Closed-circuit breathing devices recycle exhaled air after scrubbing carbon dioxide and adding make-up oxygen from a tank of pure oxygen. Use of this equipment allows first responders to work for up to four hours without swapping out cylinders and scrubbing canisters. Firefighting situations in which these devices would be useful include tunnels, mines, ships, high-rise buildings, and environments contaminated with biological or chemical toxins. A risk perceived by firefighters entering environments containing open flame and high radiant heat is the possibility of fire ignition in the...

This edition of the Work Plan, effective as of October 2014, describes OIG audits, evaluations, and certain legal and investigative initiatives that are ongoing. The word "new" after a project title indicates that the project did not appear in the previous Work Plan. For each project, we include the subject, primary objective, and criteria related to the topic. At the end of each description, we provide the internal identification code for the review (if a number has been assigned) and the year in which we expect one or more reports to be issued as a result of the review. This edition also...

This Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2015: Report to the Congress is submitted in compliance with Sections 207(d)(1) and (e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The Act requires that before the start of the fiscal year and, to the extent possible, at least two weeks prior to consultations on refugee admissions, members of the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives be provided with the following information: (1) A description of the nature of the refugee situation; (2) A description of the number and allocation of the refugees to be...

PHMSA's 2016 Emergency Response Guidebook provides first responders with a go-to manual to help deal with hazmat transportation accidents during the critical first 30 minutes.