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Emergency Management Services of King County

Photo: Hazardous Materials Containers Hazardous chemicals are prevalent throughout our society. While industry is the primary user and maintainer of hazardous chemicals, we also have them in our homes, in our cars, at our places of work and recreation. Hazardous materials move through our region on highways, rail lines, pipelines, and by ship and barge through Puget Sound. When not properly contained, the chemical, physical and biological properties of hazardous materials pose a potential risk to life, health, the environment, and property. Hazardous materials may be explosive, flammable, combustible, corrosive, reactive, poisonous, biological or radioactive, as well as solid, liquid or gaseous.

The geographic and economic characteristics of King County make it likely that hazardous materials releases will occur. Our diverse industrial facilities and transportation routes share space with numerous bodies of water, wetlands, environmentally sensitive areas, and a multitude of densely-populated centers, creating areas of great potential risk for a hazardous materials release.

Business types that commonly use hazardous materials locally include: hospitals, schools, metal plating and finishing, the aircraft industry, public utilities, cold storage companies, fuel industries, communication industry, chemical distributors, research, and high technology firms. Each of these facilities is required to maintain plans for warning, notification, evacuation and site security under various regulations. The majority of releases that occur during the course of regular commerce happen at fixed facilities.

Hazardous materials may also be released as a secondary result of a natural disaster like earthquakes or floods. In either case, buildings or vehicles can release their hazardous materials inventories when structurally compromised or involved in traffic accidents. Pipelines can be exposed or ruptured from collapsed embankments, road washouts, bridge collapses, and fractures in roadways, and as nearly every neighborhood in urban King County includes a natural gas pipeline, this is a very possible risk. 

Additional potential causes of hazardous materials releases may include terrorism incidents and illegal drug labs or dumping. Illegal drug labs present a special concern due to the fact that each must be treated as a chemical hazard site and decontaminated before the property can be used again. 

Many factors determine the impact of a potential hazardous materials incidents, including quick and solid decision-making by emergency officials, location and type of release, evacuation and shelter-in-place needs, public heath concerns, and relevant economic considerations. 

However, most victims of chemical accidents are injured at home. These incidents usually result from lack of knowledge or carelessness in using flammable and combustible liquids. And as many as 500,000 products pose physical or health hazards that can be defined as "hazardous chemicals."

Exposure to hazardous materials can exist on many levels - at home, as part of your work, or as a result of a major spill, leak or release that can affect a large geographical area. Learn what you can do to better safeguard your personal environment and how to respond if an incident does occur.

Hazard-specific Preparedness Steps

  1. Learn if there are any transportation routes or facilities where hazardous materials are transported and used, the types of chemicals and the potential impact if there were an accident, spill or release. Consider rail lines, freeways, chemical plants or businesses that use, store, or process chemicals. For more information contact your Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC):

King County - Rich Tokarzewski, King County Office of Emergency Management (206) 205-4066
Seattle - Lyn Kilpatrick, Seattle Fire Prevention Unit (206) 386-1373
Kent - Brian Felczack, Kent Emergency Preparedness (253) 856-4345
  1. Be prepared to shelter-in-place.

  2. Take the following precautions to prevent home accidents:
  • Buy only as much chemical as you think you will use.
  • Keep products containing hazardous materials in their original containers and never remove the labels unless the container is corroding. Corroding containers should be repackaged and clearly labeled. Never store hazardous products in food containers.
  • Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the proper use of household chemicals.
  • Never mix household hazardous chemicals or waste with other products. Incompatibles, such as chlorine bleach and ammonia, may react, ignite, or explode.
  • Never smoke while using household chemicals.
  • Never use hair spray, cleaning solutions, paint products, or pesticides near an open flame (e.g., pilot light, lighted candle, fireplace, wood burning stove, etc.) Although you may not be able to see or smell them, vapor particles in the air could catch fire or explode.
  • Clean up any chemical spill immediately. Use rags to clean up the spill. Wear gloves and eye protection. Allow the fumes in the rags to evaporate outdoors, then dispose of the rags by wrapping them in a newspaper and placing them in a sealed plastic bag in your trash can.
  • Dispose of hazardous materials correctly. Take household hazardous waste to a local collection program. Check with your county or state environmental or solid waste agency to learn if there is a household hazardous waste collection program in your area.
  • Keep all medicines, cosmetics, cleaning products and other household chemicals out of sight and out of reach of children, and use child-resistant packaging. Replace the caps tightly after using the product.
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  1. Learn to recognize the symptoms of toxic poisoning, which are as follows:
  • Difficulty breathing.
  • Irritation of the eyes, skin, throat, or respiratory tract.
  • Changes in skin color.
  • Headache or blurred vision.
  • Dizziness.
  • Clumsiness or lack of coordination.
  • Cramps or diarrhea.
  1. Be prepared to seek medical assistance - post the number of the emergency medical services (9-1-1) and the poison control center by all telephones. In an emergency situation, you may not have time to look up critical phone numbers. The National Capital Poison Control number is (800) 222-1222.

  2. See General Preparedness Steps below for more disaster planning basics.

Response Steps

Hazardous Materials Spill or Leak:

  1. In the event of a major chemical emergency, you should be notified by the authorities, either directly and/or through the Emergency Alert System (EAS) or other methods. Listen carefully to your television, radio, or NOAA weather radio for emergency information. You should receive information on the type of hazard, area affected, how to protect yourself, evacuation routes (if necessary), shelter locations, type and location of medical facilities, and phone numbers you need to call if you need extra help.

     
  2. Do not call 9-1-1 for information. Dial 9-1-1 only for a possible life threatening emergency.

  3.  Always evacuate if told to do so. Remember to take your disaster kit with you.

  4. If caught outside, stay away from the accident site. Stay upstream, uphill, and upwind. In general, try to go at least one-half mile (usually 8-10 city blocks) from the danger area. Do not walk into or touch any spilled liquids, airborne mists, or condensed solid chemical deposits.

  5. If you're in a motor vehicle, stop and seek shelter in a permanent building. If you must remain in your car, keep car windows and vents closed and shut off the air conditioner and heater.

  6. If requested to stay indoors, shelter-in-place.

    • Close and lock all exterior doors and windows. Close vents, fireplace dampers, and as many interior doors as possible.
    • Turn off air conditioners and ventilation systems. In large buildings, set ventilation system to 100 percent recirculation so that no outside air is drawn into the building. If this is not possible, ventilation systems should be turned off.
    • Go into the pre-selected shelter room. This room should be above ground and have the fewest openings to the outside.
    • Seal the room by covering each window, door, and vent using plastic sheeting and duct tape.
    • Use material to fill cracks and holes in the room, such as those around pipes.

  7. Act quickly if you have come in contact with or have been exposed to hazardous chemicals. Do the following:

    • Follow decontamination instructions from local authorities. You may be advised to take a thorough shower, or to stay away from water and follow another procedure.
    • Seek medical treatment for unusual symptoms as soon as possible.
    • Place exposed clothing and shoes in tightly sealed containers. Do not allow them to contact other materials. Call local authorities to find out proper disposal. Note: Some chemicals may not wash out completely.
    • Advise everyone who comes into contact with you that you have been exposed to a toxic substance.

  8. If evacuated from your home or work, return only when authorities say it is safe. Open winds and vents and turn on fans to provide ventilation.

  9. Report any lingering vapors or other hazards to your local emergency services office.

  10. Listen to your weather radio and local radio/TV stations for current information.

Household Emergencies:
  1. During a household chemical emergency, and there is a danger of fire or explosion, get out of the residence immediately. Do not waste time collecting items or calling the fire department when you are in danger.
  • Call the fire department (9-1-1) from outside (a cellular phone or a neighbor's phone) once you are safely away from danger.
  • Stay upwind and away from the residence to avoid breathing toxic fumes.
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  1. If someone has been exposed to a chemical:
  • Call emergency medical services (9-1-1). Find any containers of the substance that are readily available in order to provide requested information.
  • Follow the emergency dispatcher’s first aid instructions carefully. The first aid advice found on containers may be out of date or inappropriate. Do not give anything by mouth unless advised to do so by a medical professional.
  • Discard clothing that may have been contaminated. Place exposed clothing and shoes in tightly sealed containers. Do not allow them to contact other materials. Call local authorities to find out proper disposal.. Note: Some chemicals may not wash out completely.
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General Preparedness Steps

  1. Have and practice a family disaster plan.

  2. Establish meeting places and phone numbers in case family members are separated.

  3. Identify an out-of-state contact to call during a major disaster or emergency; it will be easier to call out of the area if local lines are tied up.

  4. Make sure everyone knows when and how to call 9-1-1.

  5. Keep your disaster supply kits up to date. Make sure you have kits for your home, vehicle, work and school.

  6. Get a tone-alert NOAA Weather Radio to receive emergency notifications and up-to-date information and instructions.

  7. Teach all family members when, where and how to turn off utilities. Make sure you have the appropriate equipment, such as a wrench, handy.

  8. Make sure you understand the emergency plans and expectations at your child's school and your work.

  9. Preplan alternate transportation routes to and from work and other important destinations.

  10. Be sure to keep at least a half-tank of gas in your vehicle at all times; power outages often accompany disasters and gas stations rely on electricity to power their pumps.

  11. Know ahead of time what you should do to help family, friends or neighbors who are elderly or have special needs.

See "related links" for more details on how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from this type of a disaster or emergency.

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  Updated: April 21, 2008