Other Sources of Information and Assistance

Other types of specialized assistance are available from governments, local industries, and from national organizations representing chemical manufacturers and transporters.

Hazardous Materials Response Teams (HMRTs). An HMRT is a specialized emergency response team formed to provide the particular skills, knowledge, and technical equipment needed to handle hazardous materials incidents. The chemical industry was the first provider of these services because it manufactured, transported, and used the products involved.

An HMRT is a major investment; whether the investment is warranted for a community depends on the nature of the risks it is facing as well as its resources. An HMRT would need specialized equipment, including expensive specialized protective clothing and detection instruments, containment vessel repair equipment, substance containment and recovery equipment, decontamination equipment, and instruments. The operating costs can be high—but so are the costs of a mismanaged incident. Often, local areas that cannot afford their own HMRTs pool their resources to form a more practical multijurisdictional team.

Specialized groups of emergency response personnel, known as Hazardous Materials Response Teams (HMRTs), meet the need for the specific knowledge and technical equipment required to handle hazardous materials incidents.

Regional Response Teams (RRTs). Regional Response Teams may be assembled to provide advice and support for transportation or fixed facility incidents that surpass the capability of State and local governments. The RRT reports to an On-Scene Coordinator who directs the response in keeping with the local Incident Commander. RRTs are composed of representatives from Federal agencies and a representative from each State within a Federal Region. Overall responsibility for coordinating Federal emergency preparedness and planning on a nationwide basis rests with the NRT, which is composed of representatives from 14 Federal agencies with major environmental, transportation, emergency management, worker safety, and public health responsibilities.

The Federal resources available in a significant emergency are immense. How they are used, however, is determined by the Incident Commander, and regulated by State statutes and local ordinances.

CHEMTREC, CHLOREP, and NACA. The Chemical Manufacturers Association established the CHEMical TRansportation Emergency Center, called CHEMTREC, in 1971, to provide information for responders to chemical or hazardous materials emergencies. CHEMTREC operates in two stages:

Upon receipt of the name of a specific chemical, CHEMTREC provides immediate advice on the nature of the product and steps to be taken in handling the early stages of an emergency involving that product.
CHEMTREC promptly contacts the shipper of the material involved to obtain more detailed information and appropriate follow-up, including on-scene assistance when feasible.
CHEMTREC’s operators can assist incident responders by providing information such as the physical properties of the chemical involved, appropriate protective clothing to be worn by response personnel, and general tactics to use with the various hazardous materials (e.g., certain hazardous materials-induced fires will need to be extinguished with water, while others should be smothered or covered with a special type of foam). CHEMTREC will not, however, tell the Incident Commander how to manage the incident.

Never call CHEMTREC unless a true emergency exists. It is important that telephone lines be open at all times for those who urgently need help. If you do call CHEMTREC, you will need to provide them with as much of the following information as is possible:

Your name, and a number at which you can be called back
The location of the problem
The type of container involved
The product, or type of product, involved
The rail car or truck number
Local conditions
The shipper or manufacturer
The intended receiver

The Chlorine Institute can provide specific technical assistance for chlorine emergencies. CHLOREP, the CHLORine Emergency Plan, provides telephone instruction to on-scene personnel in the United States and Canada, and, if necessary, can notify the nearest producer of chlorine and request that a trained team be dispatched.

The National Agricultural Chemicals Association (NACA) has identified a group of specialists designated as the Pesticides Safety Team (PST). The team provides advice for incidents involving pesticides and will dispatch a response team to the site if one is needed.

Local Industry. Local industries, which use or generate hazardous materials, can also be sources of assistance. In general, the larger the firm, the more likely that it will be able to provide assistance in an emergency. The following types of companies are likely to have the knowledge, equipment, or personnel to provide local-level assistance:

Chemical companies, which often have the equipment and personnel to respond to chemical spills.
Oil refining and storage facilities, which may be able to assist at a spill of oil or gasoline.
Construction companies, which can provide heavy equipment and operators when needed.
Transportation companies, which can provide detailed information on the materials they carry, assist in evacuation, and may have trained personnel and specialized equipment.
Pollution cleanup contractors, which have specialized equipment and trained personnel. Although a fee will be charged for the services provided, professional cleanup contractors are often the best (and quickest) source of advice and physical assistance at a spill.

Your local Emergency Operations Plan should maintain a current list of contacts and telephone numbers for all potential sources of assistance. Compiling this information during an emergency can waste valuable time when the need for action is urgent.

The Public. Unlike many other emergencies in which volunteer help is often welcome, in a hazardous materials emergency, there is usually little that untrained members of the public can do. Citizens should never try to approach the command post in a hazardous materials emergency; any information you wish to offer should be given by telephone from a safe distance. Observe all posted exclusion zones, and listen for public announcements on the radio or other local information system.

Communities use different methods to inform and direct the public in the event of an incident. In your community, which would most likely be used to notify you if an incident occurred that required you to evacuate or take other protective action?