Part 1: Sources of Information and Response Assistance.....1-1

Use of the Hazardous Substances Data Sheet...... ....2-1

Part 3:

Appendix II:

Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus..

Appendix I: DOT Specification Cylinders

Shipping Containers....

SCBA Checkout Procedures..

..3-1

.3-9

.3-15

Part 4:

Part 5:

Donning and Doffing of Fully-Encapsulating

Suits and Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus.......5-1

.

· Part 6:

Manufactures and Suppliers of Personnel

Protective Gear....

6-1

Part 1:

STANDARD OPERATING SAFETY GUIDES

Environmental Incidents...

.1-1

Part 2:

Standard Procedures..

..2-1

Appendix

Part 2: Atmosphere Sampling Instruments....

I: References for Air Sampling

Instruments..

.2-1

.2-19

VII

SAMPLING OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Part 1: Hazardous Materials Sampling...

.1-1

Part 2:

Documentation and Chain-of-Custody Procedures......2-1

THE INCIDENT RESPONSE SYSTEM

I.

INTRODUCTION

A hazardous material incident is a situation in which a hazardous material is or may be released into the environment. Hundreds of thousands of different chemicals are produced, stored, transported, and used annually. Because of the hazardous nature of many of them, safeguards are established to prevent them from causing harm. If these safeguards are accidentally or purposefully disregarded, the material is no longer under effective control and a situation is established that can have dangerous effects. Hazardous material incidents vary considerably including chemicals and quantities involved, types of hazard, response efforts required, number of responders needed, and effects produced. They may require immediate control measures (emergency) or long term cleanup activities (remedial action) to restore acceptable conditions.

All activities that are required when responding to incidents can be divided into five broad, interacting elements.

Recognition: identification of the substance involved and the
characteristics which determine its degree of hazard.

Evaluation: impact or risk the substance poses to public

health and the environment.

Control: methods to eliminate or reduce the impact of the incident.

Information: knowledge acquired concerning the conditions or
circumstances particular to an incident.

Safety: protection of responders from harm.

These elements comprise a system - an orderly arrangement of components that interact to accomplish a task. In response work, the task is to prevent or reduce the impact of the incident on people, property, and the environment, and to restore conditions to as near normal as possible. To achieve this goal response personnel undertake a variety of activities, for example, firefighting, sampling, developing safety plans, erecting fences, installing a physical treatment system, recordkeeping, evacuation, etc. These activities are all related; what occurs in one affects or is affected by the others.

Five elements classify all response activities.

Recognition, evaluation,

and control describe performance-oriented elements. There is an outcome