developing a haz-mat team

7/27/2019 Developing a Haz-mat Team

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DEVELOPING A HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TEAM

Prepared for

THE SCHOOL OF FIRE STAFF AND COMMANDEASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

September 22, 1999

By

Craig E. Miller

725919


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ABSTRACT

This project will present you with a not so uncommon problem facing many

communities today. St. Clair County is a mostly rural area with light to moderate industry

located near its population hubs. This doesnt sound so unusual but the main part of our

concern rests with what travels through our area rather than the hazards within. Hazards

from chemicals that if released from their containers will pollute the atmosphere, disrupt

normal life and business, and deliver a great potential for injury or death.

The Port Huron area is a host to the import of more than 39 million pounds of hazardous

chemicals every day. 1 This figure was compiled through a 24 hour manned survey on the

Blue Water Bridge that connects the United States with Canada. 21 pipelines also enter

St. Clair County under the St. Clair River carrying commodities like crude oil and

liquefied petroleum gas under extreme pressure. Along with these two avenues of travel

is one of the biggest transport safety concerns, the international railroad tunnel between

Canada and the United States. Trains exiting the American side of the tunnel can be

moving at speeds of 60 miles per hour or more.

The chemicals brought through St. Clair County travel to us out of necessity. The

Ambassador bridge in Detroit as well as the International crossing at Sault St. Marie

Michigan are privately owned and do not allow hazardous chemicals from crossing.

1THE TIMES HERALD, HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ON THE MOVE, FEBRUARY 1997


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Our area has such great potential for disaster and even with this knowledge shared by so

many people, there is just now a movement toward an established group to respond to a

chemical emergency.

The problem is the absence of a specialized team of individuals to support the local

emergency responders with information and equipment. The answer, developing a

hazardous materials team. I will present many of the problems and requirements

encountered and solutions that were developed to make this project work, specifically the

organization of people from different professional disciplines and coordinating a

volunteer group. Medical surveillance requirements were followed and modified to

achieve the needs of the team and still stay within financial boundaries. Safety concerns

as well as state and federal requirements were addressed in documentation for both each

individual and the teams operational guidelines. Insurance and employer responsibilities

to the team mission are addressed in a simple yet thorough format. The response and

activation of the hazardous materials team was established to fill in the voids of the

primary responders in our county. Questions arose about response outside the organized

jurisdiction at the request of neighboring communities. One of the biggest roles for these

talented individuals was meeting the response to domestic terrorism. The threat of

weapons of mass destruction carries a great deal of weight in our time and the procedures

to follow are very close to our standard means of operating. By developing an arm of our

team to deal with terrorist acts, we have opened the door to many possible sources of


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funding for our cause. This has also given us a reputation at a state level of being

proactive and alert to the newer potential for mass disaster.

Each of these topics will be looked at individually and in depth. This process is ongoing

and new considerations will arise along with new solutions. Much of the information was

derived from other organizations and different incidents. Many of these will be explained

and illustrated as we go along.


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ORGANIZATIONAL CONCERNS

The establishment of a group like ours is time consuming at best. Approximately 5 years

ago, several disaster drills were conducted to test the readiness of local hospitals. This

came out of the annual requirements made by JACHO (The Joint Accreditation

Commission for Healthcare Organizations.). 2 The Office of Emergency Management

coordinated the drills and focused on the great potential for chemical injuries. As a result

of the drills the hospitals said they needed additional equipment, training, and most

important, time to prepare. This gave way to the formation of 2 committees. The first was

the Off Site Response Committee. This group was made up of hospital, EMS, and

health care staff to establish uniformed procedures and needs for the local emergency

rooms to prepare. The second group was the On Site Response Committee. This group

focused on field decontamination of patients and support to the local fire departments at

the haz-mat operations level. This committee was very diversified with representation

from the fire departments, EMS, private environmental contractors, and Emergency

Management. It was felt that if patients could be decontaminated at the scene and early

notification was made to the receiving hospital, this would give the best care without

rescuer injury or cross contamination.

As a result of the findings of these 2 committees, the county board of commissioners

allocated approximately $12,000 to establish 3 mass decontamination trailers in the

county. To this date 90% of the fire departments in St. Clair Co. have received training in

2 Susan Hornberger R.N., Interview discussion on hazardous materials preparedness, River DistrictHospital St. Clair, Mi. Sept-1996


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the use of these decontamination units and they stand ready to participate as an integral

part of our emergency response.

From this came the understanding that we have just taken the first step toward a county

wide system for emergency response to hazardous materials incidents. A long term plan

came into view with the ability to treat victims in the field, monitor the air for

contaminants, and effect entry into the most hazardous of atmospheres.

The financial basis for this group came from shared funding. With the support of several

county commissioners, St. Clair Co. put up funding over 2 years which was matched by

the local cities and townships in the county. This was the seed money needed to establish

the team and do initial capital investments in equipment.

With the financial concerns addressed the organization of the team could be developed

and a rough draft of the response laid out. From the onset it was understood that the team

would be manned by bonified volunteers. This has been the base for most services in the

area and the only way to accomplish our goal financially at this time.

To achieve buy in by all of the entities that had invested in the program as well as

those emergency services that would have direct usage of the team, 2 committees were

organized to oversee the initial formation of the team. The first of these was the

operations board. This was made up of emergency services, technical specialists, and

emergency management representatives with the mission of operational decisions for the

team. Decisions like equipment needs, personnel, procedures, and detailed concerns. The

second committee was the executive board. These people represented the investing

organizations and were given the responsibilities of liability research, response areas and


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boundaries, as well as final approval of recommendations made by the operations board.

The executive board had the last word.

This system was rather sluggish at first but proved to be thorough in the end until a

command staff could be appointed and functional. When this took place, the operations

board and the executive boards were combined into one executive board. Many of the

members not remaining in the merger were no longer utilized and several became team

members. The team commander requested that any active team members not be on the

executive board so as not to undermine the chain of command that had been established.

Once in place, the organization looked like this.

EXECE BOARD

TEAM ADMINISTRATOR

COMMANDER

DEPUTY COMMANDERS

TEAM MBERS

EXECUTIVE BOARD

ADMINISTRATOR

COMMANDER

DEPUTY COMMANDERS

HAZ-MAT OPS MEDICAL TERRORISM TECHNICAL SUPPORT

TEAM MEMBERS


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The team itself was divided into 2 different divisions. The first was the entry division.

This was the largest portion of the team as a whole. All members were required to meet

the stringent standards for education as well as physical conditioning to make entry into

the hot zone. These persons can be compared with the actual players on a football

team. The second division was the technical support division. These individuals were

selected for their specialty knowledge in certain fields such as occupational health and

safety, chemistry, industrial hygiene, environmental regulations and medical treatment.

These team members may be used on scene or remotely advise the team by phone or

radio. They were not required to make entry or use personal protective equipment. You

could compare these folks to the coaching staff. Neither division could function without

the other.

A DIVERSIFIED GROUP

The most unique thing about the St. Clair Co. Hazardous Operations Team is the

diversity and experience it holds. Normally teams like this are single discipline based like

the fire service or in the case of Jefferson Co. Kentucky, the county EMS is the haz-mat

team. 3 We brought together all of the services that may be needed in the event of a major

incident. The impact to life and property from a hazardous materials incident will cross

many boundaries. In using this approach, the haz-mat team also can ensure the quality of

the operation. There are so many different approaches to mitigating an incident like this

3 Johnson, Kevin Captain Jefferson Co. Kentucky Emergency Medical Service Ride along ResearchProgram. July 1996


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such as coordinated fire suppression, the interaction with EMS and hospitals, and dealing

with private cleanup contractors.

The list of personnel on the team is larger in appearance than the actual number of

members. We are fortunate in the talents of these people and their dual roles they carry

out in their day to day jobs.

FIRE SERVICE 13 members of the team are state certified firefighters. The basis of

the team entry was firefighter 1. Most are firefighter 2 and several have additional

specialty credentials like industrial firefighting. All team members are trained to use

portable extinguishers. A 20 pound extinguisher is required to go into the hot zone with

the initial assessment team.

EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS A total of 18 paramedics and EMTs make

up the bulk of the team. This is due to the basis of emergency care in specialized

situations like administering antidotes in the hot zone or specialty decontamination.

LAW ENFORCEMENT This segment of the team is made up of only 2 members at

present. The great potential for criminal or liability concerns is only one reason to

incorporate the police into an entity like this one. One officer is a detective as well as an

arson investigator. One common rule that stands out in my memory is to document an

incident as though it were a crime scene. 4 This is due to the almost sure chance that a law

suit will evolve from the incident.

MEDICAL EXAMINER 5 members are representatives of the Medical Examiners

office. This was considered a primary component during the development of the team for

the obvious reason that there may be fatalities at the scene that would have to be managed

4 Captain John Jackson, Instructor Michigan State Police Hazardous Materials Training Center Technician Training class 1992


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in the hot zone. The treatment of Gloria Ramirez in the Riverside California hospital

emergency room was a tragic illustration of this need. Gloria Ramirez died. The autopsy

carried out on her body was done by doctors and technicians in level A suits outside the

hospital.

INDUSTRY Members who represent industry make up only 4 positions so far. These

people have been an enormous amount of knowledge and experience for the team in its

training and implementation. They give a look into the needs and quality that will be

required in the aftermath of an incident when the leak is stopped and the cleanup begins.

PUBLIC HEALTH Only one member represents the department of public health. This

has turned out to be a great position and through his research of The Michigan State

Public Health Act. 5 We have been able to put together a proposal to deputize team

commanders so a public health order can be declared and any contaminated persons can

be detained and cared for on scene rather than letting them leave to cross contaminate

others.

MILITARY 2 team members are affiliated with the military service and support our

operation with a knowledge of how we can interface with federal forces once they arrive

on the scene. One is an industrial hygienist and the other is a military police reservist.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT The final component is emergency management. The

team has 2 representatives from this agency and their roles are both entry as needed and

coordination of personnel and resources to support the teams mission.

All of these skilled professionals are volunteers. Managing a group like this is just as

rewarding as it is challenging. The problems and concerns that come up at trainings are

often resolved that night. One of the major concerns for us was compensation for injuries


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that could occur while working on a haz- mat incident. This was very important to most

everyone because of their concern for being hurt and receiving no compensation to keep

the bills paid. High priority was given to this and the executive board along with our team

administrator obtained coverage through the county as volunteer employee

classifications.

BUILDING THE HAZ MAT TECHNICIAN

Provided with the raw materials needed ( people ) the required screening had to take

place to insure that they could function in an effective manner. The first step was to

confirm their level of health and fitness. In accordance with MIOSHA rule 325 6 the

Michigan Hazardous Waste and Emergency Response Standard a physical examination

had to be given to all members of the entry team. This was planned even before

MIOSHA adopted the respiratory standard from Fed OSHA in April of 1999. Both of

these regulations set forth the designs for physical examinations and mandatory records

to be kept on all entry team members.

Our first move was to consult local occupational health physicians in the area. None had

undertaken such an in depth exam before and a good resource was found in the most

recent publication from Phil Currence, the haz mat specialist with Colorado DMAT

2.7 In his book Phil outlined the necessary physical exams and laboratory studies to give

an adequate baseline physical to each team member. Below is a rundown of the exam.

5 State of Michigan, Michigan Public Health Act 368, 19786 Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Hazardous Waste Operations and EmergencyResponse Rule 325, 19917 Bronstein, Currence, Emergency Care for Hazardous Materials Exposure, Mosby, 1994


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1. MEDICAL HISTORY QUESTIONNAIRE

2. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION BY A PHYSICIAN

3. HEARING ACUITY TEST

4. VISUAL ACUITY TEST (WITH OCULAR PRESSURE CHECK FOR

GLAUCOMA)

5. PULMONARY FUNCTION TEST

6. ELECTROCARDIOGRAM

7. CHEST AND BACK X RAYS

8. URINE TEST AND SCREENING

BLOOD TESTS INCLUDED:

1. COMPLETE BLOOD COUNT

2. ELECTROLYTES

3. SERUM AMMONIA

4. HEAVY METALS (CADMIUM,ZINC,LEAD,MERCURY)

5. CYANIDE

6. ORGANOPHOSPHATES

7. DRUG SCREEN

8. MANTOUX SKIN TEST FOR TUBERCULOSIS

9. HEPATITIS B VACCINE

This process took approximately 3 hours per person and was one of the most involved

physical exams I have ever taken. It also resulted in 5 vials of blood being drawn from

my arm!


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The biggest concern in putting this medical surveillance program in place was the cost.

Dr. Gere Baldwin of the Mercy Hospital Occupational Health Clinic researched the

federal HAZWHOPER standards and developed our surveillance program. One very

innovative idea he came up with was to freeze our blood samples. The biggest cost would

be to run these blood tests and put the results on paper. By freezing certain samples and

having ready access to them in case of an exposure with one of the team members, we

were able to keep the total cost of the exams down to $500 per member.

Its common knowledge that haz mat team members will wear protective breathing

apparatus as part of their job description. In accordance with the new respiratory standard

all members received qualitative fit testing on the face masks they were individually

issued. The masks were also fitted with prescription lens inserts for those who needed

them to safely function and read labels etc.

The biggest physical assessment standard that was established was set by our

organization internally. An agility test designed to evaluate the individuals strength and

motor skills was put in place for all entry team members. The test was developed using

simulations of actual skills and equipment necessary to carry out team operations. All

moves were done in full level A suits with breathing apparatus and safety lines. These

are the stations that each member is required to complete to receive his level A license.

Get pre - entry exam by EMS and pre - hydrate with 16 ounces of water.

Put on self contained breathing apparatus and level A suit

Walk 500 feet on level ground using an air monitor

Put down monitor, attach safety line and climb atop tank truck


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Throw a weighted rope over truck and climb up on top of truck

Pull up rope with a tool bucket attached

Manually open the top tanker manway

Return tools and safely climb down off truck

Walk 100 feet to overturned 55 gallon drum, upright drum and tighten bung with

wrench.

Walk to wheeled stokes basket filled with tools and pull 200 feet to finish line

Remove suit and SCBA, then get evaluated by EMS and drink fluids

The whole reason for this is to teach every member his own physical limitations and

give them a benchmark of their fitness level to improve as needed. This was developed

out of the concept that any test should be realistic and mirror the skills expected from

actual situations.

TRAINING NEEDS

The most time consuming and attention directed segment of preparation has to be

training. Due to the diversity of the team, the decision was made by the executive board

to set the minimum standard of training at the technician level. This meant an across

the board program to educate the members in the skills necessary to function. It was

determined that an 80 hour program would be the course design with emphasis on our

team equipment and our facilities. This included the standards of MIOSHA Rule 325, and

the NFPA standards 471 and 472 8 in the cirruculum.

8 National Fire Protection Association Standards 471 and 472 For Training and Response To HazardousMaterials Incidents, 1995


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The first 40 hour segment was done by Robert Cook, CHMM, with the Michigan State

Police Hazardous Materials Training Center. This course was contracted and done locally

to facilitate the best attendance by all members. This was the EPA 40 hour emergency

responder course which was to be the first of 2 parts to the total training. The second half

was to be done on site at the training center in Lansing but only 6 members could attend

due to full classes. In order to meet our deadline it was decided to do our own second

forty hour program and as they employer certify the team within St. Clair Co.

The classes consisted of mostly hands on skills. Topics covered were;

q GROUND AND WATER SPILL CONTROL

q COMMUNICATIONS AND RESEARCH

q RAIL CARS, COMPRESSED GASSES, FIRE SUPPRESSION

q PLUGGING AND PATCHING OF CONTAINERS

q CHEMISTRY AND TOXICOLOGY

q AIR MONITORING AND MONITORING EQUIPMENT

q TANK TRUCKS

q INCIDENT COMMAND, DECON, AND RESCUE

This actually came to 44 hours with an additional 8 hours of Weapons of Mass

Destruction Technician training on top of that to certify all team members in the

Domestic Preparedness Program put out by the federal government.


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Even with all of this local training, we have spread our wings across the country. 6 of

our team attended the U.S. Army Chemical School in Ft. McCllelan Alabama. 9 This was

a 1 week course on suit up, hands on response to chemical warfare. Actual amounts of the

nerve agent Sarin were used in the program. 2 team members attended Terrorism

Command school in Nevada, and 1 member attended Anhydrous Ammonia school in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Training will be an ongoing core value with this group. They have chosen to share 8

hours a month for training. Pretty generous from so many people who have full plates in

their lives.

ACTIVATION AND RESPONSE

The mission of the St. Clair Co. Hazardous Operations Team is to support the

emergency responders of our county with a highly trained group able to minimize

the effect on life, property, and the environment in an offensive manner during a

chemical emergency.

The total concept of our organization is to provide a specialty service to support the

local police, fire, and medical services. This will fill the void in an incident and hopefully

bring a level of expertise to the incident commander quickly. The means of activation is

through digital pager system. The message will advise the member of what the incident

is, its location, safe routing, and, where to stage. Once this information is received, the

team member will call a pager number that was broadcast with the above message. He

9 U.S. Army Chemical Warfare School, Emergency Response Course For Civilians Ft. McClellanAlabama, 1999


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will then enter his I.D. number and E.T.A. in minutes. This will give the person

coordinating the team that day an idea of who is coming and how long until they arrive.

All of the team commanders share the responsibility of Duty Officer. Every day a

duty officer is responsible for immediate response to an incident to provide informatio n

and decision making support to the local incident commander. If the team needs to be

mobilized, the Duty Officer will assume the role of Haz Mat Group Leader once the

call goes out and incident command is established.

A tiered system of response has been adopted to parallel the national standard as shown

in the Hazardous Materials, Managing the Incident text. 10 A level one response is

called when an incident is small or the need is for information only. This type of incident

is most often handled by local emergency responders. A level one would have the Duty

Officer respond directly to the scene as well as any other command staff members if they

wish. This message also goes out to the total team so they can be alert to a possible

activation.

A level two would be for a full team activation for offensive hot zone entry. This has the

same response as a level one but with all available team members, 2 county DECON

trailers, the team equipment trailer, the technical support van, and a paramedic unit. This

response would not function without local fire services to provide decontamination and

team support.

A level three incident is a major disaster with a dire need for all team members to

respond. This could be compared to the Freeland train derailment, or the Oklahoma City

bombing. In the planning stages of this team we contacted the primary employers and

10 Yvorra,Hildabrand, Noll, Hazardous Materials Managing the Incident, Second Edition 1994


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asked them to work with their team member / employees to arrange ahead of time the

ability to leave work in an emergency. I have included the rough draft of this letter as

attachment 1.

DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS

In light of all the concern about terrorist acts, one of the strengths for the St. Clair Co.

Hazardous Operations Team is training for Weapons Of Mass Destruction. Much of our

training was covered previously, and the education continues. 2 of our team members are

trained to instruct terrorism technician courses through the federal Domestic

Preparedness program established under Presidential Defense Directive 39 ( PDD 39) 11

enacted by President Clinton. This gives us the ability to train ourselves as well as other

agencies.

Every member is issued their own personal protective equipment for a mass casualty

disaster involving a chemical or biological incident. This consists of;

1. NOMEX JUMPSUIT

2. KAPPLER CHEMICAL SUIT

3. STEEL SOLED CHEMICAL BOOTS

4. BUTYL RUBBER GLOVES

5. SCBA FACEPIECE

6. LEVEL-C CANISTER AND MASK ADAPTER

7. HELMENT

8. DECONTAMINATION SOLUTION BOTTLE

11 Clinton Administration, Presidential Defense Directive 39 U S government printing office, 1998


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9. MARK 1 AUTO INJECTORS FOR ANTIDOTES

10. CARRYING BAG

The team will make up a portion of the regional strike team for response to chemical /

biological incidents in Southeast Lower Michigan.

SUMMARY

The establishment of a hazardous materials response team can easily become a full

time occupation for someone if you are starting from scratch. The required portions of

state and federal regulations are easy to comply with if you consider researching what

other agencies do.

The problem is very common across the country with many communities. In most cases

the protection comes from local emergency responders and coordinated response efforts.

This is augmented by private support from environmental contractors. Many companies

and departments that are required to develop emergency response plans designate a

specific group or contractor to be the emergency responder without considering their

abilities or timely response.

The main concern in St. Clair County is an effective, timely, quality emergency

response to a hazardous materials incident. In July of 1997, a 15,000 gallon tanker truck

overturned on Interstate 94 in Port Huron Township. The incident was isolated by the

local fire forces and EMS transported the injured driver to the local hospital with minimal

injuries and contamination. This incident, though isolated, caused the shutdown of a

major interstate for 14 hours while a cleanup contractor with an 8 hour response time

dealt with the incident.


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The future of the St. Clair Co. Hazardous Operations Team will bring new challenges

once the unit is operational. Input from local fire chiefs gives the need for specialized

hazardous firefighting capabilities. The large amount of compressed flammable gasses

and liquids in the area will bring support from local industry as well.

Along with suppression is the specialized rescue needs for structural collapse, building

search, trench rescue, high angle rescue, and confined space rescue. All of these require

training and equipment specialized and often very expensive. There has been tremendous

support from local businesses and county government to support the operation. Along

with this, our team administration has pushed for many grants available through federal

sources. In light of this we must look to extend our response region to include a portion

of the state and work in cooperation with other teams. All of these functions are

necessary to provide St. Clair County with a hazardous materials team.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT.. 1

ORGANIZATIONAL CONCERNS 4

A DIVERSIFIED GROUP . 7

BUILDING THE HAZ MAT TECHNICIAN . 10

TRAINING NEEDS 13

ACTIVATION AND RESPONSE . 15

DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS . 17

SUMMARY 18

ADDITIONS

ATTACHMENT 1


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

11THE TIMES HERALD, HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ON THE MOVE, FEBRUARY 1997

21 Susan Hornberger R.N., Interview discussion on hazardous materials preparedness, River DistrictHospital St. Clair, Mi. Sept-1996

31 Johnson, Kevin Captain Jefferson Co. Kentucky Emergency Medical Service Ride along ResearchProgram. July 1996

41 Captain John Jackson, Instructor Michigan State Police Hazardous Materials Training Center Technician Training class 1992

51 State of Michigan, Michigan Public Health Act 368, 1978

61 Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Hazardous Waste Operations and EmergencyResponse Rule 325, 1991

71 Bronstein, Currence, Emergency Care for Hazardous Materials Exposure, Mosby, 1994

81 National Fire Protection Association Standards 471 and 472 For Training and Response To HazardousMaterials Incidents, 1995

91 U.S. Army Chemical Warfare School, Emergency Response Course For Civilians Ft. McClellanAlabama, 1999

101 Yvorra,Hildabrand, Noll, Hazardous Materials Managing the Incident, Second Edition 1994

111 Clinton Administration, Presidential Defense Directive 39 U S government printing office, 1998

developing a haz-mat team

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