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.