Hazmat Chemistry Study Guide (Second Edition)

Wouldn’t you like to grasp hazardous materials chemistry easily and be confident in your ability to do well on the test at the end of class? This book is the key to both of those goals. Whether you are taking a chemistry class for the first time or going through a refresher course, you will find this book to be an invaluable resource.

Target Audience

This book is geared for emergency responders training to become hazardous materials technicians. Unlike high school or college chemistry textbooks, this one focuses on the concepts that emergency personnel need to know in the field to safely manage an incident involving hazardous materials.

This study guide was developed to loosely parallel the hazmat chemistry curriculum developed by the California Specialized Training Institute (CSTI). However, the information and sample test questions apply to training that responders receive nationwide.

Learn the Secrets to Success

• Focus on concepts versus chemicals. Learn to predict the properties and hazards of hundreds of substances based on a handful of concepts.
• Tackle chemistry in small doses. Easily absorb the information with each concept clearly presented in an average of two to three pages.
• Test your knowledge along the way. Take advantage of the book’s most valuable feature—over 400 sample questions similar to those found on most hazmat chemistry tests. If you master these questions, you will excel on your final exam.
• Crack the code in the test questions. Recognize how to identify the correct answer without having to memorize hundreds of chemical names and formulas. Look for the small clues that point you in the right direction.

The Chapters

Chapter 1 – “Preparing for the Final Exam” provides tips for dispelling test anxiety and recognizing the concepts behind the test questions.
Chapter 2 – “Terms and Definitions” provides terms and definitions that emergency responders should be familiar with before proceeding to the other chapters.
Chapter 3 – “Elements and Compounds” explains matter, the periodic table of elements, atomic structure, chemical bonding, and isomers.
Chapter 4 – “Salts” provides a basic overview of salt compounds.
Chapter 5 – “Hydrocarbons and Related Compounds” covers hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon radicals, and hydrocarbon derivatives.
Chapter 6 – “Hazmat Chemistry and the DOT Hazard Classes” looks at each of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) hazard classes and their relation to the information about hazmat chemistry in earlier chapters.
Chapter 7 – “Hazmat Chemistry in Some Real Word Applications” briefly covers fire chemistry, chemical reactions, and chemical incompatibility.
Chapter 8 contains answers to the review questions throughout the book.