response team to arrive. Use caution tape, rope, cones, and barricades to create a safe zone around the area. Your emergency response plan might call for the use of specific equipment; however, you may be required to barricade with whatever is available. Up to this point, you, as the first responder at the awareness level, have been in control of the spill scene. Once response personnel arrive, they will take over responsibility for the incident. Describe the location of the equipment that should be used to secure the area around a spill at your workplace.

Emergency Response Plan Preemergency planning and training Spill recognition Evacuation procedures Emergency response and reporting PPE and emergency equipment Decontamination and medical treatment Slide Show Notes HAZWOPER requires our facility to have an emergency response plan that describes how we will handle any release or spill of a hazardous substance. Preemergency planning and training might include coordination with outside emergency responders, drills, and classroom training. The plan discusses how to recognize potential emergency spill situations. Evacuation procedures include assembly locations and places of refuge. The heart of the plan is how to respond and report any hazardous substance-related spill or release. The plan also describes the PPE that should be worn by responding personnel and what equipment is available to control and clean up the spill or release. Finally, the plan details how response personnel are decontaminated and how personnel will receive medical treatment. Pass out copies of your company’s emergency response plan. Change the bullet points in the slide to reflect the names of the different sections in your company’s plan.

Other Response Personnel Trained first responders will… Analyze the incident Use proper PPE and equipment Contain and stop the spill Clean up the spill Decontaminate Report the incident Slide Show Notes Authorized personnel will respond to the incident according to their level of training. They will analyze the incident to determine the hazards, required PPE, and develop an appropriate response. They will select and use the appropriate PPE and equipment. Then they will contain the spill and prevent it from impacting the environment. When safe to do so, they will stop the leak. Once everything is under control, they will clean up the spill. After the spill is cleaned up, authorized personnel will decontaminate equipment, PPE, and personnel. Finally, if required, they will report the spill to appropriate federal, state, and local agencies.

Key Points to Remember Recognize chemicals and identify spills or releases Evacuate the spill area Notify spill response team Secure the area Slide Show Notes HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations Emergency Response) is for facilities that store, handle, or use hazardous chemicals. Awareness-level first responders are trained to act only defensively. Recognize the chemicals used at your facility, learn about potential spill or release scenarios, and then learn how to identify chemical spills or releases. Evacuate others and yourself from the spill area. Remember to stay upwind of smoke and vapor clouds. Notify the spill response team. Do not attempt to control or contain the spill yourself because you are not properly trained. Secure the area around the spill to prevent unauthorized personnel from getting close to the spill.