Question Description
1. Identify the possible environmental impacts of a Hazardous Materials Event impacting your community, list the governmental entities having responsibility to oversee and or control/mitigate such impact, with their contact numbers, added to your master Incident Action Plan. Submit.
2. Take on the role as the Public Information Officer (PIO) and submit a press release pertaining to week 5 activities. Be prepared to answer questions from the media or community at a Town Hall Meeting.
Some examples include –
Ask the PIO to provide a briefing that includes:
1. The situation status. 2. Additional road closures. 3. Evacuation routes. 4. Personal protective measures.
In addition, address the following:
- What is the local role in response to a hazardous materials incident?
- Who is responsible for cleanup operations?
- What is the role/responsibility of your organization and how does that impact or effect the state and federal systems?
- What is the definition of Hazardous Materials?
There is no right or wrong – you are using the info and education from previous weeks and classes. Assess the incident and carefully address the questions and the briefing. Remember not to promise too much!
This is what i did last week
The response to the described situation requires a search/rescue mission, decontamination, and treatment of the people involved. From the analysis of the situation at NDJ, several inputs are required for a successful search and rescue. First, there is no natural lighting hence there is need for light provision. Secondly, there is the contamination hazard of hydrogen sulfide which produces the smell of rotten eggs. Therefore, the HMRT will require the N-95 masks to avoid contamination. Furthermore, immediate medical attention to the individuals from the incident is required for decontamination to be successful and the prevention of extended effects of the hydrogen sulfide poisoning. From the conditions described, a member of the team is required to stay with the exposed people on the scene. Another member is expected to provide medical attention, and a third member is needed as a circulating member. Therefore, for two exposures, at least three members of the team are required. With ten team members, at least eight exposures can be potentially saved.
All hazard incidents start with setting objectives based on the situation on the ground. According to Stilp and Bevelacqua (1997), health concerns are a priority over the concerns of contamination. Therefore, the first objective would be to respond to the available employees health situation. This is clearly connected to the provision of the responders safety. These two are the initial response objectives and they are based on the hazardous nature of the material which can contaminate through breathing. Risk identification for the entrants during a search and rescue mission is crucial. This would involve the availability of protective gear which includes the disposable apron, mask, gloves, and shoe covers.
The safe evacuation of victims requires that the search and rescue retrieves the victims and evacuates them to the cold zone. In this case, setting up the rescue operation would require the immediate location for the rescued persons be located to the west of the site. This is the upwind location of the incident and the most viable cold zone. Secondly, according to Henry (1998), a distance of 500 feet has to be maintained away from the site so that further contamination is reduced. The search and rescue would involve HMRT responders with the proper gear entering the site with the overview of the fire engines and then manually searching for individuals or bodies. The victims would be transferred to the cold zone to the west for the assessment of medical needs.
As aforementioned, the essential PPE would be N95 air mask which is essential for hazardous material which can be ingested or breathed. Secondly, since there are other contaminants, shoe covers, an apron, and gloves are required to avoid contact of the contaminants with the skin. The decontamination plan includes basic flushing of the nasal cavity for the victims and further decontamination in the hospital. Immediate medical care is targeted towards pulmonary edema and shock which may require immediate ambulatory needs.
The incident action plan should be based on the immediate medical attention to the rescued people. The available employees will go through a thorough medical checkup on-site. This can be accompanied by ambulance or immediate treatment is necessary. Secondly, the HMRT will send in members with the aforementioned PPE for the search and rescue. Lighting will be provided by the engines and they will also be on fire alert. Other personnel including medics will be located in the cold zone 500 feet to the west of the site. The safety control plan is handled by placing the engines on fire alert and evacuating the eastern area up to 500 feet from the site.
Henry, T. (1998). Decontamination for hazardous materials emergencies.Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Stilp, R. and Bevelacqua, A. (1997). Emergency medical response to hazardous material incidents. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
