Pirrello’s Illustrated Guide to a HazMat Incident (for Susanne)

 

Fire department first responders have responded to an incident and discovered that a tractor trailer carrying hazardous materials (dangerous goods) has been leaking fluid from the back doors.

 

The entrance to the facility is controlled by law enforcement personnel.

In keeping with their training at the First Responder–Awareness Level, they establish an isolation perimeter around the incident to protect the public, and try to identify the hazards by looking at placards on the outside of the vehicle and the shipping papers they obtain from the driver.

 

Traffic cones are used to mark zone boundaries.

Sand is used to prevent the spill from spreading.

The “warm zone” is the area responders use to remove contamination.

The “hot zone” is the area of known or expected spread of the contaminant, and requires the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

In keeping with their training at the First Responder – Operations Level, they take defensive actions to control the spill, and establish operational zones for the protection of personnel.

 

The first responders request the assistance of more highly trained and better equipped Hazardous Materials Technicians to address the source of the leak.

 

ME!

HazMat Technicians report to the station after being dispatched.

 

Command Vest

Staging

Rehab

While the first responders wait for additional help to arrive, they establish designated incident facilities such as a Command Post, a rehabilitation (rehab) area, and a staging location for unassigned personnel and equipment in the “cold zone.” Key personnel put on vests to identify their role within a site-specific Incident Command System.

 

Before making an entry, hazmat personnel set up a decontamination (decon) line in the warm zone. The decon line is composed of stations for the washing, rinsing, and removal of PPE in an orderly fashion.

 

This is either me or my partner on the backup team. It’s hard to tell.

An encapsulating suit surrounds the wearer and the respiratory protection.

Entry and backup personnel don (put on) chemical protective clothing and respiratory protection in the form of encapsulating suits and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) after being medically monitored.

 

A non-encapsulating suit does not cover the facepiece of the respiratory protection.

Decon personnel don a lower level of chemical protective clothing comprised of a non-encapsulating coverall and an SCBA.

 

I’m one of the guys in blue.

Backup team and decon personnel take up their positions while the entry team is given a briefing to explain the objectives of the entry. The safety officer then makes a final check of PPE before noting the time that the entry team goes on air. All personnel in PPE have a partner (the “buddy system”).

 

The entry team enters the hot zone. As they open up the back of the trailer, additional liquid splashes out. They sample the liquid and monitor the atmosphere for corrosivity, oxygen content, flammability, and toxicity. They then proceed to enter the trailer and find the source of the leak.

 

The lid of an intermediate bulk container (IBC) or “tote” has come part of the way off during transportation, resulting in some of the liquid sloshing out inside the truck. The gasket is replaced and the lid is easily resecured, but the interior of the truck still needs to be decontaminated.

 

In this particular case, the material was a corrosive dye used to make blue jeans.

 

Additional resources are called for. Skilled support personnel (a tow truck driver and a forklift operator) are utilized to help remove containers from the truck so that the cleanup can be completed.

 

Each time that personnel leave the hot zone, they must pass through the decon line. The first station in the decon line is the “tool drop” where tools and monitoring instrumentation are put down.

 

Entry personnel then have their boots and outer gloves washed, rinsed, and removed by decon personnel.

 

This is followed by a suit wash and rinse station, after which the encapsulating suit is removed,

 

Trust me when I tell you it feels pretty good to get that suit off…

 

The decon personnel then go through the same routine.

 

After being deconned, entry personnel rehydrate and are medically monitored again. If the debriefing concludes that all objectives have been accomplished, the response is considered to be complete, and the incident is terminated.

 

No one is ever quite sure what the guys in the Command Post have actually done… ;)