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 

Knowledge of Physical States and Properties of Matter

As emergency responders, understanding physical states and properties of matter is very important.  Why would this be important?  Well, when dealing with different substances, whether they be solid, liquid or gas, knowing the properties of matter can help tremendously helpful in an emergency situation.  For example, not every fire can be extinguished with water, which many people may not be aware of.  According to the site https://fire9prevention.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/water-as-an-extinguishing-agent-it-doesnt-always-work/ , there are many different classes of fires.  Class A fires are fires from ordinary combustibles, such as cardboard, or wood.  Class B fires involve flammable liquids, like alcohol and gasoline.  Class C fires are electrical fires and Class D fires are fires that occur from combustible metals.  This site describes that class B fires involve flammable liquids.  These liquids aren't the flammable element, it is the vapors that they give off.  A lot of people may not know that.  Knowing and understanding the physical properties of substances is very important because if there is a gasoline fire, many people may look straight to water to put it out because that is what is thought to put out all fires.  Well, knowing the physical properties of gasoline, according to the site http://www.air-n-water.com/fire-types.htm , you would know that gasoline and water do not mix.  So, adding water to the gasoline or oil fires only increases the surface area of the fire and makes it bigger.  This obviously creates a more dangerous situation and causes a bigger emergency than there originally was.  Knowing that water conducts electricity is also a good example as well, so you cant put out a class C fire with water either.  These simple examples can be related to chemicals in a lab.  Maybe there is a chemical that cannot be stored in an environment that has a temperature above a certain point or else it might combust.  This is very important to know for all types of matter, because different states of matter of a substance may react differently than another, or possibly even itself in a different state.  A term you may hear when discussing this subject is flashpoint.  What is it?  Well, according to the site http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/flash-point.html , flashpoint is only associated with liquids, and it is the temperature that is reached where a liquid will release or give off vapors that when mixed with air have the capability of being ignited.  This is important when dealing with liquids in a lab or when storing them because not understanding the physical properties could possibly lead to being unaware of a safety hazard that may arise from the incorrect use or storage of a substance.  That is why it is very important as emergency responders to understand the physical and chemical properties of matter.  It could be the difference in creating or not creating a hazard as well as possibly making the emergency worse or better.  I hope this article was helpful in providing information about why understanding the physical properties of matter is so important and how helpful it can be.

Ethics

What are ethics?  You may have heard this word used before but may not have fully understood what it meant.  Well, according to the site http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethics , ethics are "a system of moral principles".  Basically, ethics are the set of values that differentiate right from wrong when you think about the outcomes of an action.  So, now that we know what ethics are, when are they used?  Well, after class discussion about the article, we came up with six different areas of where ethics can be applied.  We decided that one area was ethics in government.  We actually discovered three areas within government that ethics can be applied.  These three areas are federal, state and corporate.  The next three areas where we discussed ethics are personal ethics, community ethics, and professional ethics.  In this blog, I will only be going into detail about one of these areas as it relates to the article we read.  The area of ethics that I will be discussing in this blog is the area of professional ethics.  In the article, the farmer was noticing that his cows were acting strange and were showing signs of being sick.  Some were even dying.  The farmer believed that the DuPont factory waste was the cause of the weird behavior and sickness of his cattle.  The local veterinarians of the town came to check the farmers cattle, however, said that the waste was not causing this sickness to his cattle and even though he had been taking care of cattle his whole life, they said that he was mistreating them and not taking good enough care of them.  Now, these veterinarians were paid off by DuPont.  The company brings in almost all the money that the towns receives.  To keep getting paid, the veterinarians made the choice to lie to the farmer about the health of his cattle in order to cover up the hazardous waste that DuPont was sending out.  The veterinarians also made this decision because if they went against DuPont for any reason, the entire town would ignore them and not speak to them.  The people of the town do that to anyone who goes against DuPont because they rely on it so much.  This act by the veterinarians has a lot to do with professional ethics.  From an ethics standpoint, you have to stop and wonder if the vets did the right thing here, by giving false information about animals when it is their job to take care of them.  They become vets to help and save animals, yet in this case to get more money, they are actually doing the opposite of what their job really is to help DuPont cover up their mess.  The farmer also lost friends he had known forever because they wanted nothing to do with the fight against DuPont.  Nobody would pump his gas, doctors refused to treat him, and he even had to change churches multiple times.  Those are also major examples of how professional ethics was involved in this case.  The doctors would not even discuss anything with him.  Isn't that what doctors are suppose to do?  Talk to people about their health?  This is a great example of how ethics can play a huge role in someone's profession.  In this case, the doctors are refusing to help someone who is seeking help that they need.  Ethics can make people do many things, and I hope this blog provided examples of how ethics can have a huge effect when dealing with someone's profession.  When working for an organization like the AIHA, there is a strong code of ethics that must be followed.  You must provide accurate information and report any violations, avoid any conflict of interest that may arise from a client, follow appropriate health and safety measures at all times, etc.  Fore a full list, click here.