FEMA Announces Independent Study Course "An Introduction to Hazardous Materials"

Release Date: May 18, 2005

Emmitsburg, MD.- Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, and head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, announced today the U.S. Fire Administration's (USFA) Emergency Management Institute is providing through its Independent Study series a general introduction to hazardous materials that can serve as a foundation for more specific studies in the future. Independent Study (IS) 5, an Introduction to Hazardous Materials, is now available. IS 5 is an "Awareness" level course.

"Concerned community members who want to learn more about such issues can help protect their own health and that of their community - as well as ensuring that local, state, tribal and federal emergency preparedness efforts are in place for dealing with hazardous materials incidents -whether they be accidental or the work of terrorists," said Brown.

At the conclusion of the course, the participant should be able to:

  1. Explain the roles of federal, state, local and tribal governments in reducing hazardous materials risks through health and environmental regulations;
  2. Discuss the two major hazardous materials identification systems used within the United States;
  3. Identify possible terrorists' targets in which industrial chemicals could be used as weapons.
  4. Identify locations where hazardous materials are commonly found and how to determine their potential health effects;
  5. Describe basic terms relating to exposure to hazardous materials;
  6. Read and interpret a material safety data sheet (MSDS);
  7. Explain how hazardous materials enter the body and contaminate the environment;
  8. Describe what communities can do to increase their emergency preparedness to respond to hazardous materials incidents;
  9. Identify steps individuals and communities can take to protect themselves during a hazardous materials release.

To access Introduction to Hazardous Materials go to: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/crslist.asp

FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.