Discuss the effects of hazardous materials on the fire service Essay

Discuss the effects of hazardous materials on the fire service - Essay Example They are produced due to incidents in plants or other such activities. There are a large number of hazardous materials that are used as chemicals in various walks of life such as in agriculture or cultivation of land. These chemicals get dissolved in the soil and contaminate the water sources as well as compromise the hygiene. The waste from the industries is also a main source of increasing amount of hazardous materials in the environment. These wastes are discharged in rivers, seas, and oceans hence polluting the water sources as well as the aquatic life. In order to understand the effect of hazardous material we must take into considerations the main causes of these hazards, the ways in which they can affect the human body, the precautions that must be taken in order to perform a safe rescue operation during fire service and also the handling of the situation from the beginning to the end with correct decisions and safety as the prime concern. Contamination is simply defined as the contact of a hazardous material with the clothes or some part of a body such as hair, skin e.t.c. while exposure happens when a hazardous material enters a human body through respiration or other means or is in direct contact with human body. To avoid these issues fire service men are provided an apparatus and special kind of clothing that resists exposure as well as contamination. Exposure can happen without contamination however in certain case contamination usually results in exposure unless only the clothing is affected by the hazardous material. For example many gases can enter a human body without coming in contact with the parts of the body or the clothing through the process of respiration or breathing. The human skin has an ability to absorb certain substances which it comes in contact with. But this depends upon certain conditions namely the time for which the substance comes in contact with the skin. If a hazardous material comes