Chemical Safety and Climate Change Preparedness Resources for Local Governments

Without proper planning, companies that use or store hazardous chemicals can unknowingly pose safety risks to workers, first responsers, and communities when critical infrastructure is damaged due to the severe weather events associated with heat waves, flooding, intense storms, blizzards or power outages.

The Office of Technical Assistance and Technology (OTA) provides free and confidential technical assistance to Massachusetts businesses and toxics users to help them reduce their use of hazardous and toxic chemicals, or conserve water, energy and other resources. 

OTA can help your local government agencies such as fire and health departments or your Local or Regional Planning Committees (L/REPCs) by:

• Providing training on OTA’s interactive map to identify toxics users in relation to climate change risks in your community.  OTA staff is available to present our online mapping tool at your next L/REPC or agency meeting.
• Providing outreach and interventions with toxics users in your community through fire department, health department or other agency referrals.   You can refer companies to OTA for free and confidential site visits at any time or as part of your Municipal Vulnerability Program plan.  OTA is an available resource for all L/REPCs.
• Sharing access to publicly accessible data on chemical use and storage by town.

For more information, contact Tiffany Skogstrom, (617) 626-1086, Tiffany.Skogstrom@Mass.Gov

Cameo Chemicals – Database of Hazardous Materials

Cameo Chemicals allows the user to find response information, such as explosion risks or fire fighting measures, for hazardous materials, build a list of chemicals stored in your community or moving by railway, and see what hazards or reactions might occur if those chemicals were mixed together.

Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER)

WISER is a system designed to assist emergency responders in hazardous material incidents. WISER provides a wide range of information on hazardous substances, including substance identification support, physical characteristics, human health information, and containment and suppression advice.

CAMEO Suite Programs

This document describes CAMEOfm, CAMEO Chemicals, MARPLOT, and ALOHA and their uses.

Descriptions of CAMEO Suite Programs (PDF)

Emergency Response Apps for Smart Phones

Disaster Apps for Your Digital Go Bag

More Apps

The Fall 2017 Pioneer Valley workshop featured a list of recommended smart phone apps for emergency response personnel. This list is not exhaustive. The information is provided here for the convenience of users.

List of Emergency Preparedness and Response-Related Smart Phone Applications (PDF)

LEPC and REPC Hazardous Emergency Plan Templates

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA or SARA Title III) requires the formation of Local or Regional Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs and REPCs).

These committees are responsible for protecting their communities from incidents involving hazardous materials. This involves developing and updating emergency response plans and educating the community about chemical facilities and the actions that could be taken if there is a chemical accident.

Visit the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency website to download the:

• Single Community Hazardous Materials Emergency Plan Template and
• Regional One Plan Template.

Facility Emergency Plan Summary (Pre-plan) Template

This template is a suggested format for use by local fire departments when they request facility pre-plans. Fire departments can adjust the format to fit their needs, however, a standard format should be used for all facilities submitting a pre-plan.

Facility Emergency Plan Summary (Pre-Plan) Template (DOCX)

Facility HAZMAT Screening Tool

All facilities that use or store toxic or hazardous chemicals are encouraged to use this sheet to assemble critical chemical information from Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) as part of the emergency planning process. Using a tool like this can improve facilities' emergency plans and pre-plans.

HAZMAT Screening Tool (PDF)

Sample University Continuity Plans

UMass Boston Checklist for Departments (PDF)

UMass Boston Checklist for Faculty (PDF)

UMass Boston Checklist for Researchers (PDF)

Local and Regional Emergency Planning Committees, Regional Planning Agencies, local governments and community organizations can use mapping tools and databases to understand and assess the presence of toxic or hazardous chemicals in their communities. Better emergency planning can be achieved by analyzing the location of toxics in relation to other geospatial factors.

Massachusetts Toxics Users and Climate Vulnerability Factors

OTA developed this Map of Massachusetts Toxics Users and Climate Vulnerability Factors.

Map Instructions:

1. Type in an address into the search bar on the top right of the map.
2. Click on the "Layers" drop down menu to change the displayed information.
3. For assistance navigating or intepreting this map, contact OTA.

More Tools to Assess the Presence of Toxics by Region

• U.S. EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO)
• Massachusetts Environmental Public Health Tracking

Related Mapping Tools

• Climate Change Clearinghouse for the Commonwealth (resilientMA)
• FEMA Flood Map Service Center: Search By Address
• Massachusetts Audubon Mapping and Prioritizing Parcels for Resilience (MAPPR) Tool

Regional workshops were held across Massachusetts between September and November of 2017. Local officials, members of Local and Regional Emergency Planning Committees, first responders, and community groups were invited to participate and plan for the next group of workshops for businesses that use hazardous materials.

Here are some of the presentations featured at the regional workshops:

OTA Resources and Climate Change Preparedness Presentation (PDF)

Emergency Planning 101: A Regulatory Review and Tips for Getting Started (Todd Dresser, ESIS) (PDF)

Optimizing Community & Business Resilience Preparing for Natural Disasters by Practicing Pollution Prevention (USEPA) (PDF)

EPCRA Tier II Reporting (Michael Hazel, Tewksbury Fire Department) (PDF)

Hazardous Materials Response (Michael Lavoie and Richard Fiske, Worcester Fire Department) (PDF)

Workplace and Chemical Safety for Municipal Agencies (Michael Flanagan, EOLWD) (PDF)

Chemicals in Transit (Nicholas Child, MassDEP)

The Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act: Services for Businesses and Communities (Felice Kincannon, TURI)