Janauary, 2008   

What constitute Hazmat incidents??

The semantics of what constitutes a hazmat spill is often argued. For hazardous materials we have 'reportable quantities' and of course oil is it's own special animal based on laws that take into account our widespread use. A laboratory chemical X, spilled in a lab, by a qualified user... would be different than the same chemical X found in a residential dumpster in an attempt to illegally dispose it.

This involves: What Chemical? Known/Unknown? Fixed/Regulated Facility with Response Plan? Level of training of users v. those cleaning it up? Intentional v. accident (law enforcement nexus), city street/public area v. industry...

At a fixed facility, something to check would be your response plan (includes prevention, reporting, and management of spill) and where it says the incident is beyond the control of the site team, or where hazmat takes over, or where an outside hazmat takes over (could be some of the same techs!) And remember, the difference between known, controllable, OIL spill v. liquid release which may or may not be oil and could be other chemicals. At a fixed facility, those cleaning up even the smaller 'spills' should have training and experience in that chemical.

Everyone would probably agree that it would be unnecessary to have a full blown Hazmat response to a routine small quantity spill by skilled users of a known product. However, let's say an outside vendor making a delivery with duals has a leak in one of the tankers with a chemical not usually used at the facility. Or the above mentioned user, thinks he/she can control a small spill and it gets out of hand.

I would be interested to know how it is laid out in the response plan as well as if all personnel dealing with the spill are trained to an acceptable level.

So You're Thinking About Joining

the HazMat Team?

Here is a question for all of you out there that are a member of a HazMat Team or a HazMat Instructor (or both). How many times have you come across someone, either on the line or in one of your classes that says something like "I'd like to join HazMat but..."? Sound familiar? What have some of their reasons been? They're no good at chemistry? They could never get into a Level A suit? They're not smart enough? The list goes on and on. These are all valid concerns on their part, but they are also wrong. That said, just what kind of qualities does it take to be a successful member of a HazMat Team?

The following are just some of the qualities, abilities and attributes that are required for membership on a Hazardous Materials Team:

Team Player Attitude - While the fire service is based on crews and teamwork, this is especially important on a HazMat Team. You simply can't be on the Entry Team all the time getting your picture in the paper. There are too many other areas that need to be staffed, such as Decon, Research, Back-Up Team, Logistics, etc. No one can do it all on their own, regardless of what they think. The ideal HazMat Technician fits in with the rest of the team, follows the chain of command as opposed to freelancing and is ready, willing and able to get in, get dirty and get the job done, regardless of their assigned task.