Reporting hazardous material spills and leaks

(a) Any employee of the motor carrier, the driver, handlers, and loaders, and any employees of state and county governments shall report hazardous materials incidents as follows: (1) Upon becoming aware of or observing the potential or actual spill, leakage, or loss of control of a hazardous material, shall immediately, or as soon as possible, notify the nearest police or fire department and make a report of the situation. This incident reporting requirement does not relieve a carrier or shipper of the responsibility to notify the United States Department of Transportation, state department of health, or local emergency planning committee of certain hazardous materials incidents. (2) Whenever an infectious substance shipment is lost, stolen, or suspected or known to be leaking from its containment packaging, shall immediately, or as soon as possible, notify the state department of health, and the Centers for Disease Control [and Prevention] in Atlanta, Georgia, and make a report of the situation. (3) Spillage or loss of control of a regulated medical waste shipment in commerce shall be reported immediately, or as soon as possible to the state department of health. (b) Whenever possible, the incident report should include: (1) The name and telephone number of the person calling in the report; (2) The name of the carrier; (3) Type of vehicle involved; (4) Injuries or fatalities connected with the incident, if any; (5) The location and time of the incident; (6) The duration of a chemical release into the environment, if known; (7) A description of hazards involved to include the chemical name or identity of any substance released; (8) Hazardous materials classification, markings, and information on labels and placards affixed on packages, containers or vehicles; and (9) Emergency actions taken including evacuation to minimize hazardous effects to public health, safety, and property. (c) A copy of any written notification required under Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 171 shall be provided to the state director of transportation.