Significant new approach to hazardous materials guidance

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ESTOPERATIONAL GUIDANCE | 47

Significant new approach to hazardous materials guidance It’s hard to get to grips with a subject when the guidance is over 600 pages long. The 2012 publication by DCLG and CFRA, Operational Guidance – Incidents involving hazardous materials is unwieldy and hard to navigate. It’s a good case in point for the existence of the National Operational Guidance Programme (NOGP). Taking tomes like this, deconstructing them and then re-packaging, or reworking them into something manageable is a core part of the Programme’s aim. Words: Catherine Levin. The term hazardous materials means solids, liquids or gases that can harm people, other living organisms, property or the environment. They include materials that are: toxic; radioactive; flammable; explosive; corrosive; oxidisers; asphyxiates; and biohazards. The National Operational Guidance Programme’s plan for hazardous materials is to deconstruct the existing guidance. There is generic guidance that is supported by specific hazard guidance divided into three areas: physical, health and environmental. Underpinning all of this will be a foundation document, something similar to that already published for Incident Command; this will provide additional knowledge and expertise. In addition to this there is the Initial Operational Response to a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or Explosive Incident guidance. This focuses on the deliberate, malicious or terrorist incident, whereas the generic hazmat guidance primarily deals with accidental hazardous materials incidents.

More accessible The diagram below sets out how the new approach works and it’s clear that this modular approach is more accessible for those experienced in the field but also for those new officers who are in the early stages of becoming specialist hazmat officers.

So far, the National Operational Guidance Programme has published guidance relating to those hazards present in the initial operational response phase of a CBRN(e) incident, which are not present at, or common to, general hazmat incidents. In this guidance, the initial operational response relates to those firefighters who are not specifically trained or equipped to deal with these types of incidents. There is a second piece of guidance that focuses on the specialist operational response and this is still under development. The Project Board, led by London Fire Brigade Commissioner Ron Dobson, agreed to amalgamate the earlier guidance, published in January 2015, with this work so that there is a single guidance document. This will be published during 2017.

Generic guidance published Generic hazmat guidance was published in April 2016. It covers the generic hazards and controls when dealing with hazmat incidents and features guidance on initial operational response (excluding at CBRN(e) incidents) and dry decontamination. One key distinguishing factor between this generic guidance and the guidance focused on CBRN(e) is that the generic guidance deals primarily with accidental hazmat incidents.

“A major change for the 2016 guidance is the change in the way that dangerous goods are classified.” Firefighters respond to many types of incidents but here the guidance is concerned with those that include emergency spillages or releases as well as where firefighters encounter hazardous materials at fires and other incidents. Some firefighters are designated as Hazmat Advisers and receive specialist training to support their role. Clearly, this is a technical area in which to work, so firefighters need to have specific skills, knowledge and understanding to maintain safety. The National Occupational Standard – FF5 Protect the environment from the effects of hazardous materials – is particularly relevant here. Events like Hazmat 2016, which took place in May, also provide firefighters with the latest developments and thinking in this area.

www.emergencyservicestimes.com

A major change for the 2016 guidance is the change in the way that dangerous goods are classified. Previously the nine UN classes were used (also known as the UN ‘Orange book’); this was a basic system for the transport of dangerous goods. It was designed to reduce the risk of serious incidents involving dangerous goods and the impact of any incidents that might occur. The Project Board responsible for developing the new guidance made a policy decision to move away from the nine UN classes and use the Global Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) instead. This is not a new system, the ‘international mandate that provided the impetus for completing this work was adopted in 1992’ at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. It is a universal system for identifying

chemicals and communicating their hazards. The change will simplify the approach to hazmat response and will ensure all hazards are considered including a number of hazards to health previously overlooked.

“Clearly, this is a technical area in which to work, so firefighters need to have specific skills, knowledge and understanding to maintain safety.” The GHS is divided into three areas. The physical hazards are sub divided into 16 areas, from explosives to flammable liquids, from gases under pressure to organic peroxides. The health list is slightly shorter, with 10 sub divisions, ranging from acute toxicity to aspiration hazards. The environmental hazards are divided into just two: hazards to the aquatic environment; and hazards to the ozone layer (these have already been covered in the published Environmental Protection guidance).

Ensuring a consistent approach The National Operational Guidance project that is now underway, led by DCFO Dave Walton from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, will refer to and align with the sub divisions in the GHS and ensure that firefighters are using a system that is internationally recognised and consistent. Indeed, the United Nations revision of the GHS from 2011 noted that the GHS will ‘enhance the protection of human health and the environment by providing an internationally comprehensible system for hazard communication’. The NOGP team appreciates that this is a significant change for hazmat response and will hold a number of events to familiarise fire and rescue services with the GHS prior to formal consultation on the guidance. Information about these opportunities will be provided on the project website (below).

www.ukfrs.com As usual, the project team welcome input from subject experts in fire and rescue services. Fay Pisani is the project manager and can be contacted by e-mail: fpisani@ukfrs.com

June2016


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