Term
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Definition
| Any materrial that possesses an unreasonable risk to the health and safety to persons and/or the environment if it is not properly controlled durring handling, storage, manufacture, processing, packaging, use, disposal, or transportation. |
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Term
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Definition
| Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, or Explosive materials. |
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Term
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Definition
| Any product, substance, or organism included by its nature or by its regulation in any of the nine (9) United Nations classifications of hazardous materials; used to describe hazardous materials in Canada and used in the U.S. and Canada for hazardous materials aboard aircraft. |
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Term
Weapons of Mass Destruction
(WMD) |
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Definition
Any weapon or device that is intended or has the capability to cause death or serious bodily injury to a significant number of people through the release, dissemination, or impact of one of the following means:
-Toxic or poisonous chemicals or their precursors
-A disease organism
-Radiation or radioactivity |
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Term
Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) |
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Definition
| General term for the equipment worn by fire and EMS responders |
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Term
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) |
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Definition
| U.S. government agency that creates and enforces laws designed to protect the air, water, and soil from contamination. Responsible for researching and setting national standards for a variety of environmental programs. |
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Term
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) |
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Definition
| U.S. federal agency that develops and enforces standards and regulations for occupational safety in the workplace. |
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Term
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response
(HAZWOPER) |
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Definition
U.S. regulations in Title 29 (Labor) CFR 1910.120 for cleanup operations involving hazardous substances and emergency response of hazardous operations for releases of hazardous substances.
CFR= Code of Federal Regulations |
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Term
Authority Having Jurisdiction
(AHJ) |
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Definition
| Term used in codes and standards to identify the legal entity, such as a building or fire official, that has the statutory authority to enforce a code and to approve or require equipment. In the insurance industry it may refer to an insurance rating bureau or an insurance company inspection department. |
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Term
National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) |
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Definition
| U.S. nonprofit educational and technical association located in Quincy, MA devoted to protecting life and property from fire by developing fire protection standards and education the public. |
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Term
Standard Operating Procedures
(SOPs) |
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Definition
| Standard methods or rules in which an organization or a fire department operates to carry out a routine function. Usually these procedures are written in a policies and procedures handbook and all fire fighters should be well versed in their content. A SOP may specify the functional limitations of fire brigade members in performing emergency operations. Also called Standard Operating Guidelines. |
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Term
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Definition
| Lowest level of training established by OSHA for personnel at hazardous materials incidents. |
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Term
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Definition
| Level of training established by OSHA allowing first responders to take defensive actions at hazardous materials incidents. |
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Term
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Definition
| (1) To cause to become less harsh or hostile; to make less severe, intense or painful; to alleviate. (2) To take actions or reduce or eliminate long-term risk to human life and property from natural, human-caused, and technological hazards and their effects. (3) One method of sizing up an emergency situation is to locate, isolate, and mitigate. |
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Term
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Definition
| (1) Characterized by sharpness or severity; having rapid onset and a relatively short duration. (2) Single exposure (dose) or several repeated exposures to a substance within a short time period. |
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Term
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Definition
| Health effects that occur or develop rapidly after exposure to a substance. |
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Term
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Definition
| Of long duration, or recurring over a period of time; (opposite of acute). |
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Term
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Definition
| Long-term health effects from either a one-time or repeated exposure to a substance. |
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Term
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Definition
| Condition, substance, or device that can directly cause injury or loss; the source of a risk. |
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Term
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Definition
| Chemical process that occurs when a substance combines with oxygen; a common example is the formation of rust on metal. |
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Term
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Definition
| Reactions in which two or more molecules chemically combine to form larger molecules. This reaction can often be violent. |
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Term
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Definition
| Gas that is cooled to a very low temperature, usually below -130*F (-90*C), to change to a liquid. Also called refrigerated liquid and cryogenic liquid. |
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Term
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Definition
| Gaseous, liquid, or solid material that can burn, irritate, or destroy human skin tissue and severely corrode steel. |
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Term
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Definition
| Any substance or material that yields oxygen readily and may stimulate the combustion of organic and inorganic matter. |
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Term
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Definition
| Any material that when taken into the body is injurious to health. |
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Term
| Elevated Temperature Material |
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Definition
| Material that when offered for transportation or transported in bulk packaging is (a) in a liquid phase and at a temperature at or above 212*F (100*C), (b) intentionally heated or above its liquid phase flash point of 100*F (38*C), or (c) in a solid phase and at a temperature at or above 464*F (240*C). |
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Term
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Definition
| Series of energy waves composed of oscillating electric and magnetic fields traveling at the speed of light. Examples: ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared radiation, microwaves, radio waves, and extremely low frequency radiation. |
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Term
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Definition
| Radiation that has sufficient energy to remove electrons from atoms resulting in a chemical change in the atom. |
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Term
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Definition
| Minute component of an atom that possesses a negative charge. |
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Term
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Definition
| Packet of electromagnetic energy. |
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Term
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Definition
| Condition of impurity resulting from a mixture or contact with foreign substance. |
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Term
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Definition
| Contact with a substance by swallowing, breathing, or touching the skin or eyes. Exposure may be short-term (acute exposure), of intermediate duration, or long-term (chronic exposure). |
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Term
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Definition
| Any substance that prevents oxygen from combining in sufficient quantities with the blood or from being used bu body tissues. |
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Term
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Definition
| Something that affects an entire system rather than a single location or entity. |
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Term
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Definition
| Measure of acidity of an acid or the level of alkaline in a base. |
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Term
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Definition
| An atom which has lost or gained an electron and thus has a positive or negative charge. |
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Term
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Definition
| Corrosive water-soluble compound or substance containing group-forming hydroxide ions in water solution that reacts with an acid to form a salt; an alkaline (caustic) substance. |
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Term
| Irritant/Irritating Material |
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Definition
| Liquid or solid that upon contact with fire or exposure to air emits dangerous or intensely irritating fumes. |
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Term
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Definition
| Poison that causes an exposed individual to have convulsions. |
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Term
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Definition
| Cancer-producing substance. |
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Term
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Definition
| Material that can cause an allergic reaction of the skin or respiratory system. |
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Term
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Definition
| Transmittable, able to infect people. |
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Term
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Definition
| Readily capable of being transmitted from one person to another by contact or close proximity. |
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Term
Improvised Explosive Device
(IED) |
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Definition
| Device that is categorized by its container and the way it is initiated; usually homemade, constructed for a specific target, and contained in almost anything. |
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Term
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Definition
| Ability of two or more chemicals to react and release energy and the ease with which this reaction takes place. |
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Term
Local Emergency Planning Committee
(LEPC) |
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Definition
| Required by SARA Title III, LEPCs are composed of local officials, citizens, and industry representatives with the task of designing, reviewing, and updating a comprehensive emergency plan for an emergency planning district; plans may address hazardous materials inventories, hazardous materials response training, and assessment of local response capabilities. |
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Term
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Definition
| Discarded materials regulated by the EPA because of public health and safety concerns. Regulatory authority is granted under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. |
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Term
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) |
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Definition
| Lead U.S. public health agency responsible for implementing the health-related provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,Comprehension, and Liability Act (CERCLA); charged with assessing health hazards at specific hazardous waste sites, helping to prevent or reduce exposure and the illnesses that result, and increasing knowledge and understanding of the health exposure to hazardous substances. |
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Term
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Definition
| Thermal, Radiological, Asphyxiation, Chemical, Etiological/Biological, Mechanical haazards |
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