MECHANISMS OF AND FACILITY TYPES INVOLVED IN HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INCIDENTS

The purpose of this study was to systematically investigate hazardous materials (hazmat) releases and determine the mechanisms of these acci dents, and the industries/activities and chemicals involved. We analyz ed responses by Massachusetts' six district hazmat teams from their in ception through May 1996. Information from incident reports was extrac ted onto standard coding sheets. The majority of hazardous materials i ncidents were caused by spills, leaks, or escapes of hazardous materia ls (76%) and occurred at fixed facilities (80%). Transportation-relate d accidents accounted for 20% of incidents. Eleven percent of hazardou s materials incidents were at schools or health care facilities. Petro leum-derived fuels were involved in over half of transportation-relate d accidents, and these accounted for the majority of petroleum fuel re leases. Chlorine derivatives were involved in 18% of all accidents and were associated with a wide variety of facility types and activities. In conclusion, systematic study of hazardous materials incidents allo ws the identification of preventable causes of these incidents.