Emergency Response, Incidents, and Reporting
What the exam tests
This domain tests what you do at the scene of a hazmat incident and when a report is required. The exam emphasizes life safety first, then notification, then containment-not heroics.
Core rules
- Stop, secure the scene, and warn traffic. Stay upwind and uphill. Do not touch, walk through, or attempt to clean up a spill unless you are trained and equipped.
- Identify the material from the shipping paper, placards, labels, and ERG guide number. Use the ERG's initial isolation and protective-action distances.
- Call 911 and the carrier's emergency number. The National Response Center (1-800-424-8802) must be notified immediately for incidents involving death, serious injury requiring hospitalization, property damage exceeding $50,000, evacuation of six or more people, closure of a major transportation artery for one hour or more, or certain releases.
- The carrier files a written incident report within 30 days. Drivers must give their carrier the facts promptly.
- Preserve the scene and paperwork for investigators; do not discard packaging or evidence.
Worked example
A nitric acid drum ruptures at a warehouse and 8 workers are evacuated. Because six or more people were evacuated, an immediate NRC report is required, even if no one was hurt and the spill was contained. The carrier must also file the written report. If only 3 people had been evacuated and no other threshold was met, the immediate NRC call would not be triggered by evacuation alone, though local emergency responders and the carrier would still need notification.
Traps
Waiting until the carrier answers before calling 911; using the ERG as a cleanup manual; assuming a report is only required for injuries; and forgetting the 30-day written report.