Field Assessment and Support Team (FAST)

Introduction/Q&A

What is the Field Assessment and Support Team (FAST)?
MassDEP has assembled a team of staff chemists, biologists, engineers, and environmental scientists to provide 24/7 technical support at chemical and oil spill incidents. A number of equipment assets have also been procured to facilitate and support these deployments, including a 27 foot long mobile laboratory vehicle.

What is its Purpose?
The FAST program has been developed to enable the agency to better fulfill its statutory mandate to ensure the protection of public health and the environment. Working with other response agencies and partners, FAST personnel will assess air, water and soil for petroleum and chemical contaminants, and provide information, data, and recommendations to emergency responders and/or Incident Command.

How Will this Team Interact With Other Responders?

The FAST Vehicle: MassDEP's mobile laboratory

FAST has been specifically designed to fill needs that may exist at oil and hazardous material incidents; it is not intended to duplicate efforts of others. We seek to add value to response operations via the deployment of specialized expertise, knowledge, and equipment. Team members will generally not be deployed in or even near the hot zone, but will rather focus on downwind and/or downstream impacts. Any sampling within a hot zone will occur via coordination with personnel from District Hazmat Teams and/or other first responders.

What Specifically Can FAST Do?

• On-scene sampling and analysis of air, water, soil, sediment, and soil gas by gas chromatography, achieving "parts per billion" detection limits;
• On-scene modeling of air plumes via ALOHA and an on-board weather station;
• On-scene production of large orthographic, topographic, and environmental resource maps;
• On-scene analysis of air and bulk samples for asbestos content;
• On-scene installation, sampling, and analysis of soil gas and groundwater monitoring wells;
• On-scene analysis of water samples for bacteria and other pollutants;
• Ambient air monitoring using AreaRAEs, VRAEs, PIDs, Draeger Tubes, and dust meters;
• Analysis of ambient and indoor air for mercury vapor via Jerome and Lumex meters;
• Analysis of unknown materials via an Ahura First Defender and Niton XRF unit; and
• On-scene interpretation of environmental data, with respect to health and environmental concerns and trigger levels.

How Can a FAST Deployment be Requested?
Please coordinate with regional/on-scene MassDEP emergency response personnel, and/or contact the agency 24/7 at 888-304-1133. Please note that depending upon the location and traffic conditions, it can take between 1 and 4 hours for FAST personnel and equipment to arrive at a site.

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Key Equipment and Instrumentation

• Colilert(r) System - E.coli & Enterococcus Bacteria
• Colorimetric Air Testing Tubes (Drager)
• Colorimetric Water Testing Strips
• Dust Meter
• Gas Chromatographs:
• GC/MS
• GC/PID/ELCD
• GC/PID/FID/ELCD
• GC/FID
• Gas Detection Meters
• Mercury Vapor Meter (Lumex)
• Microscopes:
• Stereomicroscope
• Phase Contrast (PCM)
• Polarized Light (PLM)
• Mobile Map Printer
• Photoionization Meters
• Radiation - Gamma Monitors
• Raman Spectrometer
• Remote Air Monitors (AreaRAEs)
• Spectrophotometer (Hach)
• Weather Station

Deployments

Foxboro - June 2010, Jet Fuel Tanker Rollover, Route 95

MS Word 1 MB | PDF 940 KB

New Bedford - August 2009, New Bedford Waste Services Incident

MS Word 641 KB | PDF 204 KB

New Bedford - June 2010, Clam Contamination Incident

MS Word 3.3 MB | PDF 3 MB

Newburyport - July 2009, Gasoline Tanker Rollover, Route 95

MS Word 474 KB | PDF 253 KB

Westport - August 2009, Carbon Monoxide Incident

MS Word 668 KB | PDF 271 KB

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FAST Field Screening Capabilities

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