Our campus is intersected by several major city streets. Vehicles carrying hazardous materials (HAZMAT) travel through our campus every day. Getting to know these guidelines will help you if you’re ever caught in a situation where there’s a HAZMAT spill or release.
Hazardous materials can include explosives, flammable and combustible substances, poisons, and radioactive materials. Chemical agents are poisonous vapors, aerosols, liquids, and solids that have toxic effects on people, animals or plants. Emergencies can happen during the production, storage, transportation, use, or disposal of hazardous materials.
Signs of a chemical release include difficulty breathing, eye irritation, loss of coordination, nausea or burning in the nose, throat, and lungs. The presence of many dead insects or birds may indicate a chemical agent release.
For more information on HAZMAT spills or release, visit www.ready.gov.
Hazardous Material Spill Response
- If the hazardous material comes in contact with your skin, immediately flush the affected area with copious amounts of water for at least 15 minutes, then seek medical attention.
- Dial 911 or (330) 287-3333.
- Stop the source of the hazardous material if possible.
- Evacuate the immediate area, closing doors behind you.
- Unless trained, do not attempt to clean up the spill yourself.
- Make yourself available to emergency personnel to supply critical information to aid in clean up.
- Provide as much of the following information as possible to the dispatcher:
- Where has the hazardous material spill occurred? Specify the floor, room number, and location in room.
- Has there been a fire and/or explosion?
- Are there any injuries? If so, how many?
- What material has been spilled?
- What about the state of the material (i.e., solid, liquid, gas, combination)?
- Is any of the hazardous material escaping from the spill location in the form of chemical vapor/fumes or running or dripping liquid?
Infectious Material Spill Response
- If the infectious material comes in contact with your skin, immediately wash with soap and water.
- Unless you are trained, do not attempt to clean up the spill yourself.
- Contact Facilities Operations at (330) 263-2135 until 4pm M-F, or Campus Safety (330) 263-2590 after hours.
- Make yourself available to responding Environmental Health and Safety personnel to supply information to aid in clean up.