McDOWELL COUNTY HAZARDOUS MATERIALS EMERGENCY PLAN

APPENDIX 11 TO HMEP

GLOSSARY

DEFINITIONS

Accident Site – The location of an unexpected occurrence, failure, and/or loss (either at a facility or along a transportation route) resulting in a release of hazardous materials.

Acute – Severe, but of short duration. Acute health effects are those that occur immediately after exposure to hazardous chemicals.

Acutely Toxic Chemicals – Chemicals that can cause severe short and long term health effects after a single, brief exposure (short duration). These chemicals, when ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin, can cause damage to living tissue, impairment of the central nervous system, severe illness, or, in extreme cases, death.

Aerosol – A material that is dispensed from its container as a mist, spray, or foam by a propellant under pressure; a liquid substance suspended in air.

Airborne Release – Release of any chemical into the air.

Aquifer – An underground rock formation composed of materials such as sand, soil, or gravel that can store and supply ground water to wells and springs. Aquifers are usually found within a thousand feet of the earth’s surface.

Blasting Agent – A material designed for blast.

Boiling Point – Means the boiling point of a liquid at a pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute (p.s.i.a).

Catastrophic Release – Means a major uncontrolled emission, fire, or explosion, involving one or more highly hazardous chemicals, that presents serious danger to the population.

Chemnet – A mutual aid network of chemical shippers and contractors. Chemnet has more than 50 participating companies with emergency teams, 23 subscribers (who receive services during an incident from a participant and then reimburse response and cleanup costs), and several emergency response contractors. Chemnet is activated when a member shipper cannot respond promptly to an incident involving that company’s product(s) that requires the presence of a chemical expert. If a member of the company cannot go to the scene of the incident, the shipper will authorize a Chemnet contracted emergency response company to go. Chemnet provides communications for the network, with the shipper receiving notification and details about the incident from the chemnet communicator.

Chemical Transportation Emergency Center (CHEMTREC) – A program providing information and/or assistance to emergency responders. Chemtrec contacts the shipper or producer of the material for more detailed information, including on-scene assistance when feasible. CHEMTREC can be reached 24 hours a day by calling 1-800-424-9300.

Chronic – Of long duration or having frequent recurrence. Chronic health effects are those that become apparent or continue for some time after exposure to hazardous materials.

Color – The color of the material under normal conditions.

Combustible Liquid – Any liquid having a flashpoint at or above 100°F and below 200°F.

Command Post – Facility located at a safe distance upwind from an accident site where the on-scene coordinator, responders, and technical representatives can make response decisions, deploy manpower and equipment, maintain liaison with the media, and handle communications.

Compressed Gas – A gas or mixture of gases having in a container, an absolute pressure exceeding 40 psi at 70º F (21.1ºC) or a gas or mixture of gases having in a container, an absolute pressure exceeding 104 psi at 130º F (54.4 ºC) regardless of the pressure at 70º F.

Corrosive Material – Any liquid or solid that causes visible destruction or irreversible damage to human skin tissue. Also, it may be a liquid that has a severe corrosion rate on steel.

Decontamination – The removal of hazardous substances from a person to the extent necessary to preclude the occurrence of foreseeable adverse health affects.

Emergency – A situation created by an accidental release or spill of hazardous materials which poses a threat to the safety of workers, residents, the environment, or property.

Emergency Alert System (EAS) – A system for informing the public about the nature of a hazardous materials incident and what safety steps they should take.

Emergency Operations Center – A facility where municipal, county, state, federal, and private entities meet during an emergency situation to gather information, make decisions, and direct and/or coordinate necessary actions to bring the emergency to a close. Generally, the facility is centrally located, and has appropriate communications available for a totally coordinated effort.

Emergency Public Information – Information released to the public by county, state, and federal agencies concerning the emergency at hand and how it can affect public health and the environment.

Etiologic Agent – An “etiologic agent” means a living micro-organism (or its toxin) that causes (or may cause) human disease.

Explosives Class A – Possessing, detonating, or otherwise maximum hazard, such as dynamite, nitroglycerin, picric acid, lead azide, black powder, blasting caps, and detonating primers.

Explosives Class B – Possessing flammable hazard, such as propellant explosives, photographic flash powders, and some special fireworks.

Explosives Class C – Includes certain types of manufactured articles that contain Class A or Class B explosives, or both, as components but in restricted quantities.

Exposure – Means that a person is subjected to a chemical that is a physical or health hazard, and includes potential exposure.

Extremely Hazardous Substances – A list of chemicals identified by EPA on the basis of toxicity, and listed under Title III of SARA.

Flammable Liquid – Any liquid having a flash point below 100°F.

Flammable Solid – Any solid material (other than an explosive) that is liable to cause fires through friction or retained heat from manufacturing or processing. It can be ignited readily and burns so vigorously and persistently as to create a serious transportation hazard. Included in this class are spontaneously combustible and water reactive materials.

Flash Point – The minimum temperature at which a flammable vapor of a substance (in contact with a spark or flame) will ignite.

Hazard – Any situation that has the potential for causing damage to life, property, and/or the environment.

Hazard Analysis – The procedure for identifying potential sources of a hazardous materials release, determining the vulnerability of an area to a hazardous materials release, and comparing hazards to determine risks to a community.

Hazardous Chemical – Any chemical that is a physical hazard or a health hazard.

Hazardous Material – Any substance or material in a quantity or form which may be harmful to humans, animals, crops, water systems, or other elements of the environment if accidentally released. Hazardous materials include: explosives, gases (compressed, liquefied, or dissolved), flammable and combustible liquids, flammable solids or substances, oxidizing substances, poisonous and infectious substances, radioactive materials, and corrosives.

Hazmat Response Team – Means an organized group of persons who are expected to perform work to handle and control actual or potential leaks or spills of hazardous substances requiring possible close approach to the substance. The team performs responses to releases or potential releases of hazardous substances for the purpose of control or stabilization of the incident.

Highly Hazardous Chemical – Means a substance possessing toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive properties and is specified by toxicity information, permissible exposure limits, physical data, reactivity data, corrosivity data, or thermal and chemical stability data.

Incident Command System – The combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure, with responsibility for management of assigned resources, to effectively accomplish stated objectives at the scene of an incident.

Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health – A concentration that represents a maximum level from which one could escape within 30 minutes without any escape-impairing symptoms or any irreversible health effects.

Irritating Material – A liquid or solid substance that, upon contact with fire or air, gives off dangerous or intensely irritating fumes.

Joint Public Information Center – A single facility from which multi-organizational emergency public information can be coordinated and disseminated.

Lethal Concentration Low – The lowest concentration of a chemical at which some test animals died following inhalation exposure.

Lethal Dose Low – The lowest dose of a chemical at which some test animals died following exposure.

Materials Safety Data Sheet – A compilation of information required under the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard on the identity of hazardous chemicals, health and physical hazards, exposure limits, and precautions. Section 311 of Title III of SARA requires facilities to submit MSDSs under certain conditions.

Median Lethal Concentration – Concentration level at which 50% of the test animals died when exposed by inhalation for a specified time period.

Median Lethal Dose – The calculated dose at which a material kills 50% of a group of test animals within a specified time. Dose is generally given in milligrams per kilogram of body weight of the test animal.

National Warning System – The federal portion of the Civil Defense Warning System used for dissemination of warning and other information from the warning centers or regions to warning points in each state.

National Response Center – Serves as the notification center for pollution incidents in US waters. It is located at the US Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and is staffed by Coast Guard personnel. The toll free number (800-424-8802) can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for reporting of actual or potential pollution incidents. The NRC relays reports to appropriate regional authorities for response actions. Spills can be reported to this center in stead of contacting regional Coast Guard or EPA personnel.

National Response Team – A team consisting of representatives of 14 federal government agencies. The team is the principal organization for implementing the National Contingency Plan (NCP). When the NRT is not activate for a response action, it serves as a standing committee to develop and maintain preparedness, to evaluate methods of responding to discharges or releases, and to recommend needed changes in the response organization, and to recommend revisions to the NCP.

On Scene Coordinator – The Federal official pre-designated by EPA or the USCG to coordinate and direct Federal discharge removal efforts under Regional Contingency Plans at the scene of an oil or hazardous substance discharge. Local personnel are subject to the direction and control of and must clear actions with, the OSC.

Other Regulated Materials – Any material that may pose an unreasonable threat to health and safety or property when transported in commerce, and does not meet any of the definitions of the other hazard classes specified in this appendix.

Oxidizer – Means a chemical other than a blasting agent or explosive, that initiates or promotes combustion in other materials, thereby causing fire either of itself or through the release of oxygen or other gases.

Physical Hazard – Means a chemical for which there is scientifically valid evidence that it is a combustible liquid, a compressed gas, explosive, flammable, an organic peroxide, an oxidizer, phyrophoric, unstable (reactive) or water-reactive.

Plume – Effluent cloud resulting from a continuous source release.

Radioactive Material – Any material, or combination of materials, that spontaneously gives off ionizing radiation. It has a specific activity greater than 0.002 microcuries per gram.

Radius of the Vulnerable Zone – The maximum distance from the point of release of a hazardous substance at which the airborne concentration could reach the level of concern under specified weather conditions.

Remedial Action – An immediate action taken over the short-term to address a release or threatened release of hazardous substances.

Reportable Quantity – The quantity of a hazardous substance that triggers reporting under CERCLA; if a substance is released in a quantity that exceeds its RQ, the release must be reported to the National Response Center (NRC), as well as to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and the community emergency coordinator for areas likely to be affected by the release.

Response – The efforts to minimize the risks created in an emergency by protecting the people, environment, and property, and the efforts to return the scene to normal pre-emergency conditions.

Risk – A measure of the probability that damage to life, property, and/or the environment will occur if a hazard manifests itself, this measure includes the severity of anticipated consequences to a population.

Shelter – A facility used to protect, house, and supply the essential needs of designated individuals during the period of an emergency. A shelter may or may not be specifically constructed for such use, depending on the type of emergency and the specific programmatic requirements.

Shipment – The shipment is the freight being transported, which includes the hazardous material contents and the containment system (box, tank truck, fitting, valves, lids, labels, etc.) described in the shipping documents. Transportation emergencies involve hazardous materials shipments, not just hazardous materials.

Special Population – Groups of people that may be more susceptible than the general population (due to preexisting health conditions or age) to the toxic effects of an accidental release.

Storage – Methods of keeping raw materials, finished goods, or products while awaiting use, shipment, or consumption.

Threshold Limit Value-Time Weighted Average – Time-weighted average concentration for a normal 8-hour work day and a 40-hour work week, to which nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed, day-to-day, without adverse effect.

Threshold Limit Value-Short Term Exposure Limit – A concentration to which workers can be exposed continuously for short periods of time without suffering from (1) irritation, (2) chronic or irreversible tissue damage, (3) narcosis of a sufficient degree to increase the likelihood of accidental injury, impair self-rescue, or materially reduce work efficiency, provided the daily TLV-TWA is not exercised.

Toxic Cloud – Airborne mass of gases, vapors, fumes, or aerosols of toxic materials.

Toxicity – The ability of a substance to cause damage to living tissue, impairment of the central nervous system, severe illness, or death when ingested, inhaled, or absorbed by the skin.

Toxicology – The study of the adverse effects of chemical agents on biological systems.

Vapor Dispersion – The movement of vapor clouds or plumes in air due to wind gravity, spreading, and mixing.

Vulnerable Zone – An area over which airborne concentration of a chemical involved in an accidental release could reach the level of concern.

Water Reactive – Means a chemical that reacts with water to release a gas that is either flammable or presents a health hazard.

ACRONYMS

ACGIH – American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienist

ARC – American Red Cross

CERCLA – Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act

CHEMTREC – Chemical Transportation Emergency Center

CO – Communications Officer

CAS – Chemical Abstract System

EAS – Emergency Alert System

EHS – Extremely Hazardous Substances

EMS – Emergency Medical Services

EOC – Emergency Operations Center

EOP – Emergency Operations Plan

EPI – Emergency Public Information

FCC – Federal Communications Commission

HMEP – Hazardous Materials Emergency Plan

IC – Incident Commander

ICP – Incident Command Post

ICS – Incident Command System

IDLH – Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health

JPIC – Joint Public Information Center

LEPC – Local Emergency Planning Committee

MSDS – Materials Safety Data Sheet

NCP – National Contingency Plan

NIOSH – Nation Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

NRC – National Response Center

NRT – National Response Team

OES – Officer of Emergency Services

ORM – Other Regulated Materials

OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Administration

PIO – Public Information Officer

PPE – Personal Protective Equipment

RQ – Reportable Quantity

SAD – State Active Duty

SARA – Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act

SCBA – Self Contained Breathing Apparatus

SERC – State Emergency Response Commission

SOG – Standard Operating Guidelines

STELs – Short Term Exposure Limits

TWA – Time-Weighted Averages

USEPA – United States Environmental Protection Agency

WVBPH – West Virginia Bureau of Public Health

WVDEP – West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

WVDOH – West Virginia Department of Health