Hospital Hazardous Materials Industry Technician

Overview

The Hazardous Materials Industry Technician is the level of training that allows responders to assume an offensive posture to actively stop a hazardous materials release.  This program trains responders to conduct more in-depth hazard analysis than at the Operations level, perform site monitoring, and enter into a potentially hazardous atmosphere to conduct activities to abate hazardous conditions.

Learning Objectives

• The student will recognize some of the more significant federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to hazardous materials and hazardous waste, as well as some of the key provisions of each law and regulation.
• The student will recognize their rights and responsibilities under OSHA regulations and other related laws.
  
• The student will identify the key components of their employer’s hazardous materials emergency response plan.
  
• The student will describe the components of a site safety plan for a hazardous materials incident and identify key points that should be made in a safety briefing prior to working on the scene.
  
• The student will describe OSHA required Medical Programs including Medical Surveillance Program and Medical Monitoring Program.
  
• Student will identify procedures by which hazardous materials response personnel will be medically monitored at incidents.
  
• The student will describe the types of exposure, the toxic effects, the dose-response relationship and terms used to describe toxicity and environmental conditions at a hazardous materials incident.
  
• The student will recognize the importance of establishing control zones and identify the three control zones to be established at a hazardous materials incident.
  
• The student will recognize basic ICS concepts as they apply to hazardous materials incidents, the general organization of the Incident Command System and selected standard ICS forms.
  
• The student will describe the duties of each position within the Hazardous Materials Group. To include: The Hazardous Materials Group Supervisor, the Entry Leader, the Decontamination Leader, the Site Access Control Leader, the Safe Refuge Area Manager, the Assistant Safety Officer – Hazardous Materials and Technical Specialist- Hazardous Materials Reference.
  
• The student will identify the various types of respiratory protection to include: Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), Supplied Air Respirators (SAR) and Air Purifying Respirators (APR).
  
• The student will identify the three types of Chemical Protective Clothing; vapor-protective, splash-protective and support-function clothing and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each. The student will identify the four levels of chemical protection (EPA/NIOSH/NFPA) and match both the equipment required for each level and the conditions under which each level is used. The student will explain the significance of degradation, penetration and permeation as they relate to suit selection.
  
• The student will describe the procedures for donning and doffing the respiratory protection devices and protective clothing used at the facility and/or industry involved.
  
• Student will identify the mechanisms by which heat builds up in workers operating in chemical protective clothing, and the appropriate measures to take for someone experiencing a heat related illness.
  
• The student will identify various offensive control options that may be utilized at a hazardous materials incident including repositioning leaking drums, over packing, using absorbents, plugging, patching and catching.
• The student will describe the purpose of, procedures for, equipment required and safety precautions appropriate for each method.
  
• The student will identify various defensive control options that may be utilized at a hazardous materials incident including damming, diking and diverting. The student will describe the purpose of, procedures for, equipment required and safety precautions appropriate for each method.
  
• The student will describe Incident Termination Procedures.
  The student will be able to describe the various monitoring instruments used for air monitoring to include, but not limited to: A Combustible Gas Indicator, A Colorimetric tube, A Photo-ionization Device, An Oxygen Detection Device. (A Multi-Detection Instrument reading Combustible gasses, Oxygen, Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen Sulfide may also be used) . The student will describe the theory of operation for each instrument.
  
• The student will recognize the importance of the various types of reference sources and the need to maintain current versions/editions.
  
• The student will be able to describe the information needed to conduct a Hazard and Risk Assessment during a hazardous materials incident.
  
• The student will identify the various decontamination methods, the types of decontamination, factors that can affect the decontamination process and resources needed to establish a Contamination Reduction Corridor.
• The student will also identify general guidelines for Emergency Decontamination, including sources for selecting appropriate decontamination procedures and solutions.
  
• The student will recognize basic chemical and physical terms and behaviors.

Topics Covered

• Know how to implement the employer’s emergency response plan.
  
• Know the classification, identification, and verification of known and unknown materials by using field survey instruments and equipment.
  
• Be able to function within an assigned role in the ICS.
  
• Know how to select and use proper specialized chemical PPE provided to the hazardous Materials Technician.
  
• Understand hazard and risk assessment techniques.
  
• Be able to perform advanced control, containment, and/or confinement operations and rescue injured or contaminated persons within the capabilities of the resources and PPE available with the unit.
  
• Understand and implement equipment, victim, and rescue personnel decontamination procedures.
  
• Understand termination procedures.
  
• Understand basic chemical and toxicological terminology and behavior.