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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-05-07-HSSRC-rpt.pdf REPORT OF THE HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE SYSTEM REVIEW COMMITTEE MAY 7, 1986 CONCLUSIONS Lexington has in place an adequate framework of a comprehensive system for dealing with hazardous materials Although the current risks are probably low, the Committee strongly urges that the process of gathering data from local companies be accelerated and priority be given to setting up an environ ment in which a free flow of information between the companies and the Fire Chief is routine The continuation of good communications between Town depart ments regarding potential hazards is an important aspect of the overall sys tem Also important is the exercising of the emergency procedures and the familiarization of Town officials and departments with their roles in the event of an emergency situation. INTRODUCTION The Committee was appointed by the Selectmen on the basis of a motion adopted by the 1985 Town Meeting The charge to the Committee was to " study the current system for identifying and dealing with present and potential hazard ous substances in Lexington " The Committee began its work late in 1985 and has met monthly The work of the committee was limited by the time avail able and the request that its findings be reported during the 1986 Town Meet ing Since the Health Department already had in place a Biohazards Safety Committee that seemed to be beginning an active role in dealing with actual and potential biohazards, we limited our study to hazardous substances other than those of a biological nature In our work we were assisted greatly by Mr George Smith, Director of Public Health and Mr John Bergeron, Fire Chief Both attended most of our meetings though neither should be held responsible for our recommendations We were also aided by reviewing a City of Cambridge study of toxic and hazardous materials kindly provided by Dr M. H Chalfen its Commissioner of Health and Hospitals We have focussed the Report on two topics 1) the current systems for iden tification use, storage and disposal of hazardous material and 2) current provisions for dealing with hazardous material accidents We describe the sys tems now in place and then make recommendations for improving those systems Lexington is fortunate in not having industrial facilities that use or store large quantities of hazardous substances Nevertheless research labs and other commercial facilities using relatively small quantities are located in town The danger to the general population of any toxic material depends upon some combination of the amount of material and its degree of hazard At present there is no commonly used measure of such danger, and each hazardous substance (defined below) on hand must be evaluated as to its threat Given the large volume of truck traffic on Routes 2 and 128 another source of danger is a transportation accident involving hazardous material Report of the Hazardous Substance System Review Committee May 7, 1986 1 There are Federal and State "right-to-know" laws that allow the Town to require users of hazardous materials if asked, to give information about those materials to the Town in the person of its Municipal Right-to-Know Coor dinator (Chief Bergeron) Those laws can give the Town a data base that is essential should there be an accident and they allow close monitoring of the storage and handling of such materials Nevertheless continuous monitoring is impossible and new hazardous material could be introduced without immediate knowledge of the Town Therefore the primary long-term protection must come from establishing a working relation- ship between the Town and the users of hazardous materials so that both par ties are fully informed In the Sections that follow we define hazardous materials, summarize briefly the Federal and State laws relevant to their control, and then describe the systems currently in place and make recommendations for strength ening them. A. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS Chapter 21E of the General Laws of Massachusetts (The Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act) defines hazardous material as " material which because of its quantity, concentration, chemical, corrosive, flammable reactive toxic, infectious or radioactive characteristics either separately or in combination with any substance or substances constitutes a present or potential threat to human health safety welfare, or to the environment when improperly stored, treated, transported, disposed of used, or otherwise managed " (The law also governs the use and disposal of oils ) B. FEDERAL REGULATIONS • Hazardous Material Transportation Act Authority to require appropriate procedures for packaging handling label ing, routing placarding or other actions to ensure safe transportation of hazardous materials Inspection and enforcement falls to each relevant agency (FAA, FHA FRA US Coast Guard) e g Federal Aviation Act has con trols on aerial transport of pesticides, Federal Trade Commission Act has authority to regulate unsafe advertising for pesticides such as any promot ing fewer safety precautions or claiming less hazard associated with one product than another • Toxic Substances Control Act Testing of substances believed to be hazardous can be required by ruling to determine carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and teratogenicity as well as behavioral disorders associated with the substance before manufacturing or Report of the Hazardous Substance System Review Committee May 7 1986 2 introducing a new use for a product "Preliminary Assessment Information" forms must be filed with EPA by manufacturers • Clean Air Act New Source Performance Standards - permits for new sources must be obtained in accordance with State Emissions Control plans (State Implemen- tation Plans) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants have been established by EPA for mercury, beryllium rocket emissions, vinyl chloride and asbestos • Clean Water Act Requires the application of the "best available technology" for controlling pollution at point source discharges EPA has identified 129 priority pol lutants that will have effluent limits pretreatment standards and/or pro hibitions for each chemical EPA has designated 299 substances that are regulated under "spill" or emergency situations • Safe Drinking Water Act Establishes and enforces national drinking water quality standards The Act sets regulations governing public water supplies for the protection of health and maintenance of acceptable taste, odor, and appearance It also has provisions to control underground injection of water and other subs tances that might endanger drinking water sources • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Standards for hazardous waste generators and disposal facilities are pro mulgated under this act Solid waste or nonhazardous substance landfills are also regulated under this authority • Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act Requires pesticide producing facilities to be registered • OSHA Hazard Communication Standard Requires manufacturers of chemicals and employers using hazardous chemicals to communicate hazards to employees through use of labels Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS's) training, and access to written records Distrib utors are required to see to it that each container is properly labeled and a MSDS is provided. C. STATE REGULATIONS State regulation is achieved through overlapping authorities of the Depart ment of Public Health the Department of Environmental Quality Engineering and the Department of Labor and Industries (direct interaction with employ Report of the Hazardous Substance System Review Committee May 7, 1986 3 ers) The state Fire Regulations regulate storage and use of explosives and flammables Sections C and D of Chapter 21 of the General Laws are the Haz ardous Waste Management and Facility Siting Acts and are implemented through the DEQE ■ Right to-Know Law (Chapter 470 of the 1983 Acts and Resolves) Gives workers and community residents effective and reasonable access to information on hazardous substances The DEQE through the Municipal Coor dinator provides access to the information. D. CURRENT SYSTEMS Information Gathering, Assessment, and Monitoring Current Systems 1 Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) required under Right to Know legisla tion make it possible for the Town to request from each employer a listing of hazardous materials on hand. 2 Biannual Fire inspections enforce existing codes and have the potential for uncovering unexpected hazards Regular and complaint initiated inspections by the Health Department tend to focus on food service but can also find unexpected chemical hazards 3 Knowledge of transient hazardous materials (e g carried by trucks on Routes 2 or 128 or through town) depends upon properly placed placards on the trucks The State Police enforce placarding regulations 4 Lists of companies licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state Department of Public Health to store and use radioactive materials are kept by the Fire Chief 5 Hazardous waste generators are state-licensed and are required to file Emergency Response Plans with the Fire Chief Not all have done so Recommendations 1 Initiate the data gathering process by collecting chemical inventories rather than all MSDS' s from employers in Lexington Although it is esti- mated that 200 or more should have replied to an earlier request, only two have done so It is important that this basic information be obtained Priority should be given to firms licensed as "hazardous waste genera tors" We suggest that the data collection process should start through the Cham- ber of Commerce Newsletter and a breakfast meeting The Minuteman should be used Letters to unresponsive employers and more severe action could follow the initial steps The Building Department should alert the Fire Report of the Hazardous Substance System Review Committee .May 7, 1986 4 Chief if application for change of use or new construction indicates laboratory activity 2 Analyze the lists with special concern for troublesome chemicals toxic ity and amounts are both important Input from the Town's existing Chemi- cal Advisory Team (composed of academic and industrial chemists) is essen tial to this step 3 Hold meetings with individual companies when necessary for further fact finding (Note that fire-inspection and safety tours by safety officers of larger companies could be good training ground for personnel who will in turn do inspections of smaller firms ) 4 Implement a system to update records and carry out periodic inspections of sites of more hazardous materials with respect to their storage and disposal 5 Though Federal and State authorities have the responsibility to see that employers are informing their employees fully as to the nature of the materials labeling of containers proper storage and disposal the Town should assure itself that the company has an appropriate response plan to be followed in case of an accident Response to a Hazardous Materials Accident Current Systems 1 The Lexington Emergency Operations Plan The response network includes Fire, Health Police and Public Works departments and the Town Manager (The Fire Chief is the Civil Defense Coordinator as agent of the Town Man ager ) This plan is only in the draft stage 2 "First response" aid can be given by Fire and Police departments under direction of the Fire Chief as Civil Defense Coordinator That aid would be primarily spill containment with evacuation of citizens if necessary Information about procedures to be followed for a particular chemical can be obtained through "CHEMTREC" resources (a national clearinghouse), by phone The Town's Chemical Advisory Team can be called upon for assis- tance Containment can be supported by a specially-equipped truck "The Hazardous Material Incident Response Unit" (Only one truck in area kept in Wellesley Pending legislation proposed by Governor's Task Force would enable purchase of more such trucks for the area ) 3 A statewide Nuclear Incident Advisory Team is available in case of a radioactive spill Locally, firefighters have radiological instruments and are trained in their use 4 DEQE oversees final cleanup of hazardous materials using special contrac tors Chapter 21E provides for determination of ultimate financial liability for cleanup Report of the Hazardous Substance System Review Committee May 7, 1986 5 5 Special fire whistle signals exist for the purpose of alerting the commu nity in the event of a major catastrophe that requires widespread mobili zation Emergency shelter and food supply arrangements are in place food stores would make supplies available, local TV and radio stations would broadcast instructions, Civil Defense would operate hotlines Recommendations 1 Move draft of emergency response plan to final stage This updating and final acceptance is overdue Develop criteria for declaring various lev els of emergency Selectmen should review plan on a regular basis 2 Continue joint emergency response exercises between town officials, police, fire, health and public works departments 3 Town officials should support recommendations of Governor's Task Force on hazardous materials (Currently on 1986 legislative agenda as House No 2093 "An Act to Control the Transportation of Hazardous Material in the Commonwealth") 4 Publicize the current quarterly tests of the emergency alert fire whistle signals Few residents are aware of the tests or the meaning of the sig nals Other Issues Current Systems 1 Long-term leachate from landfills Federal regulations govern monitoring 2 Underground storage tanks -Federal and State regulations govern installa- tion requirements and monitoring 3 Drinking water monitored by DEQE samples are taken weekly by the Water department 4 Air quality--DEQE monitors Recommendations 1 The Town needs to ensure that landfill regulations are being enforced The Hazardous Material Collection Day should continue to be supported 2 The Town and the Conservation Commission need to continue working together to monitor the underground storage of fuels 3 The Town should monitor the frequency of air and water sampling and the results of tests Report of the Hazardous Substance System Review Committee May 7 1986 6 Submitted by Christopher R Anderson Louis Arin Lynn Knight Alan Lazarus (Chairman) James E Oberholtzer APPENDIX--BIBLIOGRAPHY Lexington Hazard Analysis Study-Prepared by the Emergency Management Plan ping Division of the Massachusetts Civil Defense Agency and Office of Emer gency Preparedness (1983) Chapter 21E , General Laws of Massachusetts "Massachusetts Oil and Hazard ous Material Release Prevention and Response Act" Toxic Chemicals and Hazardous Materials in Cambridge--A Review of their Management and a Proposed Ordinance M H Chalfen, M D , Commissioner Depart ment of Health and Hospitals City of Cambridge, May 1984 Lexington Emergency Response Plan (Draft, 1984) Report of the Hazardous Substance System Review Committee May 7 1986 7