Emergency Response, Spill Containment, First Aid and Poisoning Recognition
Emergencies split into spills and exposures.
Spill response: protect people first (evacuate, keep others back, stay upwind), then stop the source (right the container, close the valve), contain it (absorbent socks, sand, soil, sawdust; build a berm; block the drain), absorb, and clean up. Never hose a spill into a drain or ditch. Put waste into labelled, closed containers. In Ontario, a spill that may cause an adverse effect must be reported immediately to the Ministry's Spills Action Centre (1-800-268-6060) and to the municipality or owner of the material; the polluter pays and must clean up. Call 911 if there is fire, injury or danger to people. Send the label and SDS with anyone taken for medical care.
First aid, always as the label directs: skin - remove contaminated clothing, wash with soap and water; eyes - flush with clean water for at least 15 minutes, holding lids open; inhalation - move to fresh air and loosen clothing; ingestion - rinse the mouth, do not induce vomiting unless the label says so, and never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person. Then get medical help.
Recognizing poisoning: headache, nausea, vomiting, sweating, salivation, blurred vision, pinpoint pupils, muscle twitching, weakness, confusion, seizures. Organophosphates and carbamates (cholinesterase inhibitors) give the wet "SLUDGE" picture; physicians may use atropine. Distinguish heat stress (improves with cooling and fluids) - but when in doubt, treat as poisoning.
Traps: delaying the call to the Spills Action Centre or poison control, and "cleaning up" a spill by diluting it into the environment.
Rule of thumb: people, source, contain, report - in that order, every time.