Back on Campus

As promised, here is the down low on EMS in a chemical plant. A little background info to start with:

I worked over the summer in a small-to-medium sized chemical plant in Upstate NY. Located in Rotterdam Junction there were two side to the plant, the "Chemical" division, and the Performance Resins Division (PRD). I worked mostly with PRD, but also spent some time on the ChemDiv side, and also at the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). The ChemDiv manufacturtures alkylphenols from phenol raw material. A decidedly boring process, but extremely dangerous. Phenol (and alkylphenol) will kill you in under a minute if you get exposed to a 3"x3" splash of it on your skin. PRD uses the alkylphenol produced in ChemDiv, reacts it with formaldehyde and produces resin. The resin is sold to company who use it in many different products, but the most prominent customer is Goodyear which puts loads of it in their tires.

I've been holding off on writing this entry for a while because I wanted to see some EMS in action. The plant has a First Response Team that could respond to any medical emergencies, and they also took care of fire, confined space rescue, and incident command.

The biggest hazard in the plant is response to phenol spills. As mentioned above, it's nasty stuff if it gets on you. Luckily, there is a treatment. Polyethylene Gylcol, or PEG, is effective in stopping the action of the phenol, and application to an area of exposure alternating the PEG with water is essential. PEG stations are located throughout the plant. Initial response is straightfoward and usually a person exposed is able to start treatment on his own, and with the assistance of a coworker, can do an effective job. The FRT will be contacted by radio, and an ambulance will be called as well.

Here is where things could get hairy, I believe. All the workers in the plant are trained to the precautions to take when handling and being around the material. The FRT members are EMTs who can provide more initial care. However, the personnel staffing the ambulance, assumedly from an outside municiple or commercial agency would not have the training necessary to avoid accidents or becoming contaminated themselves through contact with the patient. Many EMTs (and hospital staff, as well) are trained in use of PPE to avoid bloodborne pathogens, but I know of very few who are trained in chemical precautions. For example, many solvents will easily penetrate or even dissolve latex gloves. With nitrile gloves you're a lot safer, but they still won't protect you from fuming chemicals or agents.

The plant I worked for had a visitor's video that was shown to all guests, but in an emergency situation where transport to a hospital is critical, ambulance personnel may very well be quickly shoved into a situation where they were not trained and are not prepared for. Here are the lessons learned: (1) Scene Safety!!!! -- more important than ever in an industrial setting. (2) Proper PPE -- Most hazards can be mitigated by protecting yourself. (3) Advanced Preparation and Knowledge -- If you know that there is an industrial facility in your jurisdiction, ask them to bring someone to your agency to give a presentation on the risks, hazards, and precautions they should take when they respond. You can also simply try going up to the front gate and asking for a quick overview yourself.