Diné College

Hazmat/chemical Spill/ Hazardous Air Quality

A hazardous material incident is the accidental release of a hazardous material that has the potential of interrupting the services being provided at a campus or District Facility Building. Hazardous material incidents will be divided into ON-SITE and OFF-SITE categories. Shelter-In-Place may be called when the need for person protection is necessary.

ON-SITE

An on-site hazardous material incident is one in which a spill, leak or other type of a release of hazardous material has occurred on a campus or District Facility Building.

OFF-SITE

An off-site hazardous material incident is one in which spill, leak or other type of a release of a hazardous material has occurred at a location which may pose a threat to a campus or District Facility Building. Such accidents may require immediate action. This action will depend on the proximity of the accident to the school, the wind velocity, and the weather conditions. Note: If mercury spills in the building (such as broken thermometer, barometer, etc.), cover the contaminated area with a plastic item such as a garbage bag. Notify the custodians. (DO NOT CALL 911 FOR MERCURY SPILLS.)

FACULTY’S/STAFF’S RESPONSIBILITIES

Notify School Resource Officer or call 911. (Campus phones require dialing 6911. Caller needs to give a detailed description of the location within the facility or premises.)

ACTIONS

  • Shelter (listen for instructions) and take attendance. Evacuate students to a safe location at right angles to and upwind from the accident site Or,
  • Seal the building (window/doors), shut off air handling equipment if it ingests outside air, and Shelter-in-Place until emergency has been resolved. Be prepared to Shelter-in-Place upstairs if ordered by the fire department.
  • Alert maintenance personnel to shut off air handling equipment and be prepared to seal outside doors with duct tape.
  • Close windows and prepare for emergency actions.
If danger is imminent, and emergency response personnel have not yet arrived, the president of college must decide the most appropriate action. If you evacuate, remember to head uphill, upstream and upwind. Follow-up action will be determined by emergency response personnel in coordination with school officials and may include, but is not limited to:
  • Dispatching emergency response personnel to facilitate evacuation.
  • Determining a relocation point in event of evacuation.
  • Dispatching Transportation to move students to relocation site(s).