Feature Article How to Teach the ERG By Joshua Fowler In the field of hazmat, there is no publication more ubiquitous than the Emergency Response Guidebook. It is taught at nearly every basic hazmat and firefighter hazmat class, is carried on most fire rigs and is the go-to source for first-arriving officers at a hazmat incident. It has even been converted into […] Written by Josh Fowler March 31, 2023March 31, 2023
Scientists Devise Energy Storage Improvement Editor’s Note: While this piece dives pretty deep into the weeds of the science behind energy storage technology, it highlights the constant advancements we can expect in this field as it applies to large-scale energy storage and possibly smaller electronic devices. Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have created vertically […] Written by Phil Ambrose February 3, 2023February 3, 2023
Feature Article General Important Releases Training How to Understand the Biological Weapons Threat: Part 3 By Kevin Ryan September 2001 presented a new threat that had to be learned from the ground up. Very little knowledge in the emergency response world focused on these types of threats. New techniques, equipment, methods and training had to be developed to respond to these “white powders,” We are seeing the same evolution with […] Written by Kevin Ryan December 8, 2022December 26, 2022
Four Tips to Prepare for Energy Storage System Incidents Photo Credit: Peoria Fire-Medical Department Futurists often say that if you want to know what tomorrow will bring, look at what’s happening on the fringes today. Massive energy storage systems, also known as electric energy storage, are not what we think of as the bread-and-butter hazmat call — like, say, a leaking tanker would be. […] Written by Phil Ambrose January 13, 2022January 14, 2022
3 Tips for a Safer Illegal Drug Lab Response While it would be paranoid to expect a version of Breaking Bad’s Walter White and Jesse Pinkman wreaking havoc in every community, illegal drug labs do exist — and they are hazmat situations. Granted, incidents of these labs reportedly dropped after a 2006 law requiring certain over-the-counter medicines that can be used to make methamphetamine […] Written by Phil Ambrose December 23, 2021December 23, 2021
4 Hazmat Lessons from a Weeks-Long Battery Fire Officials had no idea more than 200,000 lithium batteries were stored in an Illinois warehouse until it caught fire At 11:45 a.m. June 29 in the small Illinois city of Morris, firefighters were dispatched to a warehouse fire. City officials say they had no idea what was in the 70,000-square-foot warehouse and that no permits […] Written by Phil Ambrose July 12, 2021July 30, 2021
General The History of HazMat The history of hazardous materials goes back as far as man can imagine chemicals being in existence. We have come a long way over the years and have had many major events, developments and breakthroughs in technology to get us where we are today. Written by Michael Shedd June 28, 2021July 1, 2021
Training Responding to Illicit Clandestine Laboratories: Methamphetamine Basics Part 1 In the first part of a series of articles, a growing issue in the haz-mat community that is a rising trend in the southern states involving response to clandestine lab operations, especially pertaining to the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine. “Methamphetamine, (A.K.A. crystal meth, crank, ice) a particularly potent and highly addictive chemical stimulant, can be […] Written by Michael Shedd June 16, 2021June 18, 2021
Labelmaster Launches Dangerous Goods Industry’s First Digital Community Originally published on DcVelocity August 10, 2020 (Chicago, IL) – Labelmaster, the leading provider of products, services and technology for the safe and compliant transport of dangerous goods (DG) and hazardous materials (hazmat), today announced the launch of the DG Exchange—the dangerous goods industry’s first digital community. The DG Exchange brings together supply chain and […] Written by Staff Writer August 10, 2020August 11, 2020