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    Hazardous Materials

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    Herman Perez
    The document discusses hazardous materials and the challenges they pose. It covers different levels of government regulating hazardous materials, identification systems, identifying locations of hazardous materials, and how they affect human health. It also discusses preparing for hazardous materials incidents and the roles of various agencies.

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    Hazardous Materials

    Uploaded by

    Herman Perez
    32 views4 pages
    The document discusses hazardous materials and the challenges they pose. It covers different levels of government regulating hazardous materials, identification systems, identifying locations of hazardous materials, and how they affect human health. It also discusses preparing for hazardous materials incidents and the roles of various agencies.

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    The document discusses hazardous materials and the challenges they pose. It covers different levels of government regulating hazardous materials, identification systems, identifying locations of hazardous materials, and how they affect human health. It also discusses preparing for hazardous materials incidents and the roles of various agencies.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    32 views4 pages

    Hazardous Materials

    Uploaded by

    Herman Perez
    The document discusses hazardous materials and the challenges they pose. It covers different levels of government regulating hazardous materials, identification systems, identifying locations of hazardous materials, and how they affect human health. It also discusses preparing for hazardous materials incidents and the roles of various agencies.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    You are on page 1of 4

    cccccccWell as hazardous materials and hazardous wastes become more and more commonplace,

    accumulating in our earth, air, and water, it is vitally important that citizens are well informed

    about the challenges posed by these substances. American communities are facing policy

    decisions that can dramatically affect their population¶s well being: Should hazardous materials

    traffic be regulated? What is the community¶s role in preparing for the possibility of a serious

    hazardous materials accident? What should be done with household hazardous wastes?

    Concerned community members willing to take the time to learn more about such issues can help

    protect their own health and contribute to their community for just as surely as there are thorny

    problems associated with hazardous materials, there are creative minds at work seeking and

    testing solutions. Unit 1: Health and Environmental Regulations explains the roles of Federal,

    State, and local governments in reducing hazardous materials risks, and reviews the key

    provisions of critical Federal legislation. Unit 2: Hazardous Materials Identification Systems

    discusses the two major hazardous materials identification systems currently being used in the

    United States. It also outlines how communities identify possible targets of opportunity in a

    terrorist¶s use of toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

    Unit 3: Identifying Hazardous Materials provides an overview of locations in which these

    materials are commonly found and discusses ways of determining what particular chemicals,

    with what health effects, exist in these locations. Unit 4: Hazardous Materials and Human

    Health introduces many of the basic terms used to discuss hazardous materials problems, and

    explains how hazardous materials enter and move through the body and the environment. Unit

    5: Preparing for Hazardous Materials Incidents shows what local communities can do to increase

    their preparedness to respond to hazardous materials accidents of any size. It also identifies steps

    individuals can take to protect themselves in an incident. The National Contingency Plan is the
    basis for Federal action to minimize pollution damage from discharges of oil or hazardous

    substances. In accordance with this law, Federal agencies assist in the development and

    evaluation of national, regional, and local oil and hazardous substance pollution contingency

    plans. This coordinated planning enables communities to prevent or lessen the harm that could

    accompany a hazardous materials release. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has the

    authority to regulate the handling and interstate transportation of hazardous materials. More

    specifically, DOT¶s Office of Hazardous Materials Transportation (OHMT) issues regulations

    dealing with the shipping and packaging of hazardous materials, including how they are

    classified and labeled (both nationally and internationally). While the law enables DOT to

    regulate any traffic that ³affects´ interstate or foreign commerce, the agency has chosen to

    regulate only shipments of carriers engaged in interstate commerce, leaving the States

    themselves to regulate shipments by carriers that do not cross State lines. There are many

    similarities between handling a hazardous materials incident and an incident involving chemical

    and biological agents. The real difference occurs during the identification phase. Keep in mind as

    you read this supplement that the person(s) responsible for creating the hazard through criminal

    or terrorist activity has aimed at injury or destruction and does not want you or the public to

    detect or identify the chemical or biological agent at the scene. Even though there are more than

    100 known types of chemical warfare agents, only a small number of these have actually been

    used in warfare. In fact, World War I represents the only large-scale use of chemical agents.

    After that war, development of chemical agents continued but major battlefield use did not.

    Indeed, significant efforts have been underway to ratify banning the use of chemical weapons.

    The first chemical warfare agent used in World War I against the Allies by the Germans was

    chlorine, followed later by phosgene. Initially, the chemicals used as agents on the battlefield
    were common industrial chemicals. Chlorine, especially, is still in widespread use. These first

    agents were indeed true gases when released. Consequently, the term poison gas was used to

    describe them. However, the continued use of the term gas is a misnomer. Most common agents

    in chemical warfare arsenals are actually liquids. Later in World War I, the Germans introduced

    the mustard agents. The mustard agents caused the majority of the chemical casualties in the war.

    Prior to World War II, Germany began development of nerve agents. Even today these agents are

    regarded as the most toxic of the chemical warfare agents. The German development and use of

    mustard agents, followed by the development of the nerve agents, demonstrated the military

    value of programs designed to synthesize, test, produce, and stockpile chemicals expressly to be

    used as weapons. After the war, both the United States and the Soviet Union, building on

    captured German agent technology, embarked on extensive research and development programs

    that resulted in the production and stockpiling of thousands of tons of chemical agents and

    munitions. Before emergency response personnel can hope to be effective at the scene of a

    chemical agent incident, they must be aware of the nature and characteristics of chemical agents.

    This awareness is essential for self-protection; it also provides the capability to render aid and

    assistance to those affected. Chemical and biological agents must be produced, packaged, and

    delivered to the intended place of use. Emergency responders should Page 5 not be complacent

    because there are no obvious terrorist targets in their first-due area. The Japanese agent was

    produced in a chemical plant expressly designed and built to produce agents. The agents were

    then transported and used first in Masumoto and months later in Tokyo with reported testing

    along the way in a remote location in Australia. The materials for the bombs that were detonated

    in New York City and Oklahoma


    City were collected, stored, and finally fabricated at distant locations and the resulting bombs

    were transported to the targets along heavily congested roads through densely populated areas.

    the most common chemical agents are those chemicals expressly selected and produced because

    of their ability to cause injury or incapacitation. Chemical warfare agents are generally classified

    into broad categories based on their intended use. Lethal agents incapacitating agents harassing

    agents Another more recognizable categorization based on Physiologic effects include nerve

    agents, blister agents, blood agents, choking agents, and irritating agents.

    References:

    =  

     
    -    Federal Register, February 9,
    1994, Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

    
    
      
      
      !  "" 1992,
    Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of the Army.

    
    #$
    
    %
     = &' (The Director of Central Intelligence,
    Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism, Community Counterterrorism Board.

    
    )  * 
    !+ ",  1990, Ilan Yeshua, Center for Education
    Technology, Israel.

     !  - "


      
     % .
     

     1993, American
    Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

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