Question 1. Describe the nature and characteristics of PCB's. Why are they of importance to an EH&S or FS professional who encounters them when coming upon an incident scene where they are present? What precautions, or actions, should the EH&S or FS professional take when faced with this situation? What happens to FS personnel and their turnout gear once they are exposed/splashed with PCB's?
Question 2. Describe an incident (fire, spill, explosion, etc) you have experienced (or research one on the Internet, professional journal, or scientific magazine article) that involved a hazardous organic material(s) and required mitigation. Please do not use the instances supplied in the textbook unless you intend to provide a lot more detail. The following items must be addressed:
Describe the incident and identify the hazardous organic material(s) involved;
Discuss the chemical interactions of the material(s) involved in this incident or hazardous properties relevant to the incident;
Discuss the mitigation required or implemented.
Question 3. Identify and discuss three key features associated with the combustion of polymeric materials or compounds that are relevant to the safety and health of an EH&S or a FS professional responding to an incident involving these materials.
Question 4. Air monitoring provides the following contaminant concentrations at the approximate center of a fire scene in which acres of automobile tires are burning: Carbon monoxide @ 1700 ppm; Carbon dioxide @ 7000 ppm; and Sulfur dioxide @ 600 ppm. Ignoring synergistic effects between these gases, which individual concentrations are considered life-threatening to the EH&S or FS professional responding to the scene? What combustion products are produced when materials made from polyacrylonitrile smolder and burn? What combination of properties is responsible for the selection of trinitrotoluene as a military explosive?