Contact: CWO Amy Midgett
The Atlantic Strike Team assisted the Environmental Protection Agency Region Five On-Scene Coordinator during a hazardous materials emergency removal action in November and December 2011 at a former chemical production facility in Detroit, Mich.
 |
| DETROIT - Petty Officer 1st Class Seth Hartmann, a machinery technician at the Atlantic Strike Team, conducts a flammability test on an unknown sample in an Environmental Protection Agency hazardous materials categorization trailer, November 29, 2011. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Edward Primeau |
Responders found more than 500 drums, tanks, compressed gas cylinders, and other miscellaneous containers strewn throughout the abandoned site. A large number of the containers were unlabeled and unsecured, and marked with warnings ranging from ‘toxic’ to ‘poison.’
“There were puddles and pools of liquid waste on the floor around many of the containers, and it was critical that the area be cleaned properly,” said Ed Primeau, Atlantic Strike Team’s Industrial Hygienist. “This site is located next to a residential area and posed a significant threat to the local population.”
The National Strike Force and the EPA have an extensive history of working together to reduce or eliminate the dangers posed to both humans and the environment at hazardous materials sites. The relationship stems from the National Contingency Plan, which dictates that NSF pollution response resources are available to both Coast Guard and EPA Federal On-Scene Coordinators.
“The longstanding relationships, response support history, and seamless interoperability that all three Coast Guard strike teams have with their regional EPA On-Scene Coordinators is vital to safe mission completion during any pollution incident large or small," said Cmdr. Richard Schultz, the commanding officer of the Atlantic Strike Team.
Over a four-week period, under the direction of an environmental chemist, Atlantic Strike Team members reviewed Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for all chemicals found on site, reviewed the transportation and disposal documentation for all chemicals departing the site, and conducted field tests to determine the hazardous characteristics of samples. This allowed the cleanup contractor to safely bulk compatible waste, thus reducing the amount of waste streams needed for disposal.
In addition to conducting hazard categorization, the Atlantic Strike Team brought an instrument new to its inventory to conduct chemical sample analysis. The instrument uses Raman spectroscopy to initiate molecular vibrations, or Raman scattering, which are then used by the instrument to identify the solid or liquid chemical.
 |
| DETROIT - Edward Primeau, an industrial hygienist at the Atlantic Strike Team, uses a chemical analyzer to determine the identity of an unknown sample, December 1, 2011. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Seth Hartmann |
“The new equipment allowed us to identify numerous unknowns in less than half the time it takes to perform the hazardous categorization process on a sample,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Seth Hartmann, a machinery technician with the Atlantic Strike Team.
Atlantic Strike Team members performed field laboratory tests to categorize a total of 329 samples, and verified the contents of 149 containers. When the instrument identified a chemical that did not have the appropriate hazard characteristic based on that result, Atlantic Strike Team members contacted the manufacturer for support. The members emailed the chemical spectrum to a scientist who analyzed the result and reported their findings.
“The hazard categorization and test results allowed the removal and disposal contractors to handle hazardous materials in a safe manner that protected responders and the local population during site cleanup operations,” said Primeau.
printer friendly