18 DECEMBER 2016 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
A "spill kit" for each truck is recommended, and drivers should have a basic knowledge of how to use it, says Marc Nerino, founder of T.I.G.E.R.
Training Corp., Marshfield, Mass. The initials T.I.G.E.R stands for "Technical Instruction and Guidance for Emergency Response."
Currently, regulatory matters are a prime concern, and require
frequent checking and updating. According to Nerino, that's
because the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is
converting its hazard communications standard to conform to
"global harmonization"—common standards that have been or
are being adopted in European nations, Nerino says.
In working toward that harmonization, the Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Administration, which oversees hazmat pro-
grams for the DOT, is making "sweeping changes almost weekly,"
Nerino says. "To track all of this, even for myself, is very difficult.
So I highly recommend to anybody that they find somebody
responsible who can keep tabs on what's going on."
Nerino emphasizes, "A driver who is transporting hazardous
materials has to be able to read and understand a safety data sheet
in case they get exposed or in case they have to interact with a
chemical more than just filling up somebody's tank."
The current safety data sheet for home heating oil now identi-
fies it as a skin "irritant" and a skin "corrosive," Nerino points out.
"The practice is get suited up in a hazmat suit and wear cartridge
respirators on top of that because of the problems with the vapors
that come off of home heating oil," he says.
l F O N
Editor's note: North Shore Oil Heat Association meets on the third
Tuesday of each month at Angelica's Restaurant in Middleton, Mass.,
at 6:30 p.m. The organization conducts education on hazmat regula-
tions, and oil burner codes and discusses new products in the heating
equipment line. It also discusses problems encountered in the field.
For more information on the association, contact board member
and treasurer Ken Reardon at kbr117@Verizon.net or 978-729-3102;
or Mariel Stocker, association secretary, at Stocker Oil Co., Topsfield,
Mass., at stockeroil@aol.com or 978 535-5180.
"A driver who is transporting hazardous materials has to
be able to read and understand a safety data sheet in case
they get exposed or in case they have to interact with a
chemical more than just filling up somebody's tank."
— Marc Nerino
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