This is the first brochure in the Hazardous Materials Emergencies Citizen Guide series. Hazardous materials are substances or materials which pose a potential risk to life, health or property because of their chemical or biological nature.
Examples are petroleum, chlorine gas, sulfuric acid and hydrazine.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has determined that a hazardous material is a substance or material which is capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety and property when transported in commerce. In Bucks County, no citizens were evacuated from hazardous materials incidents occurring in 1996. To assist you in properly reporting a spill, please refer to the Hazardous Materials Spill Report Form, which you can download by clicking here. The EMA also handles the administrative and regulatory functions of the hazardous materials program. The EMA staff conducts continuous planning and training exercises to improve the readiness to respond to emergencies for the local, county and private sector agencies.