What are the local risks?
Transport Accidents involving chemicals
Every day materials are being developed and produced for commercial and domestic markets, many of which are hazardous with the potential to cause harm to human and animal life as well as the wider environment. It is sometimes necessary to transport these materials on our roads however such transport is strictly regulated and producers and haulage companies have safety rules and guidance that they must comply with when transporting hazardous materials.
Road traffic accidents involving hazardous materials are extremely rare and the Police and Fire Service are trained to deal with such incidents in the safest way possible. The Fire and Rescue Service have a group of specially trained Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT Officers) who are well trained and practiced in dealing with a wide range of materials which may be dangerous or hazardous to people or the environment.
In addition they can be supported by a Multi Agency Initial Assessment Team (MAIAT) made up of specially trained officers from the Fire and Rescue Service, the police and the ambulance service. This team has a wide range of detection, identification and monitoring (DIM) equipment as well as suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) to allow them to identify any materials thought to be hazardous and advise commanders on the best way to deal with them.
The emergency service teams are able to rely on a range of advisors from all sectors of the local authority, health, environmental protection and scientific community in order to ensure that the health and safety of people and the environment are always the most important considerations in the response to any such incident.
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