Haz Mat Team Prepared for Emergency Situations
Telluride Watch - Telluride,CO,USA
Sep 23, 2008
PUEBLO – Ouray County’s hazardous materials response team averages one hazardous-materials emergency per year, according to Norm Rooker, chief of Ouray County Emergency Medical Services. And if they’re lucky, they get called out of the county to back up another team maybe once every two or three years. Nevertheless, when something does go wrong, they have to be ready – and there are all kinds of things that can go wrong.
“Which is why we put so much emphasis on training to stay confident and sharp,” Rooker said. He and two other members of the OCEMS Haz Mat Team, Mike Bazin of Ouray and Dave Drew of Ridgway, recently attended a three-day training at a facility east of Pueblo to bone up on the assessment, containment and handling of chemicals such as gasoline, propane, acids, and anhydrous ammonia, often used locally as fertilizer for hayfields.
The session was part of a biannual training organized by the Western Slope Hazardous Materials Response Consortium and funded by grants obtained by county emergency management coordinators such as Ouray County’s Alan Staehle. The training consisted of classroom time and field work, with exercises probing everything from how to defray static electricity that could cause an explosion, to handling a spill near a residential neighborhood.
“Each [material] has different properties,” Rooker said. “Some pose a minimal threat. Some are explosive, some displace oxygen – they’re heavier than air.” Rooker said that the placards on vehicles carrying hazardous materials are required to help responders tell from a distance what they are dealing with. “We have what we call the rule of thumb: If you can’t cover up the incident with your thumb with your arm held in front of you, then you’re standing too close.”
While Highway 550 is off-limits to through-transport of hazardous materials, it is open to the transport of materials for local consumption, meaning anything bound for Ouray County as well as for Montrose, Delta and Gunnison counties. That can include gasoline, propane, kerosene, and agricultural chemicals. A 2004 study found that 58 percent of all hazardous materials transported into and through the county were petrochemicals.
In addition, the construction of a gasahol refinery in La Plata County has Rooker expecting an increase in transport of the ethanol-gasoline mix, which has its own unique set of hazards.
“For gasoline and other petroleum products, fire departments carry foam,” Rooker said. However, gasahol breaks down that foam, and while another product is available to fight ethanol fires, it’s more expensive, leaving departments scrambling to find the funding for it.
Regulations, however, don’t always keep the public and the environment safe. Rooker said that last year there were convoys of trucks, 12 to 16 per day, traveling through Ouray County carrying wastewater from gas-drilling projects on the West End, which is not covered by haz-mat regulations. “It may be mostly water, but it’s also contaminated with varying amounts of flammables and more importantly, benzene,” Rooker said. He said that a similar truck overturned near Carbondale the previous year that send six people to the hospital. However, since a new holding facility for the wastewater has been built, he doesn’t expect to see more of the trucks.
What regulations also miss are the people who choose to ignore them. Such was the case earlier this year when a flatbed carrying methanol overturned on Red Mountain Pass.
“The pass had been closed for six days,” Rooker said. “The driver was trying to make up for lost time and had an unfortunate accident.”
Rooker also cited the everyday over-the-counter hazardous materials that don’t get placarded. “Look at all the chemicals at the hardware store or the supermarket,” he said, citing paints, drain cleaners and petroleum distillates. “If I were to go to your house right now and look under your sink and in your garage I would easily find two dozen containers of hazardous chemicals. They’re OK by themselves, but if we were to have a flood or a fire we’d have to deal with them. That’s one of the reasons firefighters wear self-contained breathing apparatus.”
Next year’s training, involving response to radioactive incidents, is already being planned to take place at the Department of Homeland Security’s Nuclear and Radioactive Response School at the Nevada Test Site outside Las Vegas. Though Rooker doesn’t expect the increase in uranium mining in the West End to cause increases in transport of the materials in our direction – currently all ores are being shipped west to Utah for processing – nevertheless, OCEMS may have to go out on a call anyway. With the closest two-man technician teams based in Cortez and Grand Junction, each with a four-hour response time, it’s up to local operations crews, who work together when a job is too big for one county’s team, to hold the fort until they arrive.
“Because we’re so remote we run an operations team on steroids,” Rooker said. “We rescue victims, size up the operations on what we’re dealing with, do defensive operations like dike and dam to stop leaks, prevent it from getting into the water system, keep it out of the environment, and then we decontaminate the rescuers and victims.”
For more information on the Pueblo haz mat training facility go to www.hazmattraining.com. For more information on the Nevada Test Site radioactive response training program go to www.nv.doe.gov/library/factsheets/DOENV_1115.pdf.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
HAZMAT Wash Down Berms
HOW LONG HAS BASIC CONCEPTS BEEN
MANUFACTURING WASH DOWN BERMS?
As you can see from this archived copy of Pollution Equipment News dated April 1991 issue #24 page 63, Basic Concepts has been building berms for wash down applications for over 17 years. Pictured in the photo above is Basic Concepts’ founder Edward Van Romer’s son who ran a distributorship of Basic Concepts’ products in Denver, CO under the name Solution Control Systems. And the rest is history…
About Basic Concepts
Basic Concepts is a World War II veteran owned small business that manufactures environmental spill containment products. Founded in 1988, the company is celebrating its 20th year of serving a global market one customer at a time. Want to know more about Basic Concepts and its full line of secondary containment berms and oil spill products? Please contact Basic Concepts, Inc, 1310 Harris Bridge Rd, Anderson, SC 29621, telephone 1-800-285-4203 or visit the company website at www.basicconcepts.com
MANUFACTURING WASH DOWN BERMS?
As you can see from this archived copy of Pollution Equipment News dated April 1991 issue #24 page 63, Basic Concepts has been building berms for wash down applications for over 17 years. Pictured in the photo above is Basic Concepts’ founder Edward Van Romer’s son who ran a distributorship of Basic Concepts’ products in Denver, CO under the name Solution Control Systems. And the rest is history…
About Basic Concepts
Basic Concepts is a World War II veteran owned small business that manufactures environmental spill containment products. Founded in 1988, the company is celebrating its 20th year of serving a global market one customer at a time. Want to know more about Basic Concepts and its full line of secondary containment berms and oil spill products? Please contact Basic Concepts, Inc, 1310 Harris Bridge Rd, Anderson, SC 29621, telephone 1-800-285-4203 or visit the company website at www.basicconcepts.com
Decon Berms in use at Dirksen Senate Building
September 22, 2008
With recent events bringing the 2001 Anthrax attack on the capital back into the headlines, several archived AP photos have been printed in USA Today and Newsweek as well as a Getty Image in Life Magazine that showcase the Sentry Quickberm in use as a decon wash down berm. Pictured above are hazmat worker going through personnel decon outside of the Dirksen Senate building.
Basic Concepts is proud to manufacture products that assists men and women in the service of our country do their jobs in a safer manner. Basic Concepts is a World War II veteran owned small business that manufactures environmental spill containment products. Founded in 1988, the company is celebrating its 20th year of serving a global market one customer at a time. Want to know more about Basic Concepts and its full line of secondary containment berms and oil spill products? Please contact Basic Concepts, Inc, 1310 Harris Bridge Rd, Anderson, SC 29621, telephone 1-800-285-4203 or visit the company website at www.basicconcepts.com.
Timeline of a Hazmat Response
How events unfolded: Chemical leak timeline
Seed Newsvine By KIETRYN ZYCHAL
Pocono Record Writer
January 13, 2008
"You tell the people of Monroe County that they should be very proud of their emergency responders," said Charles Decker, director of environmental health and security at Vertellus Health and Specialty Products, the site of an early-morning chemical spill in the Delaware Water Gap. "I have national responsibility for this company and I can tell you that the people here today are professional to the nth degree."
Decker's sentiments were echoed by division president Robert Molino.
Related Stories
Water Gap evacuated: Chemical leak ousts residents; no one hurt (with video) "This incident was handled very quickly and efficiently. This is a first class operation," he said. "I can't stress enough how grateful we are that no one was injured. And we apologize to the community for disrupting their Saturday, but there was a lot of flammable material and the fire chief felt they didn't want to risk having anyone here in the event the chemical was ignited."
Scott Turner is president and CEO of HMHTTC Response Inc. of Mount Arlington, N.J., the hazardous materials cleanup company contracted by Vertellus to handle chemical emergencies at its Delaware Water Gap plant. HMHTTC Response cleans chemical spills all over the United States. His business card reads "Masters of Disaster." When asked about the seriousness of this spill, Turner responded, "Initially, it was Level A, requiring the team to wear fully encapsulated suits. Later, it was downgraded to Level B."
When asked how local emergency responders compared to others across the country, he said, "You can't compare response teams in areas as different as Los Angeles, Chicago and the Poconos. But, I can tell you that this team was excellent. They spared no time in getting manpower and vehicles and equipment here. And they joined into a unified command and very wisely decided to let us handle our piece of the response," he said. When asked to clarify what he meant, Turner said, "For instance, in Chicago, they call the shots on everything." Turner said his company handles 3,000 calls a year nationwide from small incidents to heavy industrial spills like the recent oil spill in San Francisco. His clients include the top 100 trucking firms and eight of the top 10 tanker companies as well as railroads.
Timeline of the emergency spill response:
7:50 a.m. Vertellus employees place a 911 call to report a chemical spill and notify their private contractor, HMHTTC.
7:51 a.m. Bruce Henry, deputy director of the Monroe County Office of Emergency Management is listening to the police scanner at home in Tobyhanna when he receives the call from the 911 center. On the way to the Delaware Water Gap, Henry speaks to the Monroe County hazmat team to determine if the county or a private company will handle the chemical spill.
911 Center places a call to Delaware Water Gap Fire Company. DWG requests assistance from Shawnee, Marshall's Creek Fire Company and Stroud Township. Marshall's Creek has a truck with 3,000 feet of five-inch hose, which will be used for pumping water from Cherry Creek at the intersection of Route 611 and Broad Street to the spill site. Stroud Township supplies a command unit — a trailer utilized for meetings to coordinate the response. Suburban Ambulance is called to the scene. Dr. Robert Wallen, on staff at Pocono Medical Center and medical adviser to the Red Cross is called.
7:55 a.m. Henry, en route, calls Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in Wilkes-Barre to request assistance from their emergency response people.
After 8 a.m. Howard Ike, chief of the Delaware Water Gap Fire Company, instructs firefighters to evacuate residents of Delaware Water Gap.
Dr. Wallen contacts Red Cross volunteers to prepare to set up emergency shelters.
Monroe County Transit Authority is called to bring buses to the Interstate 80 Welcome Center for transport of evacuated residents.
Martz Bus Co. is instructed to reroute buses away from Delaware Water Gap bus terminal.
8:20 a.m. Henry arrives on scene. First responders of HMHTTC arrive to assess situation.
By 9:30 a.m. Two trailers from HMHTTC arrive with equipment. Volunteers and staff are at Red Cross headquarters. Shelters are set up at two schools, Smithfield Elementary and Stroudsburg High School. Residents have been evacuated. Salvation Army canteen sets up in staging area to provide snacks and water for firefighters.
9:30 a.m. Tobyhanna Army Depot's fire company sends a vehicle and an EMT to each emergency shelter.
10 a.m. HMHTTC, wearing Level A protection, assesses leak. It is determined that foam will be needed to suppress vapor from the chemical in the concrete containment pit beneath the tanks. Blue Ridge Fire Chief, Leon Clapper, brings a trailer from the Public Safety Center in Snydersville specifically equipped for Foam suppression. Lackawanna County also sends a foam equippped trailer as a back up.
Noon. Executives from Vertellus arrive on scene.
1-2 p.m. After HMHTTC concludes its inspection, foam is sprayed on pit beneath tank by volunteer firefighters wearing full protective gear.
2:30 p.m. Stroudsburg High shelter shuts down. Smithfield remains open.
3 p.m. HMHTTC vacuums liquid out of containment pit into storage tank.
4 p.m. Most of liquid has been removed from containment pit. Solid chemicals are removed after liquid.
5 p.m. Decontamination of firefighters who had contact with the chemical spill.
6 p.m. Residents return to homes. Emergency responders leave scene. HMHTTC employees remain to complete shutdown of site.
Seed Newsvine By KIETRYN ZYCHAL
Pocono Record Writer
January 13, 2008
"You tell the people of Monroe County that they should be very proud of their emergency responders," said Charles Decker, director of environmental health and security at Vertellus Health and Specialty Products, the site of an early-morning chemical spill in the Delaware Water Gap. "I have national responsibility for this company and I can tell you that the people here today are professional to the nth degree."
Decker's sentiments were echoed by division president Robert Molino.
Related Stories
Water Gap evacuated: Chemical leak ousts residents; no one hurt (with video) "This incident was handled very quickly and efficiently. This is a first class operation," he said. "I can't stress enough how grateful we are that no one was injured. And we apologize to the community for disrupting their Saturday, but there was a lot of flammable material and the fire chief felt they didn't want to risk having anyone here in the event the chemical was ignited."
Scott Turner is president and CEO of HMHTTC Response Inc. of Mount Arlington, N.J., the hazardous materials cleanup company contracted by Vertellus to handle chemical emergencies at its Delaware Water Gap plant. HMHTTC Response cleans chemical spills all over the United States. His business card reads "Masters of Disaster." When asked about the seriousness of this spill, Turner responded, "Initially, it was Level A, requiring the team to wear fully encapsulated suits. Later, it was downgraded to Level B."
When asked how local emergency responders compared to others across the country, he said, "You can't compare response teams in areas as different as Los Angeles, Chicago and the Poconos. But, I can tell you that this team was excellent. They spared no time in getting manpower and vehicles and equipment here. And they joined into a unified command and very wisely decided to let us handle our piece of the response," he said. When asked to clarify what he meant, Turner said, "For instance, in Chicago, they call the shots on everything." Turner said his company handles 3,000 calls a year nationwide from small incidents to heavy industrial spills like the recent oil spill in San Francisco. His clients include the top 100 trucking firms and eight of the top 10 tanker companies as well as railroads.
Timeline of the emergency spill response:
7:50 a.m. Vertellus employees place a 911 call to report a chemical spill and notify their private contractor, HMHTTC.
7:51 a.m. Bruce Henry, deputy director of the Monroe County Office of Emergency Management is listening to the police scanner at home in Tobyhanna when he receives the call from the 911 center. On the way to the Delaware Water Gap, Henry speaks to the Monroe County hazmat team to determine if the county or a private company will handle the chemical spill.
911 Center places a call to Delaware Water Gap Fire Company. DWG requests assistance from Shawnee, Marshall's Creek Fire Company and Stroud Township. Marshall's Creek has a truck with 3,000 feet of five-inch hose, which will be used for pumping water from Cherry Creek at the intersection of Route 611 and Broad Street to the spill site. Stroud Township supplies a command unit — a trailer utilized for meetings to coordinate the response. Suburban Ambulance is called to the scene. Dr. Robert Wallen, on staff at Pocono Medical Center and medical adviser to the Red Cross is called.
7:55 a.m. Henry, en route, calls Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in Wilkes-Barre to request assistance from their emergency response people.
After 8 a.m. Howard Ike, chief of the Delaware Water Gap Fire Company, instructs firefighters to evacuate residents of Delaware Water Gap.
Dr. Wallen contacts Red Cross volunteers to prepare to set up emergency shelters.
Monroe County Transit Authority is called to bring buses to the Interstate 80 Welcome Center for transport of evacuated residents.
Martz Bus Co. is instructed to reroute buses away from Delaware Water Gap bus terminal.
8:20 a.m. Henry arrives on scene. First responders of HMHTTC arrive to assess situation.
By 9:30 a.m. Two trailers from HMHTTC arrive with equipment. Volunteers and staff are at Red Cross headquarters. Shelters are set up at two schools, Smithfield Elementary and Stroudsburg High School. Residents have been evacuated. Salvation Army canteen sets up in staging area to provide snacks and water for firefighters.
9:30 a.m. Tobyhanna Army Depot's fire company sends a vehicle and an EMT to each emergency shelter.
10 a.m. HMHTTC, wearing Level A protection, assesses leak. It is determined that foam will be needed to suppress vapor from the chemical in the concrete containment pit beneath the tanks. Blue Ridge Fire Chief, Leon Clapper, brings a trailer from the Public Safety Center in Snydersville specifically equipped for Foam suppression. Lackawanna County also sends a foam equippped trailer as a back up.
Noon. Executives from Vertellus arrive on scene.
1-2 p.m. After HMHTTC concludes its inspection, foam is sprayed on pit beneath tank by volunteer firefighters wearing full protective gear.
2:30 p.m. Stroudsburg High shelter shuts down. Smithfield remains open.
3 p.m. HMHTTC vacuums liquid out of containment pit into storage tank.
4 p.m. Most of liquid has been removed from containment pit. Solid chemicals are removed after liquid.
5 p.m. Decontamination of firefighters who had contact with the chemical spill.
6 p.m. Residents return to homes. Emergency responders leave scene. HMHTTC employees remain to complete shutdown of site.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
HAZMAT Crew Utilized in Road Spill
HAZMAT spill temporarily closes the Midtown Tunnel Saturday
Updated: May 14, 2007 02:00 PM EDT
Commuters ran into trouble at the Midtown Tunnel early on Saturday.
The tunnel was closed for nearly five hours as HAZMAT crews cleaned up a hydrochloric acid spill.
The trail of hazardous material ran through the Midtown Tunnel and caused a trail of traffic to back up for hours.
"There was no crash. There was a load shift. One of the drums got cracked on the bottom and was leaking hydrochloric acid," explained Cheif Bruce Evans of the Norfolk Fire Department.
25 total gallons leaked from the truck. According to investigators the driver of the tractor trailer did not stop at the inspection station on the Portsmouth side of the tunnel prior to driving through. The truck was hauling three 55 gallon drums of hydrochloric acid and one drum of sodium hydroxide.
"Basic problems with hydrochloric acid is it's an irritant, it's an inhalation hazard, it's corrosive to the mucus membrane and liquidy tissues like the eyes, throat, things like that," said Evans.
Firefighters used an absorbant material to soak up the mess outside. The acid inside the tube will get special attention.
"They have a containment system for any runoff inside the tunnel, so that product will be contained within systems of the Midtown Tunnel," said Evans.
Fire officials said the driver faces four misdeamnor charges for having an improperly marked vehicle. State police may also file additional charges.
No one was hurt.
Updated: May 14, 2007 02:00 PM EDT
Commuters ran into trouble at the Midtown Tunnel early on Saturday.
The tunnel was closed for nearly five hours as HAZMAT crews cleaned up a hydrochloric acid spill.
The trail of hazardous material ran through the Midtown Tunnel and caused a trail of traffic to back up for hours.
"There was no crash. There was a load shift. One of the drums got cracked on the bottom and was leaking hydrochloric acid," explained Cheif Bruce Evans of the Norfolk Fire Department.
25 total gallons leaked from the truck. According to investigators the driver of the tractor trailer did not stop at the inspection station on the Portsmouth side of the tunnel prior to driving through. The truck was hauling three 55 gallon drums of hydrochloric acid and one drum of sodium hydroxide.
"Basic problems with hydrochloric acid is it's an irritant, it's an inhalation hazard, it's corrosive to the mucus membrane and liquidy tissues like the eyes, throat, things like that," said Evans.
Firefighters used an absorbant material to soak up the mess outside. The acid inside the tube will get special attention.
"They have a containment system for any runoff inside the tunnel, so that product will be contained within systems of the Midtown Tunnel," said Evans.
Fire officials said the driver faces four misdeamnor charges for having an improperly marked vehicle. State police may also file additional charges.
No one was hurt.
No Hazmat Job Too Big
September 24, 2008
I thought it would be appropriate to go back into the archives and pull up this equipment decon application. Pictured at right is a C140 plane in use by the U.S. Air Force. It flies missions all over the world where it risks being exposed to radiological and biological weapons. After such missions, it returns to base for decon in a 180'x180' Sentry Quickberm. Both equipment and personnel wash down are important aspects of proper hazmat decon.
Hazmat Response Unit Utilizing New Equipment
Reposted from: New Iberia Parish Haz Mat Response Unit
KLFY - Lafayette,LA,USA
and No Spill Zone
New Iberia Parish Haz Mat Response Unit
Posted: Dec 12, 2007 01:36 PM EST
Quicker response times. That’s what the Fire Chief says Iberia Parish will see now that their Fire Department has their own Haz-Mat spill Response Unit.
Fire Chief Chad Sonnier Says: ”In the past it would take an hour and a half of response time before they’ve even made it on the scene for search and rescue efforts to begin. Now, with this truck in service we’ll have rescue efforts underway with in 10 minutes after dispatch.”
The unit was first used when a Navy training jet crashed near the Acadiana Regional Airport. Using things like special absorbent pads and containment booms, Firefighters soaked up leaking jet fuel. Because of this equipment, the Fire Chief tells us the spill had a zero percent impact on the environment.
The unit has things like splash suits. They cover the entire body and protect Firefighters from chemical exposure. Special equipment like Spill Blocker Dikes can connect to form a perimeter on land to contain chemicals. The same can be done on water with BoomDikes. The unit even contains special blockers to fit over drains to keep chemicals from leaking through.
Fire Chief Chad Sonnier tells us since July his Department has received eight calls for flammable liquids spills. Before this new unit was established, the Parish was able to get private companies to respond to seven of those spills. At the latest spill the Department was able to successfully respond to with their new equipment.
KLFY - Lafayette,LA,USA
and No Spill Zone
New Iberia Parish Haz Mat Response Unit
Posted: Dec 12, 2007 01:36 PM EST
Quicker response times. That’s what the Fire Chief says Iberia Parish will see now that their Fire Department has their own Haz-Mat spill Response Unit.
Fire Chief Chad Sonnier Says: ”In the past it would take an hour and a half of response time before they’ve even made it on the scene for search and rescue efforts to begin. Now, with this truck in service we’ll have rescue efforts underway with in 10 minutes after dispatch.”
The unit was first used when a Navy training jet crashed near the Acadiana Regional Airport. Using things like special absorbent pads and containment booms, Firefighters soaked up leaking jet fuel. Because of this equipment, the Fire Chief tells us the spill had a zero percent impact on the environment.
The unit has things like splash suits. They cover the entire body and protect Firefighters from chemical exposure. Special equipment like Spill Blocker Dikes can connect to form a perimeter on land to contain chemicals. The same can be done on water with BoomDikes. The unit even contains special blockers to fit over drains to keep chemicals from leaking through.
Fire Chief Chad Sonnier tells us since July his Department has received eight calls for flammable liquids spills. Before this new unit was established, the Parish was able to get private companies to respond to seven of those spills. At the latest spill the Department was able to successfully respond to with their new equipment.
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