Hazmat Awareness key terms

OSHA regulation (29 CFR 1910.120) that governs hazardous waste site cleanup and emergency response, setting training levels, site safety plans, medical surveillance, and PPE requirements for workers exposed to hazardous substances.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, the federal "Superfund" law that authorizes cleanup of uncontrolled hazardous substance releases and allows recovery of costs from responsible parties.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (SARA Title III); it requires facilities to report hazardous chemical inventories and releases and created state and local planning structures so communities can prepare for chemical emergencies.

A standardized 16-section document supplied by the chemical manufacturer that describes a product's hazards, physical properties, health effects, safe handling, and emergency measures; required under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard.

Globally Harmonized System for classifying and labelling chemicals, adopted into OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard, which standardizes pictograms, signal words, and hazard statements on labels and safety data sheets.

The threshold amount of a hazardous substance that, when released to the environment within 24 hours, must be reported to federal authorities under CERCLA.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the federal law that regulates how hazardous waste is generated, stored, transported, treated, and disposed of, often called the cradle-to-grave system.

A U.S. DOT reference carried on emergency vehicles that helps responders identify a material by name or number and find initial isolation distances, protective actions, and first-aid guidance during the first minutes of an incident.

A diamond-shaped warning sign required on transport vehicles and bulk containers that shows the primary hazard class, and sometimes a four-digit number, of the material being carried.

A four-digit number assigned to a specific hazardous material, displayed on placards, orange panels, or shipping papers, and used with the Emergency Response Guidebook to find response information.

One of nine categories used by the U.S. DOT to classify hazardous materials by their dominant risk, such as explosives, flammable liquids, or corrosives; the class drives placarding, packaging, and segregation rules.

The transport document required for hazardous materials that lists the proper shipping name, hazard class, UN number, quantity, package type, and a 24-hour emergency contact number.

A fixed-facility marking system, sometimes called the fire diamond, that rates a material's health, flammability, and instability hazards from 0 to 4 and notes special hazards such as water reactivity.

The lowest temperature at which a liquid gives off enough vapor to form an ignitable mixture with air near its surface; a key indicator of how easily a liquid fuel can ignite.

Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health: the maximum airborne concentration from which a person could escape within 30 minutes without irreversible health effects or symptoms that would impair escape.

The first responder trained to recognize that hazardous materials are present, isolate and secure the area, notify trained personnel, and take no further action beyond initial scene safety.

A responder trained to perform defensive actions at a hazardous materials incident, such as establishing control zones, confining the release from a safe distance, and conducting decontamination, without entering the release area to stop it.

The responder trained to take offensive action, approaching the point of release to plug, patch, or otherwise stop a hazardous materials release using specialized protective equipment and tools.

The person responsible for the overall management of an incident, including establishing command, setting objectives and strategy, committing resources, and ensuring responder safety.

An incident management structure in which two or more agencies with jurisdictional or functional responsibility jointly set objectives, strategy, and priorities for the same incident.

A command staff position responsible for monitoring incident conditions and responder activities, identifying unsafe practices, and having the authority to halt operations that endanger personnel.

The federal 24-hour reporting center, staffed by the U.S. Coast Guard, that receives notices of hazardous substance releases and relays them to the appropriate federal, state, and local agencies.

A community committee created under EPCRA that develops and updates the local hazardous materials emergency plan, reviews facility chemical reports, and coordinates response and public information.

The highest level of chemical protection: a fully encapsulating suit worn with self-contained breathing apparatus inside, used when the chemical, its concentration, or its route of exposure is unknown or severely hazardous.

Chemical-resistant clothing with self-contained breathing apparatus worn outside the suit; used when maximum respiratory protection is required but the material poses a lesser skin hazard or is known not to harm skin.

Self-contained breathing apparatus: a respirator that supplies air from a cylinder carried by the wearer, giving protection in oxygen-deficient or immediately dangerous to life or health atmospheres.

A respirator that filters contaminants out of the surrounding air with cartridges or canisters; it requires adequate oxygen and a known contaminant at a concentration below IDLH.

The process of removing or neutralizing hazardous materials from people, equipment, and tools so contamination is not spread to responders, transport vehicles, or facilities.

Immediate, improvised washing of contaminated people, usually with water and often without runoff containment, performed before they leave the scene to reduce injury and prevent spread.

A planned, organized decontamination setup using defined stations such as tool drop, washing, rinsing, and drying, staffed by trained personnel with runoff control and monitoring.

A protective action that directs people to remain indoors, close windows and doors, and shut off heating or ventilation until an outdoor hazardous materials release has dissipated.

An operation that controls a hazardous materials incident from a safe distance by confining the release, preventing spread, or protecting exposures, without attempting to stop the release at its source.

The designated hot, warm, and cold areas of a hazardous materials scene; the hot zone is contaminated, the warm zone is the decontamination corridor, and the cold zone holds command and support functions.

Building a barrier of soil, sand, or absorbent material around or downslope of a liquid spill to confine the product and keep it out of drains, waterways, and storm sewers.

Constructing berms, trenches, or channels to steer the flow of a spilled liquid away from sensitive areas and toward a place where it can be contained or recovered.

Using porous materials such as clay, pads, or sawdust that draw a liquid into their structure, allowing the spilled product to be contained and picked up.

A larger salvage drum or container into which a damaged, leaking, or suspect container is placed so it can be handled and transported safely.

Techniques such as water fog or foam applied to a spill to cool the material, reduce vapor generation, or form a barrier that limits flammable or toxic vapors.

The termination phase of an incident in which resources are released and returned, the site is turned over or restored, and required documentation and reports are completed.

A structured post-incident discussion among responders that examines what happened, what worked well, and what should change in plans, training, or equipment.