**TABLE OF CONTENTS**

**Foreword v**

**Introduction vii**

**Pretest ix**

**Unit 1: Hazardous Materials and Human Health**

> Hazardous Materials in the United States 1-1
>
> What are Hazardous Materials? 1-3
>
> How Hazardous Materials Harm the Body 1-4
>
> Pathways of Exposure 1-6
>
> Assessing Risk 1-6
>
> Toxic Materials in the Body 1-7
>
> Studies of Toxic Effects 1-10
>
> Hazardous Materials in the Environment 1-12
>
> Summary 1-16
>
> Haz Mat Teaser 1-17
>
> Check Your Memory 1-19

**Unit 2: Hazardous Materials Regulation**

> Hazardous Materials Legislation 2-1
>
> Responsibilities of Key Federal Agencies 2-5
>
> The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (Title III) 2-7
>
> Reducing Risks from Hazardous Materials Releases 2-11
>
> When the Laws are Not Obeyed 2-12
>
> Summary 2-13
>
> Haz Mat Teaser 2-14
>
> Check Your Memory 2-16

**Unit 3: Identifying Hazardous Materials**

> Detecting the Presence of a Hazard 3-1
>
> Hazardous Materials Production and Storage 3-2
>
> Reading a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) 3-3
>
> The NFPA 704M System 3-7
>
> Hazardous Materials Transportation 3-8
>
> Hazardous Materials Waste Sites 3-10
>
> Hazardous Materials in Rural Areas 3-11
>
> Summary 3-12
>
> Haz Mat Teaser 3-14
>
> Sample Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) 3-17
>
> Check Your Memory 3-19

**Unit 4: Preparing for Hazardous Materials Incidents**

> Is Your Community Prepared for a Hazardous Materials Incident? 4-1
>
> Roles in Incident Response 4-5
>
> Protecting Yourself in a Toxic Incident 4-11
>
> What Citizens Can Do to Enhance Local Preparedness 4-15
>
> Summary 4-16
>
> Is Your Community Prepared for a Hazardous Materials Emergency? 4-17
>
> Haz Mat Teaser 4-19
>
> Check Your Memory 4-21

**Unit 5: Hazardous Materials in the Home**

> Common Household Hazardous Materials 5-1
>
> Using and Storing Household Hazardous Materials 5-6
>
> First Aid 5-8
>
> Hazardous Waste Disposal 5-9
>
> Summary 5-14
>
> Haz Mat Teaser 5-16
>
> Check Your Memory 5-17

**Glossary G-1**

**Resources**

> Member Agencies of the National Response Team R-1
>
> Organizations to Write for More Information R-2
>
> Recommended Reading R-5
>
> Computer Networks Open to the Public R-10
>
> Hazardous Materials Hotlines and Other Telephone Services R-13

**Answer Key**

> Haz Mat Teasers A-1
>
> Pretest A-4
>
> Check Your Memory A-4

**Final Examination E-1**

*Grateful acknowledgement is given to the Genium Publishing Corporation
of Schenectady, New York for providing the sample Material Safety Data
Sheet (MSDS) that appears in Unit 3, and to Environmental Health Watch,
whose "Citizen Fact Sheets" provided the basis for two tables included
in Unit 5.*

**FOREWORD**

**COURSE SPONSORS**

Three Federal agencies have contributed to the development of this home
study course: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of
Transportation (DOT). All three agencies have responsibilities related
to the protection of the public from hazards posed by the manufacture,
transport, and disposal of hazardous materials.

The Department of Transportation is charged with the development and
oversight of the Nation's transportation policy, including the
regulation of interstate hazardous materials transportation. The
Environmental Protection Agency is the primary agency responsible for
protecting our environment, including funding cleanup operations at
thousands of abandoned hazardous waste disposal sites and oversight of
programs to regulate disposal of hazardous wastes identified by certain
legislation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is the central
point of contact within the Federal government for a wide range of
emergency management activities in both peace and war. That
responsibility includes the design, delivery, coordination, and
monitoring of hazardous materials training in cooperation with the
members of the National Response Team (NRT).

FEMA's training program is managed by its Office of Training, which
includes two schools: The National Fire Academy (NFA) and the Emergency
Management Institute (EMI). Both the National Fire Academy and the
Emergency Management Institute offer courses, workshops, and seminars on
the campus at Emmitsburg, Maryland and nationwide through the Emergency
Management Training program and State fire service training programs.
Although most training activities are directed at State and local
government officials with emergency management or fire protection
responsibilities, some are also provided to private sector audiences as
well as to the general public, whose support is necessary for an
effective, comprehensive emergency management program. The National Fire
Academy and the Emergency Management Institute actively support each
other's training activities. While the Emergency Management Institute
had the primary role for coordinating the development of this course,
the National Fire Academy provided support through technical assistance.

**Home Study Courses**

The home study program is one of the delivery channels the Emergency
Management Institute uses to deploy emergency management training to the
general public and to selected emergency management audiences. The
Emergency Management Institute's home study program currently consists
of five courses:

-   Emergency Program Manager (HS-1)

-   Emergency Management USA (HS-2)

-   Radiological Emergency Management (HS-3)

-   Preparedness Planning for a Nuclear Crisis (HS-4)

This course, "Hazardous Materials: A Citizen's Orientation," is the
fifth in the series. These home study courses are geared toward both the
general public and persons who have local government responsibilities
for emergency management. All courses are suitable for either individual
or group enrollment, and are available at no charge. Courses include a
final examination, and persons who score 75% or better on the
examination are issued a certificate of completion by EMI.

For information about these courses, contact your local or State Office
of Emergency Management or write to:

FEMA Home Study Program

Administration Office

Emergency Management Institute

16825 S. Seton Avenue

Emmitsburg, MD 21727

In addition to the courses available through the Emergency Management
Institute's home study program, the National Fire Academy offers a home
study course entitled, "Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Protection." The
course is designed to provide individuals with the skills needed to
assess local wildland/urban interface fire problems, recognize proven
protection strategies, and put solutions to work protecting community
and wildlands. This course may be purchased through the National
AudioVisual Center, 8700 Edgeworth Drive, Capitol Heights, MD
20743-3701, (301) 763-1896.

**INTRODUCTION**

As hazardous materials and hazardous wastes become more and more
commonplace, accumulating in our earth, air, and water, it is vitally
important that citizens are well-informed about the challenges posed by
these substances. American communities are facing policy decisions that
can dramatically affect their population's well-being: Should hazardous
materials traffic be regulated? What is the community's role in
preparing for the possibility of a serious hazardous materials accident?
What should be done with household hazardous wastes? Concerned community
members willing to take the time to learn more about such issues can
help protect their own health and contribute to their community-for just
as surely as there are thorny problems associated with hazardous
materials, there are creative minds at work seeking and testing
solutions.

This home study course is intended to provide interested members of the
general public with a general introduction to hazardous materials that
can serve as a foundation for more specific research. No prior knowledge
of the subject is assumed. At the end of the course, the reader should
be able to:

-   Recognize the dangers posed by hazardous materials

-   List places where hazardous materials are likely to be encountered

-   Identify when a hazard may exist

-   Contact the appropriate persons or agencies to give or receive
    specific hazardous materials information

-   Identify procedures to minimize personal and community exposure to
    hazardous materials.

The course has five units:

**Unit 1: Hazardous Materials and Human Health** introduces many of the
basic terms used to discuss hazardous materials problems, and explains
how hazardous materials enter and move through the body and the
environment.

**Unit 2: Hazardous Materials Regulation** explains the roles of
Federal, State, and local governments in reducing hazardous materials
risks, and reviews the key provisions of critical Federal legislation.

**Unit 3: Identifying Hazardous Materials** provides an overview of
locations in which these materials are commonly found and discusses ways
of determining what particular chemicals, with what health effects,
exist in these locations.

**Unit 4: Preparing for Hazardous Materials Incidents** shows what local
communities can do to increase their preparedness to respond to
hazardous materials accidents of any size. It also identifies steps
individuals can take to protect themselves in an incident.

**Unit 5: Hazardous Materials in the Home** presents the hazards
associated with common household hazardous materials and reviews
procedures for handling and discarding such materials safely at both the
household and community level.

**How to Complete the Course**

You will remember the material best if you do not rush through it. Often
there is white space next to the text where you can make notes. (The
more you interact with the material, the better you will remember it!)
Take a break at the end of each unit and give yourself time to think
about the material. Then, go back and take the quiz at the end of the
unit, reviewing the relevant material if you missed any questions.

The course contains a pretest, five units, a glossary, a resource
section to help you continue learning, and a final examination. You
should take the ***pretest*** to test your knowledge ***before*** you
begin the course. You can score the pretest yourself, using the pretest
answer key, to determine how much you know before you begin studying the
course.

The ***glossary***, located after the final unit, contains definitions
of terms related to hazardous materials. The glossary may be consulted
while you are reading the units, or may be read separately.

A ***resource section*** is included to help you continue learning after
you have completed the course. This section features listings of
organizations that can supply additional information relevant to course
objectives, recommended reading, computer networks accessible to the
public, and telephone services that supply information on specific
hazardous materials issues.

The ***final examination***, located at the end of the course booklet,
will test the knowledge you have gained from the course. An answer sheet
is supplied with the course materials. Mail the completed answer sheet
to the address on the form; your test will be evaluated and results will
be mailed to you within a few weeks. If your score is 75% or above, a
certificate of completion will be mailed to you. Interested students
successfully completing the course may apply for one semester hour of
college credit through the FEMA Home Study Program Office.

**How to Take the Pretest**

The following pretest is designed to evaluate your current knowledge of
hazardous materials. Read each question carefully, and select the
***one*** answer that best applies. Circle the letter corresponding to
the answer you have chosen. Complete all the questions ***without***
looking ahead to the course materials, as your pretest score will be a
useful measure only if the questions are answered before you begin the
course.

When you have completed the pretest, check your answers against the
answer key provided. As you begin each unit, watch for discussions of
the questions you missed.

The pretest should take you approximately 15 minutes to complete. Find a
quiet spot where you will not be interrupted, and begin. When you have
finished, and all of your answers have been checked against the key,
begin reading Unit 1.

**PRETEST**

(answers on page A-4)

1.  The medium through which a chemical reaches us (air, surface water,
    groundwater, or soil) is irrelevant in determining the risk it poses
    to our health.

    a.  True

    b.  False

2.  Which of the following is a means by which you can become
    contaminated?

    a.  Touching a contaminated object

    b.  Eating contaminated food

    c.  Breathing contaminated air

    d.  All of the above

3.  Teratogens, carcinogens, and mutagens are all substances that
    produce this type of effect:

    a.  Irritation of the stomach

    b.  Tumors

    c.  Acute symptoms, such as coughing

    d.  Changes in the genetic code (DNA)

4.  Asphyxiants are chemicals that:

    a.  Inflame living tissue

    b.  Deaden the nervous system

    c.  Starve cells of oxygen

    d.  Affect specific organ systems

5.  Exposure to a toxic chemical over a long period is called
    \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ exposure.

    a.  Acute

    b.  Toxic

    c.  Lethal

    d.  Marginal

    e.  Chronic

6.  Title III of the 1986 Superfund law provides for citizen rights
    relating to:

    a.  Community right-to-know information processes

    b.  Pre-planning for chemical emergencies

    c.  Worker training standards

    d.  Both a and b

    e.  None of the above

7.  Under Superfund, the ***primary*** agency for planning, preparedness
    and related training for hazardous materials emergency management
    is:

    a.  FEMA

    b.  EPA

    c.  DOT

    d.  OSHA

    e.  USDA

8.  Under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, which agency is
    primarily responsible for standards and regulations relating to the
    interstate transport of hazardous materials?

    a.  FEMA

    b.  OSHA

    c.  DOT

    d.  FBI

    e.  EPA

9.  Which agency has primary regulatory responsibility for standards and
    rules relating to workplace safety?

    a.  FEMA

    b.  OSHA

    c.  DOT

    d.  FBI

    e.  EPA

10. Title III of the new Superfund law requires, ***for the first
    time*,** that stated quantities of certain commonly used and widely
    distributed chemicals of which industry be reported to designed
    government agencies?

    a.  Manufacturing

    b.  Construction

    c.  Agricultural

    d.  Mining

    e.  Retail merchandising

11. The most commonly transported class of hazardous materials in the
    United States is:

    a.  Acids and caustics

    b.  Etiological agents

    c.  Nuclear fuels

    d.  Compressed gases

    e.  Flammable and combustible liquids

12. The measure of a chemical's risk to living tissue is usually related
    to a recommended standard expressed in:

    a.  Liters (l.)

    b.  Ounces (oz.)

    c.  Square inches (sq. in.)

    d.  Cubic centimeters (cc)

    e.  Parts per million (ppm)

13. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) applies its definition
    of "any substance that poses an unreasonable risk to public safety
    and health" when transported to:

    a.  Hazardous materials

    b.  Hazardous waste

    c.  Chemical substitutes

    d.  Elementary particles

14. The ***least*** dependable and most potentially dangerous method to
    use for identifying the presence of hazardous materials is:

    a.  Container shape and size

    b.  Labeling and marking

    c.  Sense of smell or taste

    d.  Discoloration of materials

15. The united Nations (U.N.) placarding and labeling system is designed
    for and used in marking the presence and nature of hazardous
    materials in:

    a.  Fixed-site locations

    b.  Transportation modes

    c.  Both

    d.  Neither

16. The on-scene Incident Commander at a hazardous materials incident in
    ***most*** States and jurisdictions is likely to be from:

    a.  The local public works department

    b.  The local fire service

    c.  The local law enforcement department

    d.  The State medical examiner

    e.  EMS or EMT personnel

17. One thing an untrained and unauthorized citizen should ***not*** do
    at the scene of a hazardous materials incident is:

    a.  Observe all posted exclusion zones

    b.  In absence of any clear direction, move to a location that is
        uphill and upwind of the suspected risk area

    c.  Attempt to help authorities by approaching the on-scene command
        post with information

    d.  Avoid the path of incoming equipment

    e.  Listen for public announcements on radio and TV

18. In a hazardous materials incident, as in any emergency or disaster
    situation, the outcome is dependent primarily on the efforts of
    which level of government?

    a.  Local

    b.  State

    c.  Federal

    d.  International

19. Hazardous materials releases can involve materials which often are
    odorless, colorless, and tasteless, as well as gases that are
    heavier than air. Therefore, a citizen who is not qualified to
    personally determine the presence of hazardous materials threats
    should:

    a.  Act according to personal perception

    b.  Rely on home testing units

    c.  Increase air circulation in the home

    d.  Act according to official advisories

    e.  Use a home gas mask protection unit

20. A hazardous materials Incident Commander has great problems with
    on-scene civilian personnel who "volunteer" their help and
    assistance, because such volunteers usually do not have appropriate
    training and safety awareness.

    a.  True

    b.  False

21. Which of the chemicals listed below can cause brain damage (among
    other effects) if ingested in large quantities? This chemical is
    found in some older residential piping systems, and can contaminate
    drinking water.

    a.  Asbestos

    b.  Formaldehyde

    c.  Lead

    d.  Radon

22. Inhaling organic solvents in sufficient quantity can cause nausea,
    headaches, muscular weakness, and impaired motor response (among
    other effects). Three of the following are organic solvents. Which
    one is a ***non***-organic solvent?

    a.  Paint thinner

    b.  Spot remover

    c.  Drain opener

    d.  Floor polish

23. Which of the following is a good way to dispose of a significant
    quantity of a common household hazardous material?

    a.  Give it to someone who can use it up properly

    b.  Flush it down the toilet

    c.  Put it in the garbage

    d.  Pour it in your septic tank

24. Product package labels for hazardous materials in shipment utilize
    three words that express the level of threat posed by that material.
    Arranged from the ***most*** to ***least*** serious threat, these
    labels are:

    a.  Warning, Danger, Caution

    b.  Warning, Caution, Danger

    c.  Danger, Caution, Warning

    d.  Danger, Warning, Caution

    e.  Caution, Warning, Danger

25. If you are in a position to assist someone who has just splashed a
    toxic chemical in an eye, the ***first*** thing you should do is:

    a.  Begin flushing the eye with water

    b.  Call the Poison Control Center

    c.  Call a neighbor to ask for advice

    d.  Take the person to the hospital