National Academies Press: OpenBook

A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases (2011)

Chapter: Chapter 4 - Identifying Hazardous Materials in Your Jurisdiction

« Previous: Chapter 3 - Defining Your Jurisdictional Emergency Response Objectives
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 - Identifying Hazardous Materials in Your Jurisdiction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14502.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 - Identifying Hazardous Materials in Your Jurisdiction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14502.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 - Identifying Hazardous Materials in Your Jurisdiction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14502.
×
Page 24
Page 25
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 - Identifying Hazardous Materials in Your Jurisdiction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14502.
×
Page 25
Page 26
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 - Identifying Hazardous Materials in Your Jurisdiction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14502.
×
Page 26
Page 27
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 - Identifying Hazardous Materials in Your Jurisdiction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14502.
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22 Your goal in this chapter is to identify the set of hazmat potentially present within your jurisdic- tion. Effectively, you will inventory (at varying levels) hazmat at each of the facilities and along trans- portation routes within your jurisdiction. This process is referred to as performing a hazard survey. Before starting the hazard survey process, the hazmat that are of concern for this assessment will be specified. Then, these hazmat will be categorized into Incident Release Types based on their associated required response characteristics. This information will be beneficial in helping you frame the layout of your hazard survey. Hazardous Materials Covered To provide manageable boundaries for the materials covered by this assessment process, this Guide limits the scope of materials to those that are transported commercially under the auspices of the U.S.DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations as found in 49 CFR. This scope includes the storage of materials incidental to transportation (including at facilities at both the origin and destination), as well as along any transportation corridors. Henceforth, materials of concern are referenced throughout this Guide in terms of their U.S.DOT hazard classification designation versus the use of a specific material name. Material Categorization—Incident Release Types The U.S.DOT hazard classification scheme (e.g., Class 1, Division 2.1, etc.) categorizes materi- als based primarily on packaging requirements. For the purposes of this Guide and the subse- quent evaluation of emergency response requirements, materials in the U.S.DOT hazard classes and subdivisions are aggregated into the seven Incident Release Type categories defined earlier and listed below. The Incident Release Type categorization scheme focuses on the types of hazards (i.e., fire, explosion, etc.) that a material might pose if a release were to occur. The seven Incident Release Type categories are as follows: • Fires; • Explosions or BLEVEs; • Toxic gas releases; • Toxic liquid releases; • Corrosives; • Radioactive materials releases; and • Releases of biologically active materials. By grouping the materials into these hazard categories, performance objectives for response can be established based on the characteristic of each Incident Release Type. Table 10 matches each U.S.DOT Hazard Class to its corresponding Incident Release Type(s). C H A P T E R 4 Identifying Hazardous Materials in Your Jurisdiction

Identifying Hazardous Materials in Your Jurisdiction 23 U.S.DOT HAZARD CLASSIFICATION Incident Release Types Fi re To xi c G as To xi c Li qu id Co rr os iv es B io lo gi ca l Ex pl os io n o r B LE VE s R ad io ac tiv e M at er ia l Class 1 – Explosives X X Division 1.1 Explosives with a mass explosion hazard X X Division 1.2 Explosives with a projection hazard X X Division 1.3 Explosives with predominantly a fire hazard X X Division 1.4 Explosives with no significant blast hazard X X Division 1.5 Very insensitive explosives with a mass explosion hazard X X D ivision 1.6 Extremely insens itive articles X X Class 2 – Gases Division 2.1 Flammable gases X X Division 2.2 Nonflammable, nontoxic* gases Division 2.3 Toxic* gases X Class 3 – Flammable liquids X X O Class 4 – Flammable solids X Division 4.1 Flammable solids X Division 4.2 Spontaneously combustible materials X Division 4.3 Water-reactive substances/Dangerous when wet materials X Class 5 O X Division 5.1 Oxidizing substances O X Division 5.2 Organic peroxides O X Class 6 O X Division 6.1 Toxic* substances O X Division 6.2 Infectious substances O X X Class 7 – Radioactive materials O X Class 8 – Corrosive substances O X X Class 9 – Miscellaneous O Key: * The words “poison” or “poisonous” are synonymous with the word “toxic.” X = Primary consequence of concern O = Secondary consequence of concern Table 10. Material Incident Release Type groupings. Note that the mapping of U.S.DOT Hazard Class to Incident Release Types is not a 1:1 rela- tionship. For example, a U.S.DOT Hazard Class 1, Division 1.1 material described as an “Explo- sive with a mass explosion hazard” can present both a Fire and/or Explosion release hazard, and thus Hazard Class 1 materials are found in two different Incident Release Type categories. The fol- lowing summarizes the U.S.DOT Hazard Class to Incident Release Type relationship: • Fires (U.S.DOT Classes 1, 3, 4, Division 2.1, and some Class 5, 6, 7, and 8 materials where flam- mability is not the primary hazard);

24 A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases • Explosions or BLEVEs (U.S.DOT Classes 1, 3, 5, and Division 2.1); • Toxic gas releases (U.S.DOT Division 2.3); • Toxic liquid releases (U.S.DOT Classes 6 and 8 and some Class 3 materials where toxicity is not the primary hazard); • Corrosives (U.S.DOT Class 8); • Radioactive materials releases (U.S.DOT Class 7); and • Release of biologically active materials (U.S.DOT Division 6.2). Performing a Hazard Survey A fundamental component of the planning process is the identification of the hazmat and quantities within your jurisdiction. This involves identifying the facilities that manufacture, store, or use hazmat and the routes over which hazmat are transported. There are numerous sources of information for acquiring information needed in the hazard survey. This Guide focuses on the information collected by the LEPCs and their higher, state- level SERCs. This includes the SARA Title III Tier I/II data submitted to the SERC and LEPCs [29 CFR 1910.119] and the Facility Risk Management Plan (RMP) [40 CFR Part 68] data sub- mitted to LEPCs. You may be able to collect a significant portion of this information from existing products or prior efforts (such as RMP data or commodity flow surveys). Even if a facility does not have a hazmat inventory that requires it to be covered by the above regulations, many facilities share their hazardous material inventory information with the local fire marshal or fire chief so those departments can become part of the response team in the event of an emergency at the facility. Using these sources you can develop a list of hazards at area facilities. The volumes and frequency of hazmat being transported though the region often cannot be obtained from local sources. If there is a major rail line passing through the area, the railroad typically will provide information on the hazardous material it transports, if requested. For highway transportation, if there is a weigh station along the route, the state agency performing hazmat truck inspections may be willing to tabulate the types and number of placarded vehicles being inspected. If the agency is unwilling, an alternative is to place data collectors at the weigh station or some other convenient location and tabulate the types and number of placarded shipments passing through the area. The following is a comprehensive list of agencies and organizations outside the local area that may have relevant information to assist in preparing a hazard inventory for a jurisdiction. A detailed list of information from each type of source is included in Appendix A. Additional Sources of Information Regulatory Agencies A number of federal regulatory agencies require filings and submissions on hazmat related to their regulated entities. These include reporting on stored materials, planned transportation routes (for some materials), and unintentional releases. Reports include both telephonic and paper/electronic reporting. These agencies include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the National Response Center, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and others. Associations and Nonprofits Associations and not-for-profit/nonprofit organizations representing both the shipping and transportation communities can be good sources of hazmat information. These include

Identifying Hazardous Materials in Your Jurisdiction 25 the Association of American Railroads, the American Trucking Associations (and their state affiliates), the National Industrial Transportation League, and the Dangerous Goods Advisory Council. State Emergency Management Agencies Many state emergency management agencies have conducted studies to capture useful infor- mation, such as local or regional hazmat commodity flow studies. Entities considering their own commodity flow studies should consult the guidance provided by HMCRP Project 01, “Haz- ardous Materials Commodity Flow Data and Analysis” (Texas A&M University 2010). Other State and Local Agencies Many state and local agencies deal with hazmat and may be a source for additional information beyond the LEPC. These include state police or highway patrol agencies, state bomb squads, state fire marshals, state environmental protection agencies, local emergency management agencies, and local fire and emergency services agencies. Transportation Companies While commercial motor carriers are too numerous to contact them all directly, individual railroads, pipeline operators, and barge companies may be able to provide information on the hazmat they move through specific jurisdictions. Documentation—Creating a Hazardous Materials Portfolio A big question for planning agencies gathering information on hazmat in their jurisdictions is the level of detail needed to support planning efforts. Information should be captured at the specific material level, but many of the subsequent steps in the planning effort rely on aggregating specific materials into the primary Incident Release Types discussed earlier in this chapter. This allows you some flexibility in incorporating specific characteristics of the material in potential consequence assessment, needed response capabilities, etc. The key data elements needed for each material stored at each location are: • Location where material is stored or transported (facility or route); • Material name (such as U.S.DOT proper shipping name or trade name); • Incident release type (principal hazard); and • Quantity present at any given time (can record more than one level if, for example, the average is fairly low but on some occasions the amount present is quite large). Step 7 Create a framework for capturing the hazard survey data, such as using the assessment tool or a spreadsheet with the format shown in Table 11 for the first four columns. Each row in the spreadsheet would contain a unique combination of hazardous material, location, and quantity. You may also want to capture additional information for each row, such as the source of the Facility or Route Material Hazard [H] Quantity (incl. units) Shipments per Month Facility Y Ethylene oxide Fire 8,000 lbs. 20 Interstate Z Chlorine Toxic Gas Release 30,000 lbs. 10 Table 11. Sample spreadsheet format for collecting hazard survey data.

26 A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases information, contact information for updates, the container or packaging used, etc., although this information is not needed for the methodology used in this Guide. If the assessment tool is used, any scenarios identified with this step will be carried through all the subsequent steps. This tool can be updated easily. The framework in Step 7 is called the hazardous materials portfolio. Each row in the portfolio identifies a potential hazard in the region that requires consideration in your emergency response planning. Facilities (Fixed Sources) When collecting data on specific facilities containing hazmat, consider the types of businesses listed in Table 12. Also consider abandoned facilities that may still contain sufficient quantities of hazmat to be a concern. A community may have many other types of fixed-location hazmat, such as dry cleaners and gas stations, among others. Knowing the specific location of each of these facilities is not as important as knowing that they are commonly found in the community. However, it is difficult to aggregate all hazmat locations of a certain type, because the potential consequences from and the response time to an incident are tied directly to the actual geographic location. Step 8 Add new rows to the hazardous materials portfolio for each material stored at each facility in your jurisdiction. When adding hazards to Table 11 for materials at fixed location sources, the “Shipments per Month” column would be left blank. If the hazardous material were only present occasionally, a percentage of the time during the year the material might be present could be placed in a “Shipments per Year” column. Transportation Corridors (Mobile Sources) When considering transportation routes, the best information would be from a recent local commodity flow survey, particularly for highway transportation. If no such survey has been done, planning organizations should consider resources available to them and consider com- missioning such a study. If an interstate highway falls in the jurisdiction of the LEPC, the infor- mation obtained from companies will probably have to be supplemented by such a survey because a large number of placarded vehicles would traverse the region without ever stopping. The number and quantity of material shipped across the region would be unknown without the survey. Industrial Facilities Select Retailers Chemical plants Agricultural Refineries Swimming pool suppliers Petroleum and natural gas tank farms Home supply stores Drinking water plants Dry cleaners Wastewater treatment plants Nuclear facilities Waste disposal and treatment facilities Refrigeration plants (ammonia) Hospitals and academic/government facilities Storage facilities/distribution centers/warehouses/tank farms Table 12. Facilities that may contain hazardous materials.

Identifying Hazardous Materials in Your Jurisdiction 27 As mentioned earlier, guidance for conducting local commodity flow surveys was prepared under HMCRP Project 01 (Texas A&M University 2010). While most jurisdictions focus on highway and rail transportation—with information on the top hazmat shipped by rail obtained directly from the railroads—it is important to consider other modes as well. Marine transportation of haz- mat can be significant in some areas. Generally, one barge equals approximately 46 rail tank cars, which equals about 144 truck cargo tanks. Pipelines carry hazardous liquids or natural gas and are distributed throughout the country. Pipeline companies or U.S.DOT’s Office of Pipeline Safety are good sources of information for response planning. For specific hazards, such as shipments of Highway Route-Controlled Quantities (HRCQ) of radioactive materials, in addition to providing assistance at the technical level when the incident occurs, the national-level agencies provide specialized training and equipment to assist local emergency response organizations, especially at the planning and assessment levels. For HRCQ shipments, a state’s governor is notified 24 hours prior to the shipment so state agencies are aware of the shipments and their routes. This notification alerts the SERCs of their presence in the state. The state may choose to notify local emergency responders and place them on alert as well. This negates the need to discover such infrequent shipments using commodity flow surveys. You should also consider fixed locations where hazmat may temporarily be found during their movement from origin to destination. At these locations, the material would remain contained inside the vehicle used to transport it—distinguishing these locations from the fixed locations discussed earlier. These locations include intermodal transfer facilities, rail yards, airports, ports, docks, truck terminals, and major truck stops, as well as rest areas that trucks commonly use. Step 9 Add new rows to the hazardous materials portfolio for each material transported along each transportation corridor in your jurisdiction. For these rows, add information on the typical quantity of hazmat in a package, the estimated number of packages transported per year, and the length of the transport link. Remember to include all modes of transportation. For pipelines, use total length, commodities being transported, diameter, and operating conditions (e.g., temperature and pressure). Initially, you might address the hazmat that are most prevalent in the area or region. Subsequent assessments might address additional hazmat, gradually making the assessment more comprehensive.

Next: Chapter 5 - Potential Consequences of Incidents Involving the Identified Hazardous Materials »
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TRB’s Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program (HMCRP) Report 5: A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases provides step-by-step guidance on assessing hazardous materials emergency response needs at the state, regional, and local levels. The report also addresses matching state, regional, and local capabilities with potential emergencies involving different types of hazardous materials, and offers an assessment on how quickly resources can be expected to be brought to bear in an emergency.

The methodology described in HMCRP Report 5 is designed to be scalable, allowing the implementation results to be aggregated at the local level up through regional, state, and national levels. The guide includes a spreadsheet tool—available online and on CD-ROM with the print version of the report—that is designed to help lead planners through the assessment process.

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