Hazardous Materials

Chemicals play an important part in today’s world and are used in many industries: agricultural operations, medicine, research and everyday products for consumers such as fuel, cleaning agents, products to improve health and preserve foods.

Hazardous materials are chemical substances that can be explosive, flammable or combustible, poisons or radioactive materials which may be released into the environment as the result of an industrial or transportation incident.

The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 is federal legislation that requires the establishment of Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC) which are responsible for the development of plans to prepare for and respond to chemical emergencies (SARA Title III).

Resources

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Hazardous chemical emergency information – CDC

Chemical Emergencies – Ready.gov

Mercury management – NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Mercury spills, disposal and site clean-up procedures – US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

U.S. Dept. of Transportation regulates routes used by carriers of hazardous materials that are crossing state lines.​​​