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Hazardous
Materials:
Overview
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Objectives (1 of 2)

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.

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Objectives (2 of 2)

Explain the difference between

hazardous materials incidents and other
emergencies.
Explain the need for a planned
response to a hazardous materials
incident.

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Introduction
Hazardous materials are present in
virtually every community.
Fire fighters 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.

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What is a Hazardous Material?

(1 of 3)

A material that poses an unreasonable

risk to the health and safety of people
and the environment if it is not properly
controlled

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What is a Hazardous Material?

(2 of 3)

Hazardous materials
can be found
anywhere.
Pure chemicals and
chemical mixtures
are used to create
millions of products.

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What is a Hazardous Material?

(3 of 3)

More than 80,000 chemicals are

registered for use in commerce in the
U.S.
An estimated 2,000 new chemicals are
introduced annually.

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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

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Levels of Training: Regulations

and Standards (1 of 3)
Regulations are issued and enforced by
governmental bodies such as:
OSHA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)

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Levels of Training: Regulations

and Standards (2 of 3)
OSHA has issued the HAZWOPER
regulations:
HAZWOPER is codified at 29 CFR
1910.120.
Fire departments are primarily concerned
with subsection (q) Emergency Response.

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Levels of Training: Regulations

and Standards (3 of 3)
HAZWOPER identifies five levels of
training:
Awareness
Operations
Technician
Specialist
Hazardous materials incident commander

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Awareness Level

Awareness-level responders can:

Recognize a potential hazardous materials
incident
Isolate the area
Call for assistance
Awareness-level responders take
protective actions.

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Operations Level

Operations-level responders can:

Recognize a potential hazardous materials
incident
Isolate the area
Take defensive actions without touching
the product
Operations-level responders act in a
defensive fashion.
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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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Specialist Level

Fire fighters at this level receive more

specialized training than a hazardous
materials technician.
The Technician and Specialist levels are
not very different.
The Specialist level is not widely used in
the fire service.

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Hazardous Materials Incident

Commander
Can assume command of a hazardous
materials incident beyond the
operations level
Should have at least Operations level
training as well as additional training
specific to commanding a hazardous
materials incident

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Standards

Issued by nongovernmental entities and

are generally consensus-based
NFPA is a body that issues consensus-
based standards.

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NFPA Standards (1 of 2)

Three NFPA standards address

hazardous materials response:
NFPA 471
NFPA 472
NFPA 473

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NFPA Standards (2 of 2)

NFPA identifies three levels of training:

Awareness
Operations
Technician
The NFPA standard does not include
Specialist or IC Hazardous Materials
levels.

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Other Hazardous Materials Laws,

Regulations, and Regulatory
Agencies
The U.S. Department of Transportation
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.
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Superfund Amendments and

Reauthorization Act (SARA)
Original driver for HAZWOPER regulations
Indicated that workers handling hazardous
waste should have a minimum amount of
training
Laid the foundation that allowed fire
departments and the community to obtain
information about hazardous materials in the
community
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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.

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Local Emergency Planning

Committees
LEPC gather and disseminate
information about hazardous materials.
Composed of members of industry,
transportation, media, fire and police
agencies, and the public at large
LEPCs collect material safety data
sheets.

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Material Safety Data Sheet

(MSDS)
Detailed profile of a
single chemical or
mixture of chemicals
Provided by the
manufacturer and/or
supplier of a chemical
Details a specific
chemicals properties
and all pertinent
information about it

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State Emergency Response

Commission (SERC)
Each state has a SERC.
The SERC is a liaison between local
and state levels of authority.

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Hazardous Materials Incidents

Are Different (1 of 4)
Fire fighters cannot approach a
hazardous materials incident with the
same mindset used for a structure fire.

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Hazardous Materials Incidents

Are Different (2 of 4)
Suppressing a fire is usually more
straightforward than handling a
hazardous materials incident.
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.

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Hazardous Materials Incidents

Are Different (3 of 4)
At a hazardous materials incident,
actions taken are largely dictated by the
chemicals involved.
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.

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Hazardous Materials Incidents

Are Different (4 of 4)
Hazardous materials incidents move
more slowly than structure fires.
It is critical to identify the material(s)
involved before taking action.

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Planning a Response (1 of 3)
The response begins long before the
alarm sounds.
Agencies should conduct preincident
planning activities at target hazards and
other potential problem areas.
Focus on the real threats that exist in the
community.
Once threats are identified, agencies must
determine how they will respond.
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Planning a Response (2 of 3)
Some agencies
establish parameters
that guide their
response to particular
hazardous material
incidents.
These parameters are
based on:
Nature of the chemical
Amount released
Type of occupancy
involved

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Planning a Response (3 of 3)

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Summary (1 of 2)

Hazardous materials are found

everywhere.
Homes
Businesses
Manufacturing processes
Transportation
Illegal activities (e.g., drug labs)

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Summary (2 of 2)

It is imperative that fire fighters

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.
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