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Keywords and Clues Contaminated To come in contact with or covered with undesirable chemicals. Emergency Official Any worker or volunteer trained to know how to respond in an emergency. This can be police, fire fighters, public works, emergency medical services (EMS), or other public employees. Exercise A simulation; make believe acting event to test police, fire and other public works worker’s knowledge and skill about what to do in a hazardous materials emergency. Hazardous Materials Emergency A leak, spill, explosion, fire, or other event happening at one location or from a traveling vehicle causing a hazardous chemical to enter the air, water or soil and threatens the safety of people, animals, plants, the environment, and communities. Any time that a chemical escapes from its container, in which it was not supposed to be used, a hazardous materials emergency could happen. When this happens people, animals, property, and the environment (air, water, and soil) might become contaminated with the hazardous material. A chemical may escape from a container for several reasons. One might be from a container leaking because it was old and worn out. Other times, it could be that a container was damaged in a traffic accident or by being dropped or bumped hard while being moved. Another way containers are damaged is because people don’t close a valve. And sadly, people sometimes purposely leave containers open to hurt other people, animals, or the environment. ---PAGE BREAK--- Pesticides are used on farms, lawns, gardens, and around the home. They are used to kill insects and diseases, which attack plants. Some Chemicals, like chlorine, are used to purify drinking water. Chlorine is a gas that is placed into drinking water in small amounts. The chlorine kills tiny bacteria in the water. Some living bacteria make humans sick. There is not enough in the water to hurt people. Factories sometimes make, or manufacture, chemicals. Chemicals can become plastics, paint, glues, and many other materials we used everyday. Keywords and Clues Pesticides Chemicals used to kill unwanted insects. Chlorine A greenish-colored gas that is very poisonous. It is used to kill very tiny living organisms in water in order to keep people from becoming sick. Manufacture To build or make a product. Combining or splitting many types of chemicals makes hazardous materials. Hazardous materials, or chemicals, are stored, used, or produced in many communities around McLean County. There are many different types of hazardous materials used for a variety of reasons. They can be found in all types of buildings and even around the house. The most common hazardous material is gasoline. Gasoline, and other fuels like diesel, is used in automobiles, trucks and other engines. It is stored at hundreds of gasoline stations and convenience stores. You might also find gasoline for your lawnmower stored in a small container in your home. ---PAGE BREAK--- Keywords an Clues Critical Facility A place where people are gathered at work, school or play which needs to have special attention provided to protect persons in the event a hazardous materials emergency. Impact The amount which a hazardous materials accident may hurt or injure people. Plan A paper document, like a school report, which looks at how much a hazardous materials accident may impact a community. Planner A person who examines hazardous materials papers and develops a plan for communities and emergency responders to follow in an actual hazardous materials accident. When public employees called planners examine Right-To-Know papers at Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC), they look for ways accidents with hazardous materials may impact a community. The planner uses computer programs to find out what parts of a city a neighborhood or rural area might be affected. There are certain things planners are particularly interested in knowing from computer programs. One is how far away from hazardous materials accident could people be hurt or killed. Who needs to know this? And, how can they be protected and made aware of the hazard? A planner locates special places called critical facilities on maps. Critical facilities may include schools, hospitals, parks, nursing homes, government buildings, and other places. Maps, place names, and phone numbers are then placed in a paper plan which can be used by emergency responders, emergency planners, and citizens to be prepared for emergencies with hazardous materials. This plan is referred to as the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). Planning is required by law through the “Emergency Planning and the Right-to-Know Act of 1986.” Plans are kept at all LEPC offices, also known as the Emergency Services and Disaster Agency (ESDA) Office. The public is welcome to view these plans. ---PAGE BREAK--- Sometimes, accidents happen and hazardous materials are released to air, water, or ground. An accident might be caused by a leaking cylinder, pipe, a truck in a traffic accident, or for other reasons. When an accident occurs, people in neighborhoods and communities are at risk. They could be injured or might die. Keywords and Clues 9-1-1 The telephone number to call when there is an emergency. Evacuate To leave a place or area. Local Radio Stations which are broadcast from a local area where we live, & TV not from a cable TV network. Usually these stations have call letters beginning with the letter (example- WJBC) our local Emergency Alert Station (EAS). This radio station provides local emergency news. Shelter-In-Place Going inside a building and protecting the clean air inside from being mixed with outside air holding with hazardous materials from an accident. When this happens, people need to know who to protect themselves. Here’s what you should know: 1. If a hazardous materials leak happens inside of the home (a can of pesticide spills, or there is a gas leak), Evacuate. Go to someone else’s home and call 9-1-1. 2. If you see an accident outside or smell a strong chemical odor outside, go inside. Close all doors and windows. Turn off fans, air conditioners/heaters. Breath through a wet cloth if odors get inside the home Listen for emergency news on a local radio or TV channel. Call 9-1-1 if you are unsure what to do, otherwise stay off the phone unless parent or emergency officials call you. This is called Sheltering-In-Place. 3. When told to evacuate, Do it! Follow the instructions off of a radio or TV or from emergency officials who may knock on your door or call on the phone. ---PAGE BREAK--- People who are not trained emergency officials should never go near a hazardous materials accident. Without special training they, too, could be injured or killed. Only Professionals should approach hazardous materials incidents and emergencies! Keywords and Clues Evaluate the Scene To look at a hazardous materials accident and decide what protective equipment and people are needed, and to determine if a neighborhood is threatened by the chemical. Daily Routine Day to day activities in a community like going to school, working, being at home, or traveling. Protective Suit A special piece of clothing usually made of special material and having a clear plastic facemask, which protects an emergency responder from being contaminated. They sometimes contain a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) When hazardous materials emergency occurs, the first people to arrive at the scene are emergency officials. Emergency officials like police, fire fighters, public works employees, and emergency medical service (EMS) technicians they help to protect lives and property. They evaluate the scene where the hazardous material is leaking. They make educated decisions on how to stop the leak so a community can resume its normal daily routines. Emergency officials receive training from special schools and classes, which focus on safety, health, equipment, protective clothing, and environment. Without this training, an emergency official is not supposed to even respond to the scene of a hazardous materials incident. Why? Because say if a fire fighter had no idea as to what level of Protective suits and Equipment is needed they could be badly injured or killed. ---PAGE BREAK--- Many years ago (in 1984 to be exact), a terrible chemical release occurred in a place called Bhopal, India in Asia. It happened in the early hours of the morning while people were asleep. As the chemical leaked from a nearby manufacturing plant, it moved down street and into homes. About 5,ooo people died, and over 10,000 people were injured as the chemical burned their eyes, lungs and skin. People should visit there LEPC’s and learn where hazardous materials are stored, manufactured, or used near their homes, schools and workplaces. They should learn what to do in the event of an emergency. It is everyone’s Right-To-Know under the law. Keywords and Clues Local Emergency A group of people and staff who, makes sure EPRCA papers are Planning Committees received from businesses and governments, and helps the public to (LEPC) understand how to find Right-To-Know information. Pollution When chemicals or other substances that are not naturally present in water, air or ground are added by humans as apart of making goods or providing services. Right-To-Know A phrase taken from the “Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986.” This is a law, which allows all people to know what hazardous materials are stored used or made in their communities. This accident made Americans ask themselves if such an accident could occur in our country. People began to wonder what hazardous materials were in their communities. The also wanted to be able to document pollution from industries and to ask if others safer chemical could be used. Emergency responders also needed to know what chemicals were being used or stored in facilities, so that they could help save lives if and accident happened there. The United States Government passed a law called the Emergency Planning and the Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA). This law requires that businesses and governments provide paper reports to emergency officials. These papers (Tier II) or reports are kept at the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) McLean County ESDA office. ---PAGE BREAK--- McLean County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, (ESDA) is the emergency management agency that handles the LEPC for our county. Papers submitted by places using hazardous materials which, must be reported annually under the law called EPCRA are maintained in our office. Getting in touch with us LEPC / McLean County Serves all of the communities within McLean County. Emergency Services These include Anchor, Arrowsmith, Bellflower, Carlock, And Disaster Agency Chenoa, Colfax, Cooksville, Danvers, Downs, Ellsworth, Cropsey, Bloomington, Normal, Heyworth, Hudson, Lexington, McLean, LeRoy, Shirley, Stanford, Saybrook, Towanda, Gridley, and Weston. Address McLean County ESDA 104 W. Front Street, Room B10 Bloomington, Illinois 61702-2400 Phone Numbers Office [PHONE REDACTED] Fax [PHONE REDACTED] E-Mail [EMAIL REDACTED] or http://www.mclean.gov Public requests can be made for written materials or data. It is all on the public record. Just like a street or a park is a public place and owned by everyone, so are the papers, plans. Computer data… everything at the LEPC is for everyone to know. It’s Federal and State law and it’s your Right-To-Know! A planner will come to speak to audiences upon request. (If schedule is possible) ---PAGE BREAK--- And pipelines rapidly and quietly move chemicals from place to place, usually underground. Accident during transportation involve derailments (from railroads), traffic accidents (from trucks), grounding (from boats and barges), crashes (from airplanes), and leaks (from pipelines). Keywords and Clues Barges A large, floating boat-like vessel that holds hazardous materials. Barges are pushed or pulled by boats with engines because they have no engines of their own. Derailment When a train and its railcars leave the tracks in an accident, causing the train to quickly stop and break apart. Transportation Moving hazardous materials. This may mean over several miles or just a few feet. Moving hazardous materials is a form of transportation. A chemical can be transported from one state to another, across a city, or inside a building from a storage area to a place where it is to be used. Most hazardous materials emergencies happen while the container is being moved, it has a chance of being dropped, hit by another container or object, or getting in a traffic accident. How are chemicals moved? Railroads move large amounts of chemicals. Trucks move hazardous materials on roads. Boats and barges transport hazardous material on the waterways. Airplanes can carry small amounts of hazardous materials quickly.