UNIT I STUDY GUIDE
Introduction to Chemistry
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Examine chemistry fundamentals.
1.1 Recognize chemical symbols, atomic numbers, atomic weights, chemical formulas, and general
properties of currently known elements using the periodic table.
1.2 Identify common units of measuring scientific property or behavior, and convert units of the
same kind.
1.3 Distinguish properties of gases, liquids, and solids, as well as heat transfer mechanisms.
5. Research important standards related to hazardous substances.
5.1 Define the Hazardous Communication Standard (employee right-to-know law) and its major
components.
6. Apply information resources commonly used in emergency response operations.
6.1 Discuss how information from the safety data sheet (SDS) can be applied to emergency
response operations.
6.2 Identify the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) 704 Hazard Diamond and Global
Harmonized System (GHS) pictograms.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
1.1
1.2
1.3
5.1
6.1
6.2
Learning Activity
Unit Lesson
Chapter 2, pp. 35–50, 57–60, 62–63
Chapter 4, pp. 111–116, 119–120, 128–129, 136
Unit I Assessment
Unit Lesson
Chapter 2, pp. 35–50, 57–60, 62–63
Chapter 4, pp. 111–116, 119–120, 128–129, 136
Unit I Assessment
Unit Lesson
Chapter 2, pp. 35–50, 57–60, 62–63
Chapter 4, pp. 111–116, 119–120, 128–129, 136
Unit I Assessment
Unit Lesson
Chapter 1, pp. 1–4, 14–24, 26–29
Unit I Assessment
Unit Lesson
Chapter 1, pp. 1–4, 14–24, 26–29
Unit I Assessment
Unit Lesson
Chapter 1, pp. 1–4, 14–24, 26–29
Unit I Assessment
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 1: Introduction, pp. 1–4, 14–24, 26–29
Chapter 2: Some Features of Matter and Energy, pp. 35–50, 57–60, 62–63
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Chapter 4: Chemical Forms of Matter, pp. 111–116, 119–120, 128–129, 136
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Unit Lesson
Welcome to the course. Unit I will mainly discuss chemistry fundamentals to serve as a refresher to those
who have not had chemistry in a while. It also introduces some standards commonly used in handling
hazardous materials.
A term just starting to be used in the hazardous materials world is
hazmatology. It is defined as the scientific study of hazardous
materials (Burke, 2017, para. 3). Since chemistry is also a science, at
the end of this course, you may be able to say that you are a
hazmatologist. How about that?
Hazardous materials are defined as any biological, chemical,
radiological, or physical items that can be harmful to humans,
animals, or the environment (Institute of Hazardous Materials
Management [IHMM], n.d.). The material can be by itself, or it can be
produced from the interactions of various materials. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT), and the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) use this definition with some minor
differences.
Hazardous
materials,
HAZMAT man
which is
sometimes referred to as hazmat, are present in all
facets of life. They are found at home, in the
workplace, in schools, in shopping malls, and in other
public places—even amusement parks. Hazardous
materials are essential in our everyday lives and for
the continued operations of our technology-based
society (Meyer, 2020). Although they are useful, they
can also be harmful if not handled properly. To
minimize the hazards posed by these materials, their
storage, transport, use, treatment, and disposal are
heavily regulated by different federal, state, and local
agencies. However, despite the many and often
overlapping laws and regulations, incidents still occur,
and they need to be mitigated for the protection of
public health and the environment.
OSH 3308, Interactions of Hazardous Materials
Examples of hazardous materials
2
Hazardous materials are generally classified into the following categories shown
in the
graphicGUIDE
below.
UNIT
x STUDY
Title
Hazardous materials classified
(Meyer, 2020)
In this course, you will study the chemical behavior, properties, and interactions of hazardous materials so
that you can learn to manage them properly and be able to respond and mitigate incidents involving these
chemicals in a safe and timely manner. Most of the materials in your textbook are viewed from the fire service
perspective; however, the chemical properties and interactions presented are also useful information for
occupational safety and health, as well as environmental management professionals.
Before getting into some specifics of the various hazmat categories, you will first review some basic chemistry
fundamentals that are essential to understand the various topics covered in this course. Because of time
constraints, only a few selected topics from Chapters 1 and 2, and 4 are included in Unit I. However, you are
encouraged to read all of Chapters 1–4 and Chapter 5 if you need to refresh your knowledge or
understanding of chemistry fundamentals.
Periodic Table
Anyone who has taken chemistry before—either in high school or college—should have heard about the
periodic table of elements. This table is where all of the known chemical elements are arranged in groups and
periods based on their currently known properties. A copy of a modern version of this table is included as
Figure 4.1 on page 120 of our textbook. If you are interested, check out this interactive version of the periodic
table. As you can see, the chemical symbols, atomic number, and weights are included in the table. It is
advisable to memorize the symbols of at least the common elements if you are not already familiar with them.
Perhaps, you can turn it into a periodic table trivia game.
To understand what an element is, you must start with the atom. An element is a substance that is composed
of an atom—but only one kind. An atom, as you may know, is the smallest particle of an element and is
OSH 3308, Interactions of Hazardous Materials
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composed of even smaller particles called electrons, protons, and neutrons (Meyer,
The
following is a
UNIT x2020).
STUDY
GUIDE
simple illustration of an atom, specifically the sodium (Na) atom.
Title
Meyer (2020) defines an atomic number as the number of protons in the nucleus and the number of electrons
in an electrically neutral atom. The sum of the protons and neutrons in an atom is referred to as the atomic
mass number. Atomic weight represents the weighted sum of the atomic masses of an element’s stable
isotopes based on their natural abundance on Earth (Meyer, 2020). In practice, we use the atomic weights to
generate the formula or molecular weights of a chemical compound. Molecular weight is an important
chemical property because it determines other properties such as density and molar volume. An example of
how to calculate the molecular weight is presented on page 136 of our textbook.
Solids, Liquids, and Gases
Two or more elements can combine to form a chemical compound. After chemical bonding, the resulting
material (compound) takes on a certain physical form or state (Schnepp & Gantt, 1998). The three main
states of matter are solid, liquid, and gas. A solid has a definite shape and volume, while a liquid has volume
but has no definite shape. A gas has neither. According to Meyer (2020), a vapor is the gaseous form of a
substance that exists as a solid or liquid at normal ambient temperature. The physical state is important when
it comes to handling or cleaning up hazardous materials incident sites. It also impacts their state or form, and
influences the level and type of protection needed for the materials’ behavior.
Physical and Chemical Properties
When an element or a compound gets transformed, but the chemical composition is not changed, the process
involves only a physical change. A physical change can result because of boiling, melting, or crushing of an
element or a compound. The behavior that the substance exhibits during the physical change is its physical
property (boiling point or temperature). The substance is not changed; it remains the same.
By contrast, if the process results in a change in the chemical composition, then it is considered a chemical
change or reaction. Examples of chemical changes are combustion and corrosion. Similarly, the associated
properties exhibited when undergoing a chemical change are known as chemical properties. In the case of
the combustion example, one or more new substances are formed as a result of the combustion (burning)
process.
Units of Measurements
We cannot learn chemistry without understanding some basic math (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division). A scientific observation (measurement) must consist of a number and a scale (unit) for the
measurement to be meaningful or to be even understandable (Zumdahl & Zumdahl, 2000). There are two
systems of units being used today: the metric system or SI and the English (U.S.) system. Our textbook uses
the metric system, but it is beneficial to be able to convert between these systems. Chapter 2 of the textbook
provides a refresher on converting units of the same kind or from one system to the other. An example of a
common conversion is shown below. It is more efficient for you to use Online Conversion website or some
other online unit conversion tool. Still, it is good to practice to manually convert between basic units to
improve your understanding and familiarity with the factor-unit (dimensional analysis) method. In our line of
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work, this is very important. There may be times when there is no internet access,
you are in
UNITespecially
x STUDY ifGUIDE
some remote area.
Title
Example: What is 100 cubic feet (cf) of water in gallons and liters?
To solve this, know that 1 cf = 7.48 gal and 1 gal = 3.78 liters (this type of information is available from most
chemistry or physics textbooks or on the internet).
100 cf x
7.48 gal
1 cf
= 748 gal (the cf will cancel out, so the unit left is gal)
The same procedure is used to convert to or from cubic feet to liters (or gallons to liters).
Chemical Concentration
The amount of a substance that is present in a given mass or volume of a mixture is referred to as the
concentration (Meyer, 2020). Examples of common units of concentration that you will encounter in this field
of study are listed below:
•
•
•
•
airborne concentration of contaminants in the air in a room – milligrams/cubic meter (mg/m3); may be
converted to parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb);
concentration of a chemical constituent such as nitrates in liquid samples like water – milligrams/liter
(mg/L); may be converted to parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb);
concentration of a chemical constituent such as potassium in solid media like soil samples –
milligrams/kilogram (mg/kg); may be converted to parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb);
and
all of these concentrations can also be expressed in % by mass or volume.
After this basic chemistry refresher, we move on to some regulatory standards/resources that you will
encounter in the study of hazardous materials. These are clearly described in Chapter 1 of our textbook, so
they are just briefly mentioned here.
Global Harmonization System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
GHS is a unified international system for the classification and labeling of chemicals designed by the United
Nations (OSHA, n.d.). It is not a law or regulation, but it is a voluntary system or standard used by many
countries, including the United States, for the management of hazardous materials.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS)
Formerly the materials safety data sheet (MSDS), the SDS includes information such as the properties of
each chemical; the physical health and environmental health hazards; protective measures; and safety
precautions for handling, storing, and transporting chemicals. The information is required to be presented in a
consistent, userfriendly, 16-section format (OSHA, n.d.).
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 704) System of Identifying Potential Hazards
The NFPA uses a hazard diamond-shaped figure divided into four color-coded quadrants (depicted below) for
rapid identification of the hazards from the hazardous materials present at the worksites (Meyer, 2020).
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5
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Hazards: Blue: Health
Red: Flammability,
Yellow: Instability
White: Special Warnings
Severity: 0 to 4
Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know (EPCRA)
EPCRA is a federal statute that was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1986 to empower the EPA to identify the
chemical substances located within communities and plan for emergencies associated with their potential
release (Meyer, 2020). This law was prompted primarily by the Bhopal, India incident in 1984 where
thousands died because of the release of an extremely toxic chemical, methyl isocyanate, from a Union
Carbide chemical plant (EPA, n.d.).
Hazard Communication Standard (HCS)
This standard addresses workers’ right-to-know about the hazards associated with substances they are
exposed to in the workplace (OSHA, 2017). The most common way this program is implemented is by
providing an inventory and access to SDS of all hazardous substances in the workplace. Some of you may
remember those big binders of MSDSs. Some facilities may still have them, but most have already
transitioned to an electronic database version for managing their SDSs. Note that OSHA has revised the
HAZCOM standard to align with the GHS (OSHA, n.d.).
References
Burke, R. (2017, November). Hazmatology: The science of hazardous materials: Conceptualizing hazmat
operations as a science helps emergency responders focus on the facts. Firehouse Magazine, 42
(11). https://bi-galecom.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/global/article/GALE|A516449074/4bee16d99421dbf0f5fe
59ac781639e4?u=oran95108
Institute of Hazardous Materials Management. (n.d.). What are hazardous materials?
https://www.ihmm.org/about-ihmm/what-are-hazardous-materials
Meyer, E. (2020). Chemistry of hazardous materials (L. Mauerman, Ed.; 7th ed.). Pearson.
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.). Modification of the Hazard
UNIT xCommunication
STUDY GUIDE Standard
(HCS) to conform with the United Nations’ (UN) Globally Harmonized
System of Classification and
Title
Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). https://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/hazcom-faq.html
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2017). Workers’ rights: OSHA 3021-06R 2017.
https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3021.pdf
Schnepp, R., & Gantt, P. W. (1998). Hazardous materials: Regulations, response and site operations.
Delmar-Cengage Learning.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). What is EPCRA? https://www.epa.gov/epcra/what-epcra
Zumdahl, S., & Zumdahl, S., A. (2000). Chemistry (5th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company.
Suggested Unit Resources
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
Review the PowerPoint presentations on Chapters 1, 2, and 4 to supplement the textbook reading and lesson
content.
•
•
•
Access the Chapter 1 PowerPoint Presentation (PDF version of the Chapter 1 presentation).
Access the Chapter 2 PowerPoint Presentation (PDF version of the Chapter 2 presentation).
Access the Chapter 4 PowerPoint Presentation (PDF version of the Chapter 4 presentation).
Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
Access the Unit I Flash Card Activity (PDF version of the flash card activity), which reinforces the Unit I
Lesson and chapter readings.
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