§ 79.002.Hazardous Materials

The hazardous material immunity, with three conditions built into the incident it covers.

Except in a case of reckless conduct or intentional, wilful, or wanton misconduct, a person is immune from civil liability for an act or omission in giving care, assistance, or advice with respect to the management of an incident that:

has already occurred; is related to the storage or transportation of a hazardous material; and endangers or threatens to endanger individuals, property, or the environment through spillage, seepage, other release, fire, or explosion.

"Has already occurred" is the significant limit. The immunity covers response, not prevention. Advice given beforehand about how to store or transport a material is ordinary professional advice carrying ordinary liability.

"Care, assistance, or advice" reaches beyond physical help. A chemist advising by telephone from another state is within the section as squarely as someone at the scene, which is how this expertise is usually delivered.

Subsection (b) excludes paid assistance: the section does not apply to a person giving assistance for or in expectation of compensation from or on behalf of the recipient in excess of reimbursement for expenses incurred.

Reimbursement is permitted; profit is not. The immunity is for the volunteer expert, not the emergency response contractor being paid to attend.