scope:

This standard shall identify the minimum levels of competence required by responders to emergencies involving hazardous materials/weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

This standard shall apply to any individual or member of any organization who responds to hazardous materials/WMD incidents.

This standard shall cover the competencies for awareness level personnel, operations level responders, hazardous materials technicians, incident commanders, hazardous materials officers, hazardous materials safety officers, and other specialist employees.

Purpose.

The purpose of this standard shall be to specify minimum competencies required for those who respond to hazardous materials/WMD incidents and necessary for a risk-based response to these incidents.

The competencies contained herein shall help reduce the numbers of accidents, injuries, and illnesses during response to hazardous materials/WMD incidents and shall help prevent exposure to hazardous materials/WMD, thus reducing the possibility of fatalities, illness, and disabilities to emergency response personnel.

This document is also intended to further clarify competencies with the associated job performance requirements (JPRs) established in NFPA 1072.