Quantities may range up to 125,000 cubic meters. The U.S. Coast Guard 

 writes and enforces these regulations. 



Hazardous Substances 



These are products which the EPA has designated as harmful to the aqua- 

 tic environment. The primary selection criterion is the high toxicity to 

 fish and an economic criterion of relatively low cost. At present, 299 

 chemicals have been designated as hazardous substances. 



Unlike "oil," hazardous chemicals possess physical, chemical, and toxico- 

 logical properties which vary greatly. Any spill must be approached on an 

 individual basis. The product may or may not be harmful to the environment, 

 may or may not be harmful to people or property, may or may not be persistent, 

 may or may not be soluble, may or may not float, etc. In many cases, a spill 

 may not be recoverable and there is little or nothing that can be done. 



SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE 



In an incident involving a hazardous chemical, the single, most 

 important piece of information is obviously the identification of the spilled 

 material. Without knowing the identity of the specific material, little or 

 no action can be taken. No one should consider entering the area of the 

 spill without a complete set of protective clothing prior to identification 

 of the material. A complete set of protective clothing consists of complete 

 contact protection and full respiratory protection from a positive pressure 

 breathing apparatus. Once the material has been identified, a lesser type 

 of protective clothing may be authorized. Also, anyone who dons protective 

 equipment should be quite familiar with the equipment, for he is about to 

 enter a potentially hostile environment. 



A second determination which must be rapidly made is whether the worse 

 has happened, or "can the situation get worse?" If the situation can get 

 worse, then personnel evacuation or whatever action is necessary to limit 

 the hazardous exposure, must be made. 



The next step to take is to decide on a course of action to mitigate or 

 control the emergency, especially if the worse has not happened. Once a 

 course of action is determined, then constant monitoring must be done to in- 

 sure that the desired effect is being accomplished. If the desired result 

 is not being attained, then a new course of action should be determined, 

 set in motion, and again, monitored for the desired result. 



The person in charge of the incident is the On-Scene Coordinator (OSC). 

 His responsibility is to prevent the situation from worsening, mitigate the 

 effects of the spill, and return the situation to normal as rapidly as 

 possible. He works within a system of priorities or "protection factors." 

 The order of priorities for an OSC are: (1) protection of people, (2) pro- 

 tection of the environment, and (3) protection of property. 



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