Disaster Preparedness 2011: Using wirelessly connected monitoring equipment to protect HazMat teams

Bobby Sheikhan

From the time it capsized at a refinery dock in Texas City, the listing barge -- loaded with 235,000 gallons of sulfuric acid -- began seeping its toxic, corrosive load into the 30-foot-deep waterway.

The water mixing with sulfuric acid inside the hull had begun to corrode the steel. This process reduced the barge’s structural integrity and created reactions inside the sealed compartment that generated a cloud of highly-flammable, highly-pressurized hydrogen gas -- just one spark away from a calamitous blast.

It was time for new plan.

That plan included federal and regional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personnel expanding the “hot zone” and deploying three wireless multi-gas monitors to provide real-time data and 24/7 monitoring of the acid cloud.

This rapidly deployable gas-detection network monitored the incident area to help keep response crews and salvage workers safe and created a virtual command center. Good thing because the incident lasted 10 days, with 100 responders on scene at its peak.

This is a good illustration of the advantages of using wirelessly-connected atmospheric-monitoring equipment to detect airborne hazards, including detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Why wireless monitoring systems?

Wireless gas and radiation monitoring systems are particularly well-suited for rapid deployment, such as delineating perimeters for HazMat incident response, law enforcement operations involving chemical threats, and protecting a temporary military camp from chemical warfare agents. The entire system can be up-and-running in less than five minutes.

Wireless systems for atmospheric monitoring for chemical and compound detection use standard and proprietary wireless technologies to deliver reliable, “always on” cable-free connections for fast, easy and flexible deployments. These advanced monitors combine battery-powered sensors and integrated radio-frequency (RF) technology operating over license-free frequency bands.

Wireless monitoring systems are commonly used in responses to hazardous materials spills or leaks. The systems can be used to:

• Rapidly deploy to the spill or accident and then retreat to the host computer at a safe distance to assess the need for personal protective equipment (PPE);
• Delineate a safe operating zone, inside which PPE should be worn while the release is being cleaned up; 
• Delineating a vapor plume in the broader region so that evacuations can be coordinated to only the necessary zones.

Real-time detection monitoring

A key advantage to this new generation of wireless detection monitors is the ability to broadcast alarms and data in real time that is accessible via the Internet.

Improved wireless system interoperability is another advantage. It allows systems used in industrial and environmental applications to share data with first responders on an emergency basis. Similarly, first responders with mutual-aid agreements also can share wireless instruments and data with other responding agencies, which helps increase safety when disasters strike.

Additionally, wirelessly-enabled instruments, such as personal and hand-held monitors, include an alarm notification that sends wireless remote alarms to the safety team so that help can be dispatched faster than ever. The wireless transmission of data allows companies to archive information for compliance review, mediation and remediation, and for access later to evaluate situational responses, or to provide training and corporate governance.

Combining wireless incident assessment with wireless physiological readings

Today, new wireless Bioharnesses can provide safety managers with unprecedented, real-time visibility into the physical status of personnel operating in high-stress and extreme environments.  

The wireless BioHarness, a non-intrusive, lightweight chest-worn strap incorporates ECG (electrocardiogram), breathing rate, temperature, posture and activity sensors for real-time portable physiological monitoring. This allows safety officers to quickly access and monitor a person’s bio-readings, and remove them from a fatigue situation if their readings are high.

Wireless Bioharnesses can transmit sensor readings and GPS coordinates in real time to a PC running safety monitoring software. The BioHarness readings can be evaluated in software and coupled with a variety of other safety sensor readings, including detected volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, chemical warfare agents (CWA) and radiation, for early detection and characterization of hazardous atmospheres.

Wireless monitoring systems bring cost advantages

Depending on specific configuration and system requirements, wirelessly-connected hazard-detection monitoring systems can provide substantial cost savings, especially compared to fixed, hard-wired or dock-and-download approaches.

These cost savings, combined with increases in productivity, help wireless systems provide total cost-of-ownership benefits; especially in a time of close budget scrutiny.

Other wireless gas and radiation detection benefits include:

• Real-time continuous data collection;

•        Less time performing manual readings and entering data into record-keeping databases;

•        Reduction in travel and fuel costs, as personnel rely on transmitting data wirelessly from remote locations;

•        The ability to gather more data from more sources for wide-ranging, cohesive evaluations of a facility, incident or terrorist threat.