CHEMTREC® has its roots in chemical industry efforts born from a series of railway accidents involving shipments of corrosive liquids during World War I.
The seeds of CHEMTREC were sown in the very early 1900’s. The Manufacturing Chemists' Association (MCA), the organization that subsequently became the Chemical Manufacturers' Association (CMA), then the American Chemistry Council (ACC), formed a committee in 1918 whose members devoted themselves to the improvement of containers used in shipping liquid chemicals. The need for an industry-wide effort had been highlighted by a series of railway accidents involving shipments of corrosive liquids vital to the WW I war effort. Over the years, MCA's involvement in the movement of chemicals in ever-safer containers continued as a key emphasis area.
CHEMTREC grew directly from cooperation between the American Chemistry Council (then MCA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation to address the need for a response and reporting system for chemical transportation.
The U.S. Department of Transportation met with MCA in 1969 to determine the best approach to a reporting and response system for emergency situations involving chemicals in transport. In 1970, the Association’s Board of Directors authorized the establishment of CHEMTREC (CHEMical TRansportation Emergency Center), a program that would provide chemical specific information to emergency responders around the clock. A toll-free, nationwide telephone number - staffed by CHEMTREC in MCA's Washington, DC office - was established for inclusion on shipping papers originated by MCA member companies for all forms of transportation.
The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) began to take shape due to efforts beginning in 1932.
Around 1932, MCA combined fragmented activities in a concerted effort that was the beginning of its comprehensive program of Safety Manuals and Safety Data Sheets. Each data sheet set forth the physical and chemical properties of the product, its hazards, instructions on safe handling and first-aid treatment, required labeling or identification, and methods of unloading and emptying various types of containers. By 1972, the Association had prepared safety data sheets on 97 chemical products and distribution to involved parties totaled more than 70,000 copies annually.
The U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army have designated CHEMTREC as an approved source for supplying information and advice relating to hazmat incidents
In March 1980, the Administrator of the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) of the United States Department of Transportation formally recognized CHEMTREC as an approved source of information and advice relating to chemical and other hazardous materials incidents. The DOT further stated that CHEMTREC, in conjunction with the DOT’s National Response Center (NRC) would provide the system and data center required by federal statute 49 U.S.C. 1808(d)(2). In February of 1989, the United States Department of Defense (DOD) CHEMTREC executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) stipulating that CHEMTREC would assist the DOD in responding as quickly as possible to an incident or accident involving DOD munitions or explosives. Again, in August of 1995, the Unites States Army Biological Defense Command (CBDCOM) and CHEMTREC executed an MOU stipulating that CHEMTREC would assist CBDCOM in responding as quickly as possible to an incident or accident involving “hazardous industrial chemicals.”
CHEMTREC Emergency Service Specialists have over 250 collective years of hands-on experience dealing with hazardous materials.
The CHEMTREC Emergency Service Specialists (ESS) bring expertise in emergency response and the safe handling of hazardous materials, as well as experience working directly with emergency responders. The ESS can offer a wide variety of information on hazardous substances, including radioactive materials, infectious substances, biohazards, and hazardous waste.
Emergency Service Specialists use a number of authoritative sources to supplement their knowledge and experience. These include a state-of-the-art computer document storage and retrieval system containing over 4 million Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) obtained directly from the manufacturing organizations. These sheets are updated and maintained in cooperation with the manufacturing organizations and are indexed for rapid retrieval.
Further, CHEMTREC is linked to the largest network of chemical and hazardous material experts in the world and can establish communications between these experts, CHEMTREC personnel and the responders at the scene of an incident.
How a call to CHEMTREC's Emergency Center is handled:
- Qualified and trained CHEMTREC Emergency Service Specialist (ESS) answer all calls immediately, allowing for communications between medical and hazmat experts and the incident site to be established quickly.
- The ESS requests the caller's name and a call-back number.
- The ESS asks for critical information about the incident, including the location, conditions at the scene, the product(s) involved, and the names of the shipper, carrier and consignee.
- The caller then receives critical data on the substance(s) involved. This may involve such things as requirements for protective clothing, evacuation suggestions, mitigation and containment procedures and other pertinent information.
- If there are injuries or exposures, CHEMTREC can contact medical experts and put them in direct telephone contact with the on-site emergency responders or treating physicians.
- Details of the incident are relayed to the shipper's or manufacturer’s 24-hour emergency contact, who can be linked to the scene via the Center’s communications system. This facilitates the shipper or manufacturer with providing emergency instructions directly to those managing the incident scene.
- In certain special situations, or in medical emergencies, CHEMTREC staff can contact pre-established mutual aid networks or additional Emergency Response personnel, who can bring further expertise to the situation.
CHEMTREC staff then document the incident for subsequent reporting to the manufacturer or shipper. CHEMTREC’s computer-based tracking system, using the latest technologies, coupled with CHEMTREC’s telephone recording and monitoring system, provides detailed post-incident data for subsequent analysis.
CHEMTREC expanded its role to include security in the wake of the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001.
CHEMTREC provided critical information to the New York City Police Hazardous Materials Team as they evaluated the potential effect of chemicals contained in the collapse of the World Trade Towers. When the Chemical Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) was created in April 2002 through an agreement between the FBI’s National Infrastructure Protection Center and the American Chemistry Council, CHEMTREC was the obvious choice to operate the ISAC. Using CHEMTREC’s 24/7 Operations Center, the Chemical Sector ISAC facilitates the flow of critical threat information between federal government intelligence organizations and the companies that comprise this critical sector of the U.S. economy.