First Aid for the future: hydrogen fuel safety course offered to first responders
It's not difficult to remember the elemental symbol for hydrogen (H) or that it is the most common element in the universe. But what do you do when you're an ambulance medic and the pile-up you've just pulled up at involves one of the GM Equinoxes that will take to the public roads this fall? This is the scenario that the Department of Energy would like to prepare first responders for with a new course, Introduction to Hydrogen Safety for First Responders, something the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Safety organization is probably quite pleased to hear.
The DOE created the course with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Volpentest Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Training and Education Center. According to the DOE, "the course provides basic information to help raise awareness among fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical personnel and provides access to resources for more detailed information if needed."
Basic understanding hydrogen and how it is stored and dispensed are two of the topics addressed in the course; videos and animations act as information carriers here. The course is available online, so if you want to test your skills (or are actually a first responder), check it out here.
[Source: DOE]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TX CHL Instructor 1:58PM (8/05/2007)
Here's a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Just don't use hydrogen as an auto fuel. Your pocketbook and your planet will be better off.
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