Hazardous Chemicals

HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS FORUM

Lt. Col. Andrew Jardine, J.P., D.L., Chairman of the Fire Brigade Committee of the Greater London Council and Mr. H. F. Chisnall, O.S:E., Q.F.S.M., M.I.FireE., Deputy Chief Officer of the London Fire Brigade, welcomed 200 delegates to a forum to discuss a coding system for hazardous chemicals which was held in London's County Hall.

The forum opened with a number of film clips showing fire incidents and multi-vehicle pile-ups on motorways. The scene was thus set for Divisional Officer C. W. Clisby, Grad.l.FireE., to outline the difficulties faced by Fire Service Personnel. Mr. Clisby said :'It is a major concern !to all fire service officers that the crews under their command, in carrying out their firefighting and humanitarian duties, dash in where angels fear to tread without regard to their own safety. It is a truism that the fireman's -pitfall is his own heroism. For this reason, without impeding their progress in dealing with an incident, we need to protect them by prescribing procedures for handling specified types of incident and by providing them, in advance, with as true an evaluation as we can, of the hazards they are likely to meet and the precautions they should adopt. Sir Charles Cunningham, who enquired into fire service pay and conditions wrote 'A fireman must have special personal qualities. He must have physical courage. On occasions, he must voluntarily face extremities of danger which confront few other people in times of peace. It is the element of risk and the demand for courage, for bravery, which sets the fireman's job apart from others'.

The basic problem of the fire fighter in dealing with dangerous chemicals is one of identification. What he wants to know - and to know quickly - is

What sort of substance am I faced with ?

What is it likely to do to me -if I come into contact with it?

How should I protect myself?

What can I do to render it safe?

We must find a ready and simple method of providing answers to these basic questions not only for the safety of the emergency services engaged in the op:ration b,;,t also that of the general public. The urgency Inherent In finding a solution grows every day and noth!ng must be allowed to delay progress in reaching that solutlOn.

Let us keep that in mind throughout the course of this Forum'.

Mr. K. G. H. Pitkethly, M.RE., A.I.A.O., I.A.I., then spoke about the difficulties encountered by the Ambulance Service as follows :'Usually when an ambulance crew turn out to an emergency they have little or no idea of what has happened at the scene. control do what they can to get as a picture as possible but generally speaking the crew IS told it is a road traffic accident or an accident in the home factory, etc. As a res.ult is the safety of the crew In question ,indeed it -IS qUIte ,true to say thaJt any danger there might be is usually very obvious, e.g., smell of gas petrol - the presence of fire - damaged building electrical installations, etc. In other words, most of the dangers an ambulanceman is exposed to are well known and he is made well aware of these problems on his initial courses at the Area Training Schools. We are now faced with something quite different. As I understand the matter, we are faced with an ever increasing menace on our in the shape of hazardous chemicals being transported m bulk. I am told there are a great many chemical substances in in transit each day. I have no doubt that many of them are . rttle doubt themselves perfectly safe 'but equaHythere IS 1 that many of them present constant potential danger.

As far as the ambulance crew is concerned, the first problem is to identify the danger. It is for this reason the G.L.C. have devised a simple code and the 'Haze em scale. (See Fig. 1).

There is no doubt that the introduction of a scale of kind will in almost all cases go a long way to reduce t IS problem. Some weeks after the small working party .on this subject had been set up, I started to get the that part of the proposed scale was designed for! '= Ir t Service and the other part for Ambulance uses; thIS IS no so, it is just as important to the ambulanceman as anyone else.

The London Ambulance . SerVIce does t no carrY on its w ambulances protective clothing that would enabi;: a :;le to work in 'a chemically contaminated area, fo: -.; s that reason -there has in the past been no need for. 'l:t. . ow? the potential is increasing, should we consider ItS ISSue .

Should we re-write the part of our gemer ency disaster . must plan to ensure that those with the proper protectIon be the first to arrive at the scene?

. ed ambulances Should we consider specially equIPP strategically placed to cover our motorway netw k ? or . . need to 'be

These and many other allied ed during resolved and no doubt will be raised and dISCUSS this afternoon's session'.

Dr. B. G. B. Lucas, MD., C S M.R. .'., L'R CP., described .:. ords ._ the health hazards to firemen in the followmg w . 'The present situation is that a fireman has to deal with unknown chemicals, and only finds out the hard way, e:g., corrosive burns on tunic ·or skin, toxic vapours coughing or streaming of eyes, irritant fumes,. or possrbly when fire fighting methods are applIed.

The experienced fireman gradually learns how to deal with individual problems through practice.

If chemicals were easily identified and a code of practice accepted, the psychological worry of uncertainty would disappear and the best methods of protection and fire fighting would be known.

Psychologically a fireman would be re-assured that the full effects of the hazard were appreciated, e.g., some fumes from burning plastics have caused irritation in lungs later. From a toxic fume and from corrosive chemicals points

of view, the correct line of action would be easy to carry out.

Ambulance personnel have the same psychological worry to some extent, though are unlikely to be exposed to big chemical concentrations.

Main advantage would be in immediate first aid treatment.

There are only a few differences in basic first aid, but these are important. Probably most important is to know whether chemical will have continuing effect.

Ambulancemen should know about delayed effects of chemicals, even though they may be unable to do anything about it.

Finally, identification of chemical will enable hospital to ascertain from the Central Bureau the important points to be considered in any long term treatment of condition'.

Dr. Howard Baderman, M.D., M.R.C.P., M.R.e.S., made the following remarks on the difficulties encountered by the medical profession in casualty wards :'1. Considering Accident and Emergency Department medical and nursing staff across the country, there is very little experience in treating this type of medical emergency at the present time. Such incidents as do occur tend to be the result of contamination either on industrial sites or much less commonly as a result of spillage of toxic substances in transit. 2. Information should perhaps be sought from Accident and Emergency Departments situated either near industrial complexes or near major rail -and road routes where such substances may be transported. 3. With the Department of Health's policy of closing small Casualty Departments and re-organising the

Accident and Emergency Service on the basis of large omnicompetent departments, these major departments must be provided with explicit, but simplified and standardised procedures for dealing with the harmful effects of exposure covering the whole range of expected toxic materials. 4. Current medical thought seems to indicate that incidents due to a wide variety of toxic substances may best be treated by the most standardised procedure.

A multiplicity of antidotes is unlikely to be indicated. 5. The use of 24 hour reference service of various Poisons

Bureaux, such as that of Guy's Hospital, should be included in any manual of instruction held in Accident and Emergency Departments and the knowledge and resources of such Bureaux would be very useful in compiling any such manual. 6. Procedures for dealing with exposure to hazardous substances, issued to rescue personnel and to relevant hospital personnel probably should include information about radio-active contamination'.

At this stage in the proceeding the attention of the forum turned from the difficulties to seek possible solutions. Mr. Pitkethly spoke of the very simple 'HAZCHEM SCALE' Card which had been produced. (See Fig. I). The front of the card was basically for use by firemen whereas on the back were set out some very simple first aid measures. Mr. Pitkethly sa'id :-

'As I said earlier, the HAZCHEM Scale is just as important to the ambulanceman as to anybody else; if accepted, we would need at least two to each ambulance. I would suggest permanently secured in the cab of the vehicle, and each man should carry one as a personal issue. As far as the treatments recommended, these are very general indeed, -it may well be agreed that more sophisticated treatments may be needed. I am sure that there will be much discussion on this point. It should, however, be borne in mind that there is at the moment very little water carried on most ambulances, and there is also very little space left for storing. It therefore follows that only essentials should be added to the equipment of the vehicle'.

A fuller explanation of the 'HAZCHEM SCALE' W<iS given by Mr. M. W. PulHn, B.Sc., M.Inst.P. :_ (a) The Forum has already been reminded of the problems often encountered when the emergency services are called to the scene of an incident, for example, a tanker of sulphuric acid on its side and clearly marked as to its contents, or a store of mixed chemicals all marked with trade names only. How many of you present today can immediately describe the chemical properties of these items which have been involved in small fires or spillage incidents in London during the last few months?

1 'Trisil' 2 O.C.D. Caustic 3 U.C.L.

4 Lead fumerate 5 Armathern 236 6 Trylon APIOIPA

7 H 35 (trisodium silicate) (caustic soda plus additives) (polyphosphate and E.D.T.A.remove calcium deposits)

(xylene varnish) (two pack resin-one a cleaner based on acetone) (35% Hydrazine'in water

Apart from these there have been many incidents where the chemical name has been readily identified, but to the man first at the scene its chemical properties and therefore its potential hazards were unknown. If he was able to get to the container, read the name and the instructions and had suitable aids readily available, he could make a quick decision; if he could not get close to the container but knew the name of the contents, he would have had to radio back to headquarters and ask for the appropriate information hoping that it was listed on one of the 2,000 master cards. If it 'is not listed, further enquiries are needed. This all takes time.

(b) The aim of this emergency action code, is not to do away with the markings already on the containers, or to compete with or replace the recently introduced TREMCARDS used on vehicles, or the European and United Nations chemical codes, all of which can still be used 'in the ways agreed between industry and the governments concerned, but to add a code using a letter and a figure only that will immediately tell the non-scientific fireman, what to do and what not to do when he first arrives at an incident. It is envisaged that this code could be used on all containers from the smallest chemical bottle or cardboard box to the largest road tanker or railway truck, in buildings and

plant used for chemical production, in laboratories, etc.

Included in this code would be all compounds whether potentially hazardous or not. Much time can be wasted by the emergency services when they encounter a spillage of a quantity of a white powder, ,which may eventually turn out to be, for instance, flour, but the packets were unmarked, or only had a commercial trade name on them, and no other information. (c) It must be pointed out that the code has been designed to make use of the equipment already available to the first attendance fire appalince. Back-up facilities from the manufacturers and chemical experts can follow later. The initial training of the emergency services will give personnel the necessary knowledge of how to implement the code. The Code (See Fig. 2) (d) Some 2,000 chemicals were examined by the Scientific

Branch in consultation with the Brigade. The chemicals were classified as follows :(i) into six groups according to the most suitable available extinguishing agent relating to their chemical properties; (ii) the type of personal protection needed; (a) none (b) breathing apparatus only (c) full protective clothing (delta suits) to stop damage to the skin and absorption by it; (iii) whether under any conditions of fire, spillage, reaction with other chemicals, they are explosive; and (iv) how to deal with a spillage-for immediate action it 'is only necessary to know whether a substance should or should not be allowed to enter the drains with dilution. This results in the Hazchem Scale having six groups _ Group 0 for all 'safe' chemicals and Groups 1-5, each with eight separate grades within the Group, for all other chemicals and compounds. The spillage of chemicals in any of these Groups can be allowed to enter the drains, provided there is suitable dilution, when the letters '0', 'P', 'R', 'S', 'T', are used. When the letters 'W', 'X', 'Y', 'Z' are used the chemical must be prevented from entering the drains. Any disposal to the drains or a river must be notified to the local authority, hearing in mind the provisions of the

Deposit of Poisonous Waste Act, 1972. Some chemicals react vigorously with water, for example, sulphuric acid, and someone looking at the code for the first time may consider the proposed coding incorrect. Careful thought was given to these chemicals and it was felt that copious quantities of water could be used for the dilution or fire extinction because of the rapid dilution and the fact that the

Brigade's personnel would be wearing full protective clothing. (e) Master List of Chemicals

A page of the master list of chemicals shows how the code is used for various chemicals. (See Fig. 3). (f) Conclusion

When each of 2,000 chemicals was examined with this simple emergency code, it was possible to place all of them in one of the six Groups. Hence, by siting these cyphers in a suitable eye-catching way on any chemical container, any packet or bottle, any item of plant, etc., the first men on the scene will know what to do without reference to a text-book or a card index. This code also overcomes the problem of trade secrets and trade names, because it does not give specific chemical information. It has become apparent to the scientists who have been involved with the London Fire Brigade at many small and large chemical incidents, and where much time has been wasted in trying to find out more about the unknown item, that some code system, readily recognised by people working against time in hazardous circumstances allowing full use to be made of the facilities immediately available to .them, would be of 'advantage. This code is presented as a first attempt at producing such a system and perhaps other organ isations could make suggestions to improve its usefulness without adding significantly to its complexity.

What we are basically looking for is a reaction from the Forum to the idea, so that if it is accepted, then after suitable alterations, consideration can be given to having it adopted.

Divis·ional Officer Clisby discussed the operational use of the coding system and 'HAZCHEM SCALE', saying:-

Initially, the London Fire Brigade considered a coding system to cater for an internal problem, the problem of early warning.

Let us consider a typical incident involving dangerouS substances and the time spent in getting the warning to the men at the 'inCident.

The following stages have to be undertaken:(i) The substance must first be identified by name by the officer-in-charge. (ii) The name must be written down on a piece of paper known as a message form. (Hi) The message form must he carried back to a mobile appliance equipped with radio. (iv) The name must be given over the radio almost always in the form of phonetic alphabet, and then at O?erations Room as being that of. an eXlstmg chemIcal or synonym for an existing chemical. (v) are held at Operations Room for 2,000 chemicals, built up as a reSUlt of incidents over the years. (vi) The content of the card is read over the air and written down on the message form. (vii) The message form is taken back to the officer-in-charge.

It has been proposed now that the 'Hazchem' scale could soon be made available to all offiers-in-charge, to m.ark each card held at Operations Room with the cyphers. Instead of a lengthy vocal return from Op;ratIons Room, such short instructions as 'WHISKY TWO would suffice. The saving in time is obvious.

All hazards and spoiling factors would be totally eliminated if the cyphers were clearly marked in large characters where the substance was present.

Deputy Assistant Chief Fire Officer R. Peskitt, Grad.l FireE., developed the theme by outlining the use of the system for storages in buildings as follows ;-

Other than bulk supply by road tankers, lorries and trains, much larger quantities of these hazardous chemicals than may be encountered in a road tanker can be found in store rooms and process plant in manufacturing establishments. Unfortunately there is often a singular lack of knowledge in such establishments as to the precautions that need to be taken by firemen who attend an incident involving these chemicals.

A further risk is presented by the tremendous number of 'Hazardous Loads' delivered to teaching and research establishments. Substances once found only in chemistry laboratories are now used freely by the physicist, engineer and even the geologist.

In England and Wales alone over 100,000 students in science courses are involved in laboratory practical work and something like 2,000 post graduate workers are engaged in fundamental research. At present there- is little, if any control over the materials or quantities used.

In addition there are vast numbers of scientific workers in hospitals, government and government sponsored industrial research using potentially dangerous materials for their practical work and, just as important, the disposal of the residue.

With bulk storage of liquid and other chemicals in industry, the fire dangers associated with any particular chemical involved could be readily appreciated by the provision of a single symbol affixed to the tank, store or enclosure to denote its hazard group for fire-fighting purposes.

In the case of a mixed bag of chemicals of lesser quantity the mixture would in fact be a cocktail which could be in every sense of the word. A number of symbols displayed denoting the groups would probably meet the case here. Such a situation would certainly be found in a large industrial chemical premises or central store of a U.niversity complex possessing many chemistry, physics or biology laboratories.

A large local authority, a few years ago, hazard and obtained statutory powers to the display of suitable signs and symbols outside bUlldmgs where any substance therein might involve special hazards to persons called in for fire-fighting purposes.

Finally Dr. W. T. Jones, M.D., M.F.C.M., D.P.H., DJ.H., D.e.H., entered a plea that use of the 'HAZCHEM SCALE' should be associated with the use of a centralised computer bank for recording information. He remarked ;_ 'Emergencies involving unknown and suspectedly toxic chemicals are a frequent source of trouble and anxiety to firemen. The difficulties arise (a) from an inability to identify the suspected material, (b) inability to ascertain its toxicity rapidly and accurately, and (c) not knowing the appropriate action to take as a result.

The use of high speed, high capacity electronic data processing machinery, i.e., computers and associated machinery, can greatly help the solution of many of these problems in the .following ways ;-

1. Data Storage

The numerous proprietory names which obscure the true nature of chemicals involved can easily be listed, despite their large number. This can allow rapid identification of the real chemical name. Under this name can be stored all the relevant physical, chemical, toxic and human data, together with the appropriate action needed to be taken by the men on the spot over a range of different circumstances. Because of the mechanism of the electronic methods, it is possible to store vast amounts of information in a compact and easily and rapidly accessible form.

2. Data Retrieval

Speed is of the essence in this operation and this, together with its capacity, are the two main characteristics of the electronic process. In a properly organised system the recipt of 'information from the man on the spot can be rapidly translated into a set of clear, accurate and meaningful instructions on how to tackle the problem. All these reponses will need to have been worked out in advance and stored on the machine. The retrieval operation can be made simple and the presentation of information (both centrally and locally) can take various forms, e.g., written, verbal, visual, depending on the circumstances.

3. Conclusion

Although the installation of an electronic data storage and retrieval system is a lengthy and expensive business in its initial stages, it would seem to offer the only hope of providing the fireman on the spot with accurate and effective information will allow him to do his job competently and safely 10 the face of an increasing number -of haz'ardous situations with which he has to deal.

A lively discussion ensued in the afternoon. The welcome for the 'HAZCHEM' coding system was virtually unanimous. A representative of the Department of the Environment voiced the only discordant note by urging delay until a system had been agreed internationally. He anticipated that agreement might be reached on such a system within a few weeks although he recognised that there might be delay while different countries pressed their Own particular solution. The forum, however, was prepared to brook no delay and speaker after speaker urged that the Home Office should be pressed to implement the scheme domestically. The desirability of having an international system was recognised but the general feeling was that if Britain led the way by introducing a viable marking system then other countries might adopt it.

Representatives were invited to submit detailed comments on the 'HAZCHEM SCHEME' within the next month. It was announced that if these comments revealed no insuperable difficulty, the London Fire Brigade would adopt the system for internal communication on an operational basis in the way which Divisional Officer Clisby had already outlined.

Fire JETS JETS HAZCHEM SCALE

FOG FOAM D CHEM D SAND

Protection

Explosive SAFE Full BA Full BA Full BA Full BA Full BA

E E E E E E E E E E

Fig. 1

GROUP 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5

No Drains

Dilute SAFE W

X Y Z W X Y Z W X Y Z W X Y Z W X Y Z

P R S T P R S T P R S T P R S T P R S T

For First Aid Treatment See Over

Front of Scale Card

Inhalation

Skin Contact

Swallowed

Eye Contact FIRST AID MEASURES

Remove from exposure. Give Oxygen. Apply artificial respiration if necessary.

Drench with water - remove contaminated clothing. Wash affected parts with plenty of water.

If conscious wash out mouth with water _ give plenty of water to drink.

Irrigate thoroughly with water.

Reverse of Scale Card

CLASSIFICATION OF CHEMICALS Foam Fire Fighting and Spillage Full protection Explosive 3W Treatment Code Full protection Non-explosive 3X Not to enter Enter drains BA Explosive 3Y drains BA Non-explosive 3Z

Water No protection Non-explosive

0

Dry chemical Full protection Explosive 4W Jet Full protection Non-explosive 4X Full protection Explosive lW IP BA Explosive 4Y Full protection Non-explosive IX lR BA Non-explosive 4Z BA BA Explosive Non-explosive lY lZ IS IT Dry sand (Graphite) Fog Full Full BA protection protection Explosive Non-explosive Explosive 2W 2X 2Y 2P 2R 2S Full Full BA BA protection protection Explosive Non-explosive Explosive Non-explosive 5W 5X 5Y 5Z BA

Non-explosive 2Z

2T 3P 3R 3S 3T

4P 4R 4S 4T

5P 5R 5S 5T

Fig. 2

A

Adn Adiponitrils Accelerene Acetal Acetaldehyde Acetaldehyde Oxime Acetaldol Acetaldoxime Acetate Acetate Films Acetic Acid Acetic Acid Glacial Acetic Acid Secondary Butyl Ester Acetic Aldehyde Acetic Anhydride Acetic Ether Acetoacetanilide Acetoacetic Acid Acetone Acetone Cyanahydrin Acetone Oil Acetonitrile Acetanilide Acetyl Acetone Acetyl Bromide Acetyl Chloride Acetylene Dichloride Acetylene Acetylene Tetrabromide Acetylene Tetrachloride Acetyl Hydroperoxide Acetyl Iodide Acetyloid Acetylides

Acetyl Peroxide

Acetyl Acetic Acid

Acids

Acid 'Sodium Sulphate

A.C.L. 85 Powder

Aconite

Aconitum

Acraldehyde

Acrylaldehyde

Acroleic Acid

Acrolein

Acrolein Acetal

Acrylic Acid Acrylic Esters

Acrylonitrile 2X 3W 2S 2W 3S 2T 3S IS IS 2P 2P 3W 2W 2P 2W lW 2P 2P 2W 2P 3W lW 2S 2P 2P 2Y 2Y 5X 5W 2W 2P 2W 2Y 2W 2P 2P 2R 3X 3X 2X 2W 2W 3W 2P 3S 3W 2W 2W Adronol Acetate Agave Fibre Albo-Cabon Alcohols Alcohol-Methyl Alcohol Solvents Aldehydes Aldol Alkali Caustic Alkaloids Alkylamine Alkyk Phenol Allyl Acetate Allyl Alcohol Allyl Aldehyde Allylamine Allyl Bromide Allyl Chloride Allyl Chlorocabonate Allyl Chloroformate Allyl Ethyl Ether Allyl Formate Allyl Iodide Allyl Trichlorosilane Aloe Fibre Alpha Napthylamine Alphanol Alsimin Aluminium and Aluminium Alloys Aluminium Alkyls Aluminium Bromide Aluminium Carbide Aluminium Chloride Aluminium Di-Ethyl Ethoxide Aluminium Di-Ethyl Aluminium Di-Ethyl Monochloride Aluminium Dust Aluminium Ethyl Aluminium Ferrosilicon Aluminium Laurate Aluminium Lithium Hydride Aluminium Methyl Aluminium Powder Aluminium Propyl Aluminium Resinate Aluminium Stearate Aluminium Sulpho Cyanide Aluminium Thiocyanate Aluminium Tri-Ethyl 2W IZ 2Y 2P 2P 2P 2W 2T 2R 2X lR 2X 3W 2P 2P 2P 2X 2W lW lW 3W 3W 2W 3W IT 2X 2W 5Y 5Y 5W 2R 2Y 5W 5W 5W 5W 5Y 5W 5Y

JO 5W 5Y 5W 5W

0 0 IX IX 5W

Fig. 3

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