The NFPA 1600 iPhone app!

Searchable emergency preparedness info at your fingertips: best practices, web links, agency phone numbers and more.

All for the low, low price of FREE.

I’m here to question a USA Today story that says that the DOT has inadequate info on haz-mat spills.

We’re told that “federal records” show that “nearly half of all ‘serious’ hazardous materials spills on roads, rails, airstrips and waterways go unreported to the government, leaving investigators without data used to identify unsafe carriers and containers.” What “federal records” are they looking at? The National Response Center (NRC) pretty much tracks this info by the minute.

The story could leave the impression that haz-mat carriers in America are blatantly polluting. But if you read very closely, it doesn’t say that they’re not responding to spills, it says that they’re  not always doing the paperwork afterward, and the Department of (DOT) isn’t cracking down on them for that.

Here are the numbers given: “From 2006 through 2008, hazmat carriers failed to report 1,199 ’serious’ incidents, such as larger spills that cause substantial evacuations, major road closures, serious injuries, or releases of especially dangerous materials. The number of serious incidents that were reported: 1,403.”

Okay, but all of this is reported to the NRC by federal, state and local agencies. The DOT can access the info from NRC’s website the same way that you and I can.

Haz-mat carriers are indeed required to report spills to DOT, but it’s an exaggeration to think that having this data will enable DOT to eliminate all hazards of haz-mat transportation. Icy roads … drivers who fall asleep at the wheel: Things will still happen.

In USA Today’s article, the Chairman of the House Transportation Committee paints this picture: Without data on haz-mat spills, DOT “cannot put together a strategic plan for reducing hazardous materials transportation incidents, fatalities, and injuries.” He’s leading a hearing about this today.

If DOT wants accurate data, why not get it from the NRC? They can give you about 20 years of data almost instantly. There are already requirements that haz-mat carriers be “properly trained.” If DOT feels that something is lacking, why not revisit those regulations and revise them to be a little more specific? You don’t need a whole new strategic plan.

The article quotes Rich Moskowitz, VP of the American Trucking Association, as saying that many haz-mat carriers already know reporting requirements. “There needs to be better outreach to the industry and if that fails, then … stepped up enforcement.”

Hello! A voice of reason. Bless you, Rich Moskowitz! Education. Maybe the DOT can work THAT into their “strategic plan.” If they need some help, maybe they can ask their neighbors at OSHA and EPA. Both have created many, many programs to help walk people through a wide variety of regulatory topics.

Image © EyeMark - Fotolia.com

For those transportation companies that find themselves in need of response products, New Pig has spill response products to help protect people, animals and the environment and meet environmental regulations such as 40 CFR 263.30(a) and 40 CFR 263.31. These include:

Spill Kits
Pop-Up Containment Pools
Emergency Response Guidebook

For questions related to hazmat shipping, call the DOT Hazardous Materials info line at 1-800-467-4922.

To report a spill, call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802

For more information on reporting haz-mat incidents, click here.

Yes, emergency responders come to us for personal protective equipment and other gear (see links below).

No, we’ve never had a request for a Spider-Man costume.

But after reading about this boy’s rescue, we’ll have to think about carrying them.

Image © Windowseat - Fotolia.com

Level A protective suits
Boots, overboots & overshoes
Disposable footwear
Chemical-resistant gloves
Safety goggles
Reusable respirators

With all due respect to our own fledgling Map-A-Spill, here’s an informative incidents map showing all sorts of North American hazardous materials spills and the like.

We’re proud to supply emergency responders at many of these incidents with equipment such as:

PIG® HAZ-MAT Mat Pads & Rolls
PIG® HAZ-MAT Socks, Dikes, Pillows, & Loose
PIG® Spill Kits
Level A protective suits
Boots, overboots & overshoes
Disposable footwear
Chemical-resistant gloves
Safety goggles
Reusable respirators
Decon shower stations
Decon accessories

Stay safe, guys and gals. Thank you for protecting us.

I’ve blogged before about the dangers of mercury. Short-term exposure can cause coughs, sore throat and headache. It can poison your lungs, kidneys and nervous system.

Unfortunately, liquid mercury doesn’t look toxic, it looks way cool. See the shiny globs below.

I’m guessing that mercury’s sexy sheen is ultimately behind the mess surrounding an Arizona High School. A quick summary:

• Five students got hold of mercury at the school and took it home; officials are still gathering details about that
• One or more spills contaminated three classrooms, a locker room and two buses
• The school was closed for five days of decontamination
• The EPA screened 62 homes for contamination
• Two science teachers were moved to non-science classes at other district schools and replaced with substitutes

Sigh. I feel for everyone involved. The more who know that mercury’s dangerous, the better. The more who know that it demands special precautions during testing, cleanup and disposal, the better.

Image © Cerae - Fotolia.com

Bravo, Steve Gherke of The Salt Lake Tribune. Perfect lead sentence in the following news story from this past Tuesday.

I added the sub-heads and excerpted the full story. Please note that no one was injured in either accident.

As of this posting, we have no reports of incidents involving onion rings.

We added this to Map-A-Spill (the first Utah site!)

Click to see Map-A-Spill

Click to see products for emergency spill response

Click to see Map-A-Spill

Click to see products for emergency spill response