Hazmat Operations:mitigation

Front 1

Absorption

Back 1

the retention of a product inside of an absorbent material; this is how a sponge soaks up liquid; it is important to note that absorbent materials show very little discrimination between materials, they will absorb a variety of materials

Front 2

Adsorption

Back 2

a method where the material interacts with a solid sorbent surface. The sorbate/hazmat liquid adheres to the surface of the sorbent and does not enter the inner spaces of the material, as with the case with absorption.

Front 3

Alcohol Resistant AR-FFF

Back 3

foams which are resistant to breakdown by water soluble materials or polar solvents; these foams are used on materials such as alcohol, lacquer thinner, and acetone; alcohol resistant aqueous film forming foam (AR-AFFF) is the alcohol resistant foam most responders are familiar with

Front 4

Aqueous Film Forming Form (AFFF)

Back 4

a combination of synthetic foaming agents and fluorochemical surfactants, capable of forming an aqueous film; this film, with its reduced surface tension, spreads rapidly providing the excellent knockdown ability; AFFF is nontoxic and biodegradable

Front 5

Confinement

Back 5

operations which attempt to control the flow or movement of product away from the point of release

Front 6

Diking

Back 6

temporary measure used to slow down, divert, or prevent the passage of a product

Front 7

Dilution

Back 7

the process of applying water (or solvent) to a material in an attempt to lower the concentration of the material to a level which is less harmful

Front 8

Eductor

Back 8

devices that create a venturi effect (reduced pressure) at a restricted flow point in the device, resulting in the syphoning or “pick up” of foam concentrate

Front 9

fluoroprotein foam

Back 9

protein based foam with fluorochemical surfactants added; the surfactants reduce the surface tension of the protein concentrate allowing more fluid movement and increasing fuel tolerance; fluoroprotein foams are often used in sub-surface injection

Front 10

foam nozzles

Back 10

induct air into the foam solution via the venturi effect; the foam solution is more effectively mixed with air in the nozzle and results in a more consistent foam with maximum expansion of agent

Front 11

fog nozzles

Back 11

11. produce foam bubbles by expelling tiny droplets of foam solution through the air; the air interacts with the foam solution like a child's bubble solution when a child blows bubbles

Front 12

Mitigation

Back 12

the act of lessening the force or impact of an incident

Front 13

overflow dam

Back 13

traps sinking, heavier-than-water materials behind the dam

Front 14

polar solvent compatibility

Back 14

the ability of a foam to form a blanket on a polar fuel; this foam is referred to as polar solvent foam, or alcohol resistant foam

Front 15

protein foam

Back 15

based on naturally occurring proteins, these foams are biodegradable and nontoxic; in some areas, these were termed “blood foams;” protein foam is dense, stable, and viscous; it requires a great deal of mechanical agitation and should be used with air-aspirating nozzles only

Front 16

Remediation

Back 16

the process of returning the scene to its original status; involves clean up operations

Front 17

Retention

Back 17

storing a released product in a makeshift holding area

Front 18

underflow dam

Back 18

built with a pipe placed lower on the upstream side and higher on the downstream side of the dam; this creates a water flow through the piping and traps the contaminants on the upstream side

Front 19

vapor dispersion

Back 19

spreading of hazardous vapors in order to reduce the hazard posed by the vapors

Front 20

vapor suppression

Back 20

covering a material which is giving off hazardous vapors

Front 21

venturi system

Back 21

a type of valve that produces air bubbles by drawing air into a stream of water flowing under pressure

Front 22

weir dam

Back 22

can be utilized to “skim” product off the top of a flowing body of water; a weir dam is typically constructed by placing chicken wire type fencing across a moving body of water and deploying sorbent material on the upstream side of the fence; the sorbent material must be large enough to be stopped by the fencing material the sorbent material will absorb the hazardous material off the surface of the water

Front 23

Knockdown

Back 23

is the speed which foam can extinguish a fire.

Front 24

Manual Application Techniques

Back 24

· The roll-on technique

· The bank-down technique

· The rain-down technique

Front 25

· The roll-on technique

Back 25

is used when the foam is applied on the ground near the front edge of the liquid pool fire—the foam then rolls across the surface of the fuel.

Front 26

· The bank-down technique

Back 26

is used when the foam is directed on to an object in or near the fire—the foam runs down the surface of the object and on to the pool of product.

Front 27

· The rain-down technique

Back 27

is used when the foam stream is directed in to the air above the fire/product and allowed to gently rain down on to the product.