Emergency Response
Chapter 296-824, WAC
|
Effective
Date: 10/01/02 |
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Your responsibility:
To anticipate and plan for emergency response
operations.
You must
WAC
296-824-20005
You must
Develop an emergency response plan.
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Note:
- You may already have an emergency response
plan, such as required by chapter 296-843
WAC, Hazardous waste operations or by state and locally
coordinated response efforts (Section 303 of Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), Title III).
You may use those plans to comply with this section, if
they include the items listed below.
- Before a written emergency response
plan can be developed, you will need to anticipate the
types of uncontrolled releases that employees could encounter
in your workplace(s).
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You must
(1) Make sure your plan is written and adequately addresses,
as a minimum, all of the following:
- Preemergency planning and coordination with
additional responders (including personnel from other employers
such as: Fire departments, law enforcement agencies, emergency
medical services, and state or federal agencies)
- Personnel roles, (See Table 1) and lines of
authority and communications for all affected parties including
responders
- Employee training (see
WAC 296-824-30005 for more detail)
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Note:
- Responders' level of training depends
on the duties or roles the employer assigns.
- Training for the employees' role should
address the competencies specified in Tables 3 through
6.
- Training on specific substances may
be appropriate depending on the number and characteristics
of hazardous substances expected to be encountered. For
example, if employees may only respond to one substance,
you could provide training (covering the knowledge and
skills specified in Tables 3 through 6) on that single
substance. If employees might respond to a range of hazardous
substances, training may be required to cover categories
of hazardous substances.
- Videos and automated training methods
(for example: Interactive computer-based programs) may
be used in training; however,instructors must be readily
available to:
- - Encourage and provide responses
to questions for the benefit of the group.
- - Evaluate employee understanding
of the material.
- - Provide other instructional interaction
to the group.
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- Emergency recognition
- Immediate emergency procedures including:
- - Methods of alerting employees (see
WAC 296-800-310, exit routes and employee alarm systems)
and outside responders
- - Procedures for limited action (emergency
prevention)
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Note:
Limited action includes shutting
down processes, closing emergency valves and other critical
actions to secure the operation, or prevent the incident
from increasing in severity. |
| Limited Action and
Employee Roles |
| If. |
Then employees involved
would be... |
| Limited action could be conducted in the danger area
|
Considered emergency responders |
| Limited action wouldn't be conducted in the danger
area |
Considered evacuees, not emergency responders |
- - Details of who will evacuate immediately
and who will remain behind for limited action
- - Evacuation routes and procedures
- - How to establish safe distances and places
of refuge (for example, during emergency response
the incident commander (IC) decides to make changes based
on new developments, i.e., changes in the wind direction).
- Methods of securing and controlling access
to the site
- Emergency medical treatment and first aid
- A complete personal protective equipment
(PPE) program that addresses:
- - Selection of PPE including selection criteria
to be used and the identification, specified use and limitations
of the PPE selected.
- - Training on proper use of PPE (including
maintenance).
- - Hazards created by wearing PPE including
heat stress during temperature extremes, and/or other appropriate
medical considerations.
- - Criteria used for determining the proper
fit of PPE.
- - Procedures covering proper use of PPE
including procedures for inspection, putting it on (donning)
and removing it (doffing).
- - Maintenance of PPE including procedures
for decontamination, disposal and storage.
- - Methods used to evaluate the effectiveness
of your PPE program.
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Note:
- - If a manufacturer's printed information
or WISHA rule adequatelyaddresses procedural requirements
(such as donning or doffing for PPE), it isn't necessary
to rewrite this into your program; simply attach the printed
information.
- - You may use written procedures provided
by the equipment manufacturer when they meet the requirements
of other chapters, including
chapter
296-842 WAC, Respirators.
- - Emergency equipment
- - Emergency response procedures
- - Decontamination procedures determined
by a hazardous materials specialist or other qualified
individual
- - Methods to critically assess the response
and conduct appropriate follow-up
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You
must
(2) Make your written emergency response plan
available to employees, their representatives, and WISHA personnel
for inspecting or copying.
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Note:
In situations where multiple employers
could respond to an incident, all plans should consistently
address:
- - Who will be designated as the incident
commander (IC)
And
- - If, when, and how transfer of the
incident commander position will take place
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Table 1
Roles and Duties of Emergency Responders
| If the employee's
role is... |
Then all of the following apply. They...
|
| First responder at the awareness
level |
- Are likely to witness or discover
a hazardous substance release
- Are trained to initiate an emergency
response by notifying the proper authorities of the
release
- Take no further action beyond notifying
the authorities
|
| First responder at the operations
level |
- Respond to actual or potential releases
in order to protect nearby persons, property, and/or
the environment from the effects of the release
- Are trained to respond defensively,
without trying to stop the release
- May try to:
- - Confine the release from a safe
distance
- - Keep it from spreading
- - Protect others from hazardous
exposures
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| Hazardous materials technician |
- Respond to releases or potential releases, with the
intent of stopping the release
- Are trained to approach the point of release offensively
in order to, either:
- - Plug
- - Patch
- - Stop the release using other method
|
| Hazardous materials specialist |
- Respond along with, and provide support
to, hazardous materials technicians
- Are required to have more specific
knowledge of hazardous substances than a hazardous materials
technician
- Act as the site activity liaison when
federal, state, local, and other government authorities
participate
|
| Incident commander
|
- Have ultimate responsibility for:
- - Direction
- - Control
- - Coordination of the response
effort
- - Will assume control of the incident
beyond the first responder awareness level
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| Specialist employee |
- Are a technical, medical, environmental,
or other type of expert
- May represent a hazardous substance
manufacturer, shipper, or a government agency
- May be present at the scene or may
assist from an off-site location
- Regularly work with specific hazardous
substances
- Are trained in the hazards of specific
substances
- Are expected to give technical advice
or assistance to the incident commander or incident
safety officer, when requested
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| Skilled support personnel
|
- Are needed to perform an immediate,
specific emergency support task at the site
- Are skilled in the operation of equipment
including:
- - Earth moving equipment
- - Cranes
- - Hoisting equipment
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| Incident safety officer |
- Are designated by the incident commander
- Are knowledgeable in operations being
implemented at the site
- Have specific responsibility to:
- Identify and evaluate hazards
- Provide direction on employee safety matters
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