Emergency Response Scenario

In class this past week, we had an assignment about being a professional in emergency response public health.  We were put in a scenario where we would be working for a gas company that has just recently experienced a gas leak on site somewhere at the facility.  We would need to go in and find out the details about the leak.  We were asked to determine the necessary personal protective equipment, or PPE, tat we would need in order to get close enough to the leak to assess what was going on with it whether that be the source, or where it may be traveling to.  So, we came to the conclusion that the personal protective equipment necessary for this job would be a full suit, with hand barrier cream for extra protection, as well as an SCBA, or self contained breathing apparatus.  We were then asked to determine the amount of time we would be able to stay in the area keeping in mind how much we would be able to accomplish in that amount of time.  After classroom discussion, we came to the conclusion that you would have about 15-30 minutes in the area before you would need to send in a new team to continue the work being done.  That is about how long you can stay in one of the full body suits as discussed in class.  With that being said, we came to the conclusion that there would need to be a team of about 9 people.  The team would be split up into groups each responsible for completing or fulfilling a task in order to assess the gas leak on site.  The First wave would have three people examining the leak and taking an air test close to the source of the leak to test for any other vapors possibly being formed as a result of the leak and exposure to other elements.  We would then have a second wave with two people conducting any downwind testing that may need to be done to examine where the gas leak is drifting too.  This is very important because it can help determine whether or not the leak is traveling into areas exposing people to the vapors that may not be able to be seen.  This gas leak could have potential to cause some serious health problems so knowing where it is traveling is very important.  The next wave of the team also consist of two people, and they are not directly next to the leak itself, however, a little farther away observing and communicating with the first wave what is happening and keeping in constant contact with them in case something were to go wrong.  They are on hand to help make sure nothing serious happens on site while the test is being performed.  So this wave is known as the mediators/ communicators and observers.  The last wave in the team also consists of two people, and this is the first aid team.  They need to be in constant contact with the observers in case anything were to go wrong with the people in wave one doing the testing.  Besides the exposure to the gas being hazardous to one's health, there are many more things that can be looked at here.  There could be other vapors being formed during the gas leak, which may be dangerous to ones health but also you need to look at the physical and chemical properties of the vapors being released.  Depending on where the leak is occurring, and where the downwind testing shows positive, there is potential for hazards to occur like explosions due to the flashpoint of a vapor.  So physical and chemical properties of the substances tested on need to be known so that any threat of hazards are avoided.  The main areas of things to consider are GHS classification, identifiers, physical properties, toxicity data, exposure limits, health and symptoms, first air, flammability and explosivity, stability and reactivity, storage and handling and cleanup and disposal.  For more information, visit the site https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/formaldehyde#datasheet=lcss&section=Top .I hope this blog was helpful in providing information about what we would do as emergency response professionals in a scenario.

Types of Hazards

In this blog we'll be discussing three different types of hazards, and going into a little bit of detail about each one.  The three hazards that we'll be discussing are physical hazards of materials, reaction hazards, and environmental hazards.  Lets start with physical hazards of materials.  Something that is talked about when dealing with physical hazards is engulfment.  What is engulfment?  Well, according to the site https://www.google.com/#q=engulfment%20hazard , an engulfment hazard is an area that if entered puts someone in danger of being engulfed by liquid or a flow-able solid.  This is where understanding confined spaces is important.  Another term you may hear is cryogenics.  What is this?  Well, according to the site https://www.google.com/#q=cryogenic+definition , cryogenics is the study of the behavior of a material once it goes below a certain temperature.  This is important when dealing with hazards because if you are unaware of the cryogenics of a substance it may have dangerous side effects if this information is unknown.  When talking about reaction hazards, polymerization hazards may be a topic.  This is when molecules join together and become a bigger molecule.  This reaction creates heat and can get out of control, causing an explosion potentially according to the site https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/reactive/react.html .  A substance can also be water reactive, which is self explanatory; when it is exposed to water it undergoes a chemical reaction.  This reaction can cause a gas release, which can be very dangerous to other surroundings which someone may not know that substances can have a negative reaction with water.  A last example in reaction hazards we will talk about is thermal decomposition.  According to the site https://www.google.com/#q=thermal+decomposition+definition , this is when a substance undergoes an endothermic reaction and decomposes due to heat.  As you can see, most of these hazards have something to do with heat so it is very important to understand the properties of a substance you are using or else you could be putting yourself and others around you in danger.  The last type of hazard we will be talking about is environmental hazards.  This section may talk about bioaccumulation.  What even is this?  Maybe you've never heard of this word before.  Well, according to the site https://www.google.com/#q=bioaccumulation+definition , this is when an organism absorbs a hazardous substance faster than the substance can exit or be taken care of and eradicated.  This is where genealogy comes into play.  Genealogy can tell the ancestry line of an organism that may be harmful to ones health.  This is important for people's safety, and can help get rid of a problem if the source is discovered using this technique.  I hope this blog was helpful in describing some hazards that you may not have heard of before.  It is important to know the physical and chemical properties of a substance because if it is not known, as you can see from this blog, there is a lot of potential for hazards to arise which can put many people in danger.  Understanding these properties is very important and is definitely something to consider