In this series of shows we will be tackling something that is typically an Operations concern. Behavior modeling and exploring how it questions the age-old answer, “It Depends?!?”

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.          Exposure/Contact

1.  As a container releases, it risks dispersing its contents and the container itself on different types of exposures: people, the environment, and property

a.     In some cases, you can use the ERG to estimate the size of an endangered area

b.     Some hazardous materials may present a threat to one specific exposure type (such as marine pollutants that threaten fish and other marine plants and animals) and others present a threat to all types

c.      When you evaluate the severity of exposures, consider

i.       Hazards present

ii.      Concentration of the material

iii.    Duration of contact

2.     Consider the following exposures in hazard and risk assessment

a.     People — Includes responders and others in the path of a hazardous material

b.     Environment — Includes the air, water, ground, and life forms other than humans

i.       The potential effect on the environment varies with the location in which the product is released as well as its characteristics

c.      Property — Includes things threatened directly by the hazardous material or the energy liberated at the time of release

3.     Contacts (impingements) are associated with the following general timeframes

a.    Immediate — Milliseconds, seconds (deflagration, explosion, or detonation)

b.     Short-term — Minutes, hours  (gas or vapor cloud)

c.      Medium-term — Days, weeks, months (lingering pesticide)

d.     Long-term — Years, generations (permanent radioactive source)

C.          Harm

1.    Harm is defined as injury or damage caused by exposure to a hazardous material

2.     The three mechanisms of harm in a hazardous materials incident

a.     Energy release

i.       Thermal

ii.      Mechanical

iii.    Chemical

iv.    Pressure

v.     Electrical

vi.    Radiological

b.     Corrosivity

c.Toxicity