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Volume 4 • Issue 2 | www.towprofessional.com | Tow Professional 37 identify the hazardous substance and prevent the spill from s preading. Initial response personnel should only attempt to determine the extent of the release by gathering and analyzing information. This is called a size-up strategy, and is a non-inva- sive attempt to get a general picture or impression of the nature and severity of the event I n general, responders should use a size-up strategy to obtain and evaluate the following information: • Identity of the materials • Amount of the release • Hazards associated with each material(s) • Effects and risks on the public, property, and environ- ment • Potential pathway of release—air, land, surface waters, or groundwater • Most appropriate measures for controlling the release to prevent/reduce the impact • Safety measures to protect all response personnel A number of methods can be used to collect information for a size-up strategy. For the most part, responders should use visu- al observations to assist in detecting the presence or release of hazardous chemicals. Visual methods that may be utilized include the following: • Types and numbers of containers or cargo tanks • Placards, labels, and markings on containers or trans- portation vehicles • Vapors, clouds, run-offs, or suspicious substances • Biological indicators—dead vegetation, animals, insects, and fish • Physical condition of containers At other times, it may be necessary for first responders to uti- lize quantitative methods (monitoring, sampling, hazard charac- terization, etc.) to assist in detecting the presence or release of hazardous chemicals. Quantitative methods that are cost-effec- tive and may be utilized at a traffic incident include the follow- ing: • Colorimetric tubes • pH paper • Spilfyter classifiers strips Containment and Confinement Upon identifying an incidental hazardous substance release, first responders may perform limited clean-up activities provided that the mitigation follows a standard operating procedure and the responder has received adequate training (See previous sec- tion on training requirements). Incidental releases should not have the potential for safety or health hazards, such as fire, explosion, or chemical exposures in excess of an OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL), or exceed the immediately dangerous to life and health level. For first responders to a small spill, limited clean-up activities may entail basic containment and confinement techniques. Spill containment involves methods used to restrict the material to its original container (e.g. plugging, patching, overpacking, etc.). Spill confinement involves methods to limit the physical size of the area of the release (e.g. mist knockdown/vapor suppression,