Emergency Characterization of Unknown Materials; Ed. 2 (Hardcover - 2020)

Emergency Characterization of Unknown Materials, Second Edition is fully updated to serve as a portable text that can be used in the field, and laboratory, as a reference to workers who are responsible for safe response to and management of unknown hazardous materials.

As with the first edition the book emphasizes public safety and the management of life safety hazards and includes technologies and strategies to identify the hazards presented by an unknown material. Risk analysis is a procedure to identify threats and vulnerabilities, analyze them to ascertain the exposures, and highlight how the impact can be eliminated or reduced. If an unknown material can be identified with a high degree of confidence, that can considerably changes the response, and measures taken.

The hazard identification methods presented in this book are intended for use by frontline workers. The test methods presented within involve manipulation of small amounts of sample--using, literally, a hands-on approach Firefighters and hazardous materials teams, when responding to a hazardous material emergency involving an unknown substance, are primarily interested in protecting public safety. Identifying the hazards of the unknown substance is essential to plan development and sustained actions.

The book covers practical field application with updated and additional examples of field instruments. New coverage to this edition includes a new chapter on three modern technologies used by first responders and military personnel to identify unknown chemicals: Raman spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, and high-pressure mass spectroscopy. The chapter includes content that focuses on sample manipulation and advanced techniques to get the most from each of these three instruments that have developed since the first edition was published. These sample manipulations may be performed in the field with a simple toolkit and methods that are explained in detail.