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SST Safety Courses - HazMat
Course D: Issues/ Problems and Emergency Response
Hazardous Materials represent a great potential for destruction or loss of life if handled/transported improperly. There are many regulations in place to help assure that hazardous materials are packaged, handled and transported safely. For the most part, regulations have been developed as a response to safety issues that resulted in some form of accident/injury, loss of life or major property destruction. Our intent at SST is to conduct the business of transporting HazMat's in the safest possible fashion. This means that we are committed to following all regulations, rules, guidelines and requirements pertaining to the transportation of hazardous materials. As an employee of SST, you are a part of that commitment. In this module we will review methods and/or processes that when not properly followed may lead to serious consequences and how to properly follow those methods/processes. The following discussion points by no means is a complete list of items to be reviewed, but represent a good starting point for continuing discussion and improvement.
Paperwork not properly completed.
The instruction on the proper completion and review of shipping paperwork has been reviewed in an earlier module. For purposes of this module we will review the proper procedure to audit the paperwork.
The primary responsibility for checking paperwork lies with the pick up driver.
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When presented with a shipment for pick up the driver must first evaluate the shipment to assure that the paperwork accurately reflects what the shipment is. For example, if there is a hazardous materials label on the product, is that reflected in the description of the shipment? Is the HazMat box checked? Or, if there is a HazMat description on the paperwork, is the product reflective of that description? Any discrepancy or concern should be addressed with the shipper immediately.
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Is the information in the description section on the shipping paper listed accurately and in the right order?
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Is the hazardous material listed acceptable or prohibited in our system? If it is prohibited then the driver should refuse the shipment and stop the pick up cycle.
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Has the shipper certification been signed? If not, the driver should refuse the shipment until the signature can be obtained.
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Is there an emergency response telephone number listed on the shipping papers? If not, the pick up process should not be continued until the phone number has been inserted by the shipper.
Placarding
According to the Department of Transportation regulations the driver has the primary responsibility to assure that no HazMat load is transported without the appropriate placards in place. Each driver at SST has been provided a clip board with a placarding chart to assist in making sure this is done correctly. (placarding has been reviewed in a previous training module).
Segregation
Some HazMat shipments can be perfectly safe when transported in the same load with other classes of HazMat shipments. Others, however, become extremely dangerous when shipped with other HazMat's. Each employee, both driver and dock worker has been furnished with a load segregation chart. When ever a HazMat shipment is loaded into a unit load device (trailer, container, etc.) it must be checked against the segregation chart to assure compatibility. Some HazMat's may be incompatible with other shipments even though the other shipments may not be a hazardous materials. For example, poisons may not be placed in the same load as a food stuff. Still other materials need to be segregated at all times. For example, class 8 corrosive liquids must always be loaded on the floor. They can never be loaded on the top of any other shipment.
Load Manifest
The load manifest serves a number of purposes when transporting HazMat shipments. It is the first notification for the driver that there is a HazMat on board, therefore it is critical that the HazMat box be checked if the shipment is a HazMat. It also shows the general location of the HazMat shipment within the load. This may be a crucial piece of information for first responders should the shipment be involved in an accident or fire. It is also helpful for the unloading employees at the destination point of the shipment. Dock employees must follow correct procedures in manifesting HazMat shipments by listing them on the manifest as they are loaded.
Accidental Releases of Hazardous Materials
If shippers have properly packaged their shipments of hazardous materials and transportation employees properly handle the shipment, there should be little concern regarding a spill or leak of a hazardous material. Nevertheless, from time to time things do not go according to plan and a spill results. A hazardous materials spill is defined as, an unintentional release of a hazardous material in any amount. Proper procedures must be followed when stopping and cleaning up a HazMat spill. Specific details on this procedure will be covered in the next training section, Emergency Response.
Emergency Response
The most effective way to handle an unintended release of a hazardous material is to make sure
it does not happen in the first place. It is always more effective, less expensive and much less dangerous
to take the time to load/unload and otherwise handle hazardous materials shipments the proper way than to
have to implement an emergency response due to a spill of that shipment. Nevertheless, a release of a HazMat shipment can and does occur from time to time. For this reason SST has developed this process to respond
to these types of incidents.
The best way to respond to a spill is to prepare to respond before the spill actually happens. Each
driver/loader, when preparing to handle a HazMat shipment must recognize the hazards inherent in the
shipment and anticipate in advance what they should do in the event of a spill. For example, when handling a
class 3 flammable liquid, the handler should recognize that this presents a physical hazard and should be
prepared
to avoid a fire during a spill by eliminating any ignition source, providing plenty of ventilation, and knowing
where the non-metallic clean up tools, PPE and absorbent materials are located. Or in the case of a class 6.1
poison or toxic substance the employee should recognize that this is a health hazard and understand that
contamination can take place through skin absorption, inhalation or even ingestion and therefore must
eliminate things such as breezes through open doors or sweeping activities that can cause the substance to
become airborne.
By anticipating what to do during a HazMat spill, the responder will be much better prepared to approach
the clean up and containment safely and appropriately in the event that a spill does occur.
Before actually responding to a spill, the first step of the responder is to evaluate the spill in order to determine
whether it is
appropriate for SST employees to clean up/contain or if professional responders should be called in and to
determine if an evacuation is necessary. Following are the steps that should be followed in order to
properly determine the clean up response:
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Examine the package/shipment as thoroughly and safely as possible looking for labels, instructions, brand names, etc. in order to identify the substance that is leaking. This should be done in a fashion that does not expose the employee to dust, vapors, fumes, etc. that could be emanating from the shipment.
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Is the material a prohibited HazMat in our system? If it is then the clean up must be conducted by a qualified outside service (Envirocare).
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Is the material smoking, fuming, or irritating to the eyes, skin or nose/throat? If so, an outside responder must be called in.
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Are we able to identify the substance? (UN number, chemical name, product name, etc.) If not, an outside responder must be called in.
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If the substance is identifiable, can we locate the appropriate spill response instructions for it? If not, an outside responder must be called in. The primary source for spill response directions is the SDS (formerly known as the MSDS). If this is not available the ERG (Emergency Response Guidebook) is the next best source. Both of these documents contain information regarding the chemical name, composition, hazards associated with a spill of the substance, spill response procedures, proper PPE and applicable first aid and decontamination procedures. Additionally, if there is access to the shipping papers, the Emergency Contact phone number should allow a responder to speak directly with a person who is knowledgeable in spill response and can coach a responder through the proper procedure to clean up the spill.
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If the spilled substance can be identified and it can be determined that it is safe for an employee to clean up the spill safely, then the clean up can be conducted by a company employee.
The following chart illustrates the proper process to determine if a spill is safe for an employee to clean up:
Click here to print the Decision Tree.
No employee should be required to clean up a spill that he or she feels could be dangerous to their health or personal safety.
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In order to properly clean up a spilled HazMat, it must be solidified (in cases of liquids, clay based absorbent (kitty litter) should be applied until all of the liquid has been absorbed) and contained. This is usually done with a plastic garbage bag.
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Hazardous materials spills that require an outside responder to clean up must also be disposed of by the responder.
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Spills that are permitted to be cleaned up by company employees are usually safe enough that they are exempted from special disposal procedures under the CESQG regulations and can be disposed of in the regular trash. PPE that was used in the clean up procedure must either be decontaminated or included in the disposal of the hazardous material that was cleaned up.
Proper decontamination of the type of PPE that is used in normal clean up procedures is accomplished by thorough washing of the equipment with soap and water and then left to air dry. The PPE provided by SST is of the disposable type to allow for disposal in place of decontamination should that process become difficult to perform.