超越经验法，提示14
By Steven De Lisi
One Saturday morning, your engine is dispatched to a report of a suspicious substance at the local trash transfer station. This facility consists of several large roll-off trash containers with ramps that allow citizens to deposit their trash into the open top. On arrival, you detect a small but steady vapor cloud issuing from one of the containers. The other containers are potentially exposed to the vapors, so you decide to close the transfer station until you can figure out what is going on. However, the public works director has other ideas. To add to your woes, this same individual is also the local mayor.
He knows that Saturday is the busiest day of the week for the transfer station and does not want the facility closed for fear of a public backlash. He informs you that he wants your crew to dig around in the container to see what is producing the vapor cloud. He also “suggests” that it is probably just a small fire from a discarded cigarette and that spraying water into the container should “take care of the problem.”
Before you act on the mayor’s suggestions, you recall a previous situation when a local trash collection truck experienced a similar problem. Your crew arrived to find the truck emitting a strange-colored vapor cloud from the rear trash compaction area. The same public works director was also there, and despite the fact that the vapors caused him some respiratory distress (as he approached the truck to “take a closer look”), he insisted that the truck be driven through town to the local landfill to allow the truck to dump its load and bury the problem with dirt. According to him, “Out of sight is out of mind.”
Sound all too familiar? First responders should always remember that “fuming” trash trucks or trash containers, or those with detectable chemical odors or visible plumes of smoke or vapor, are usually opportunities for them to exceed their level of training and make a minor situation a lot worse, especially when there is a heightened level of political pressure to quickly resolve the matter. Remember that many of these incidents involve the disposal ofhouseholdhazardous materials or hazardous waste that will react when mixed with other items or when rainwater enters the container.
Incidents involving trash containers can occur not only at transfer stations but also at fixed facilities. Although fixed facilities usually rent these containers for their own use and should therefore have some idea of what has been disposed of, it is not uncommon for the public or other businesses looking for a quick way to unload their hazardous waste to use these same containers, resulting in the disposal of unknown items. First responders may also encounter trash containers loaded with bags of “biohazard waste” (red bags) or “asbestos” that are dumped overnight by unscrupulous “cleanup contractors.” These individuals charge large sums of money to remove and properly dispose of hazardous waste, but then resort to “midnight-dumping” to avoid disposal fees. They pocket a hefty profit at someone else’s expense.
当压缩力导致危险材料容器破裂时，用液压设备压缩负载的垃圾车可能会遇到问题。除了这些材料与其他物品反应外，某些危险材料可能会在其容器被压碎并可能污染附近的任何人时飞溅。
其他类型的垃圾车辆包括那些运输带有开放顶部的“滚下”容器的垃圾车。虽然大多数这样的容器都标有禁止处置有害物质或危险废物的标志，但在调查涉及可疑物质泄漏的任何事件时，急救人员应谨慎行事。总是抗拒的冲动爬上去的the container to take a “quick look” to see what is happening.This is especially important for law enforcement officers who may decide to stop a leaking trash truck as it travels through town.The material leaking may be rain water, but it might just as likely turn out to be fatal.
请记住，当不同的危险材料或有害废物结合并经历化学反应时，尝试使用材料安全数据表（如果您甚至可以得到的话）来确定任何健康效果以及随后的暴露医疗治疗时，所有赌注都会关闭。如果您在垃圾容器的“快速”侦察任务之后生病，那么医务人员可能会很难提供治疗，而无需对所涉及的材料进行一些化学分析。对于您来说，获得样本并执行此分析所需的延迟可能意味着生与死之间的差异！
如果被叫到涉及烟雾或泄漏垃圾卡车或容器的场景，急救人员应该记住，不仅有人拥有卡车或容器，但是他们也拥有问题。当然，除非第一响应者试图自行解决事件，从而自行继承问题。即使对于那些在垃圾转移站发生的事件，其中许多地点也不由地方政府经营。取而代之的是，该操作分包给了一家专门管理固体废物处置的公司。
另外，请记住，第一响应者不应挖掘寻找线索的垃圾容器，也不应要求将烟卡车驶入城镇，以前往当地的垃圾填埋场。取而代之的是，将其像其他任何危险材料一样对待；隔离，拒绝进入并寻求帮助。急救人员应通知拥有卡车或容器的公司，并通知他们他们have a problem, and let them manage it. The preferred response from these companies includes those trained and equipped to investigate and resolve the incident, including a hazardous materials team along with a cleanup contractor.The preferred response should not include any remediation activities performed by first responders.
当通知车主关于卡车或垃圾容器时，请安慰地知道这可能不是他们处理的第一个事件，也不是最后一个事件。但是，当急救人员干预时，他们将大部分负担从垃圾公司转移到自己和他们的部门。此外，您采取的任何初始措施（例如将材料倒在地面上）可能会导致卡车的所有者或垃圾容器声称第一响应者只会使事件恶化，并增加了清理费用。然后，这笔额外的费用可能成为您的承受。
When dealing with trash trucks and trash containers involving hazardous materials, be smart, be safe, and remember,每个人都回家呢
讨论点
- If there are trash transfer stations located in your community, determine if these are operated by local government or if the operations are subcontracted to a private company. Next, determine what plans are in place for managing an incident involving hazardous materials at these sites.
- 确定社区中专门研究垃圾收集的企业。这些可能是“一辆卡车”运营或主要公司。确定管理涉及其中一辆车辆的事件的计划。
- 当某人在涉及垃圾卡车或垃圾容器的事件中暴露于未知的危险材料之后，您的社区是否曾经经历过事件？如果是这样，这种接触的短期和长期结果是什么？
Click herefor more info on Steven De Lisi’s book,“Hazardous Materials Incidents: Surviving the Initial Response.”
Steven m . De Lisi 27年资深的火service, and is currently deputy chief for the Virginia Air National Guard Fire Rescue, located at the Richmond International Airport. De Lisi is a Hazardous Materials Specialist and a former chairman of the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association’s Hazardous Materials Committee. He is also an adjunct instructor for the Virginia Department of Fire Programs and a former member of the NFPA committee on hazardous materials protective clothing. De Lisi began his career in hazardous materials response in 1982 as a member of the haz-mat team with the Newport News (VA) Fire Department. Since then, he has also served as a hazardous materials officer for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and in that capacity provided on-scene assistance to first responders involved with hazardous materials incidents in an area that included more than 20 local jurisdictions.
