Train Employees How to React to Chemical Spills

Taking immediate and appropriate action after a chemical spill can save lives. If hazardous chemicals are present at your facility, train employees in how to react should an emergency occur.

Here are some key actions employees need to be trained to take if they identify a chemical spill:

• Once you have identified a spill and safely evacuated the spill’s immediate area, it is safe to call for help.
• Contact your company’s emergency response team by following the procedures outlined in the Emergency Response Plan.
• Request additional resources if necessary.
• Ask for instructions on what you should do until help arrives.

Meet your OSHA-required 8-, 24-, or 40-hour HAZWOPER training requirements with 17 audio training sessions on one DVD plus a comprehensive training manual. To get your HAZWOPER Training Library, click here.

When reporting the spill, you need to provide responders with some vital facts on the ground, such as:

• Information to the emergency response coordinator, including the name(s) of the chemical(s) involved in the release and the hazards of the chemical(s).
• Description of the location of the release and how it has released, such as a gas into the air, a liquid spray, or a liquid flowing over the ground.
• Estimation of the quantity of released material.
• Description of the site conditions such as fire, fumes, and smoke. Describe if the chemical release has reached or soon will reach environmentally sensitive areas.
• Description of whether the area has been evacuated and if there are victims of the release that will need rescue or emergency medical treatment.

To protect yourself and others:

• Once you have determined that a release of a hazardous chemical has occurred, report it to others in the immediate area so that they can evacuate with you.
• Signal an alarm or yell to warn the other employees.
• Retreat to a predetermined assembly area or to a shelter-in-place that is a safe distance from the spill or release.

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How to secure the area:

• Once you have reported the spill or release to the response personnel, secure the area around the release to keep unauthorized personnel out while waiting for the response team to arrive.
• Use caution tape, rope, cones, and barricades to create a safe zone around the area. Your emergency response plan might call for the use of specific equipment; however, you may be required to barricade with whatever is available.
• Up to this point, a first responder at the awareness level (this is a level of emergency response training) has been in control of the spill scene. Once response personnel arrive, they will take over responsibility for the incident.

Customize your training around the answers to such questions as, “what reporting procedures are used at your company?” and “do you respond to spills in-house?”

The above information comes from BLR’s presentation “HAZWOPER: First Responders, Awareness Level.”

Rely on the Highest Level of HAZWOPER Training

If you’re looking for high-quality, highly effective HAZWOPER training materials, you are looking for BLR’s HAZWOPER Training Library. This unique program includes 17 audio training presentations on DVD plus a 200+ page HAZWOPER training manual with tests, handouts, completion certificates, and an electronic version of the manual so you can easily take everything from location to location even if you don’t want to carry the manual! The handy outline tells you exactly what to present and when to meet either the 8-, 24-, or 40-hour requirements!

With this program, you will:

• Meet the 8-, 24-, and 40-hour HAZWOPER training requirements. Combine this comprehensive library with hands-on training to meet the 40-hour HAZWOPER training requirements. Train new employees, or meet refresher training requirements without hiring expensive outside trainers.
• Save time and money with ready-to-use and accurate training materials.
• Ensure your training is effective. Employees will learn how to recognize, properly handle, and dispose of hazardous materials with this invaluable HAZWOPER safety training.

The DVD includes:

• Identifying Hazardous Materials
• Hazardous Waste Introductory Training
• Safe Chemical Handling
• Respiratory Protection
• HAZWOPER: On-Site Safety Considerations
• Hazardous Waste Emergency Response
• HAZWOPER: Facility Operations
• HAZWOPER: First Awareness Level
• HAZWOPER: Medical Surveillance Program
• Understanding Chemicals Under GHS
• PPE for Emergency Response
• HAZWOPER: Donning/Doffing/Decontamination
• Hazardous Materials Spill Cleanup
• Working Safely with Flammable Liquids
• Fire Extinguishers
• Emergency Action and Fire Prevention

Your 100% satisfaction is guaranteed. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with the HAZWOPER Training Program, simply let us know within 90 days, and we will issue you a complete refund. To find out how to order, click here.