6 Steps to Disaster Management & effective Emergency Response
Learning from the UK & European experience

By Mr. Raj Lakha, Chief Executive, Safety Solutions (UK) Ltd. UK

Disasters such as Bhopal, Chernobyl, Aberfan, Three Mile Island, Longford in Australia, recent school fire in Tamil Naidu, Bali, Piper Alpha, Hillsborough, Challenger/Coumbia (sadly the list goes on) have shown the importance and need of Disaster preparedness and efficient Emergency response. These were not 'acts of god' or 'unavoidable' but were man made and preventable. The direct and insurable costs of such occurrences can amount to many millions. The indirect and uninsurable costs are to the person injured, the family, the organisation's reputation , the environment and society. Can these be quantified ?

This paper summarises the key legislative and managerial systems used in the UK and the European Union (EU) and how IISSM can isomorphically learn and ensure their organisations are best prepared for when or if the disaster should strike. For those IISSM member companies that have commercial relations with the UK or EU, this paper will provide you with the key information to understand the standard expected when exporting or trading with the UK.

Q. What is a 'Disaster' or 'Emergency'?

• A Disaster is an unexpected event - whether man-made, industrial or natural that :

• affects many people - directly or indirectly;
• involves multiple fatalities;
• where the individual, societal and workplace risk generated is 'intolerable';
• where the impact of the harm leaves a scar on that society for a considerable period of time;
• creates considerable and extensive property and economic damage;
• generates costs not just to the individual but to the environment and society.
  
  

• An Emergency is a event that requires an immediate and efficient response. It has the same six characteristics as a Disasters but its magnitude is not as extensive.

• The UK Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1999 (COMAH Regulations) refer to 'Major Accidents'. This is due to :

• unexpected, sudden, unplanned developments in the course of the operation;

• leads to serious danger to people and the environment both on site at the place of work and off site;

• the event involves at least one dangerous substance as defined by COMAH.

• A 'Major Incident' is a term used to describe a Disaster, Emergency or Major Accident. In 'Dealing with Disaster', a 'Major Incident' is an event that requires the '..implementation of special arrangements by one or more of the emergency services, the National Health Service (hospitals) or the local authority for : (a). the initial treatment , rescue and transport of a large number of casualties; (b). the involvement either directly or indirectly of large numbers of people; (c). the handling of a large number of enquiries likely to be generated both from the public and the news media, usually to the police; (d). the need for the large scale combined resources of two or more of the emergency services; (e). the mobilisation and organisation of the emergency services and supporting organisations, e.g. local authority, to cater for the threat of death, serious injury or homelessness to a large number of people' , p43.

• This definition is accepted by the Police, Fire Service , Local Government and broadly the NHS (they also have a specific definition of 'Major Incident').

• Whilst the scale and extent of the response to an events (Disasters, Emergencies, Major Accidents and Major Incidents) may differ, nevertheless the underlying planning and management issues will be similar.

Q. What does UK Law say ?

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) (amended 2003)

• Regulation 8 of MHSWR says that organisations must plan and develop procedures for 'serious and imminent dangers' and make arrangements for 'danger areas'.
  
  This means:

  1. Procedures need to be sequential, logical, documented and clear;

  2. Justify and authorise the Procedures;

  3. Develop a 'Hierarchy of Procedural Control' :
     • give Information to those potentially affected by serious and imminent dangers
     • Take Actions or Steps to protect such people
     • Stop work activity if necessary to reduce danger
     • Prevent the resuming of work if necessary until the danger has been reduced or eliminated.
       
       

  4. Appoint Competent Persons preferably from within the organisation who will assist in any evacuations. It is implied that the role and responsibility of such persons needs to be clearly demarcated.

  5. Generally prohibit access to dangerous areas (Site Management). If access to a 'Danger Area' is required i.e. a place which has unacceptable level of risk but must be accessed by the employee then appropriate measures must be taken as specified by other legislation.

  6. Risk Assessments will identify foreseeable events that may need to be covered by Procedures. Risk Assessments may also identify 'additional risks' that need additional Procedures.

  7. Procedures need to be dynamic - reflecting the fact that events can occur suddenly.

  8. There may be a need to co-ordinate Procedures where workplaces are shared.

  9. Procedures should also reflect other legislative requirements such as COMAH Regulations 1999 if relevant, Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, Confined Spaces Regulations 1997, Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 (as amended) to name a few.

• Regulation 9 of MHSWR reads ' Every employer shall ensure that any necessary contacts with external services are arranged, particularly as regards first aid, emergency medical care and rescue work' . It can be inferred that 'necessary contacts with external services' does not only relate to the Emergency Services but the organisation needs to identify both private sector and voluntary organisations that can be called on for assistance. The organisation needs to identify contact names, addresses and contact numbers of such bodies and develop relations with them.

The Control of Major Accident Regulations 1999 (COMAH 1999)

• The COMAH Regulations 1999 applies to those establishments that keep on site, any substance that is specified in Schedule 1 of COMAH above a deemed 'qualifying quantity'. For example keeping a certain amount of Ammonium Nitrate or Oxygen on site.

• However, there are 'Top- Tier' and 'Lower-Tier' Threshold Levels. If an establishment keeps an amount greater than or equal to an Upper Threshold Level , they are called Top-Tier. For instance, if an establishment keeps at least 2,500 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate, then it is Top-Tier. If an establishment keeps a lower quantity that this then it is a Lower-Tier establishment. For example, the Lower-Tier for Ammonium Nitrate is 350 tonnes. Therefore, knowing the amount of substance being stocked is critical to knowing what Tier the establishment falls under.
  
  a) Top-Tier establishments :

  • must produce both On-Site and Off-Site Emergency Plans. The former deals with risks that occur on the establishment and is produced by the Operator. The latter deal with risks to the immediate social and physical environment due to the on-site emergency. It is prepared by the Local Authority. Both Plans should link together and be co-ordinated.

  • Top-Tier establishments that exceed Top-Tier Thresholds are required to provide information to the public of known and foreseeable risks, as well as the controls adopted. They would also have to provide a Safety Report, which shows the actions taken by the Operator to prevent major Accidents and mitigate harm to the environment. The establishment must be able to prove that they are operating the plant in accordance with the Safety Report.

  • Operators of existing CIMAH Sites which became Top-Tier establishments on 1.4.99 are given till February 2001 to prepare On-Site Emergency Plans and supply information to the Local Authority. Whilst other establishments that became Top-Tier Sites on the 1.4.99 (e.g. those now encompassed by COMAH but not CIMAH) have till 3.2.2002 to prepare the On-Site Emergency Plan and supply the information to the Local Authority. However, for those establishments that became Top-Tier after 1.4.99, they have a duty to prepare the On-Site Emergency Plan before starting any operation.

  • The Local Authority has six months to prepare an Off-Site Emergency Plan. The six months can start from the time they receive all necessary information to prepare the plan. However, the period can be extended to nine months. It is recommended that Arrangements are made nevertheless by the Operator until the Off-Site Plan is available.

  • Emergency Plans should be reviewed and revised at least every three years.

  b) Lower-Tier establishments:
  
  

  • whilst under no duty to produce Emergency Plans are required however to develop emergency Arrangements in the Major Accident Prevention Policy (MAPP). The MAPP should specify safety and emergency management response systems in place in the event of a Major Accident and the procedures for identifying foreseeable emergency situations.

COMAH does not apply to Ministry of Defence establishments, transport related activity, extractive industries exploiting/exploring in mines and quaries, waste land-fill sites nor to nuclear licensed sites that may have substances which generate ionising radiation. Although, COMAH will apply to both chemicals and explosives at nuclear installations.

Q. What can you do to prepare for Disasters, Emergencies, Major Accidents or Major Incidents ?

Disaster & Emergency Management Systems (DEMS) is a 6 Step approach to improving the state of preparedness. Figure 1 highlights these stages whilst Figure 2 presents a 'checklist' interpretation of the 6 stages (for a full discussion refer to the Tolley ' Handbook of Disaster & Emergency Management 2004, Raj Lakha & Tony Moore edit).

Pacific port security a 'terror risk'

By Claire Harvey, New Zealand correspondent

ANTIQUATED airports and docks and inadequate cargo-screening systems throughout the Pacific posed a serious terrorist threat, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark warned yesterday in calling on nations such as Australia to spend millions on lifting regional security.

Her warning came as Australia yesterday announced an extra $500,000 in aid for improved port security and training of border officials in 11 Pacific nations, including Papua New Guinea. New Zealand also announced an extra NZ$3million ($2.6million) a year for Pacific security.

Ms Clark also warned delegates at the formal opening of the Pacific Round Table on Counter-Terrorism in Wellington last night that terrorist attacks might be launched from within the Pacific, and foreign embassies in the islands were at risk.

"The Pacific might present a tempting target, either for an attack like the one in Bali, or as a base from which terrorist cells might undertake the planning and groundwork for an attack somewhere else," she told senior security officials from around the region, who today begin talks on money-laundering, border security and law enforcement.

"The traditional image of the South Pacific has long been one of a tropical paradise," Ms Clark said. "But as experience has shown in Kenya and Tanzania, where hundreds of locals were killed in terrorist attacks on US embassies, remoteness, peacefulness and even neutrality or non-alignment do not guarantee security from terrorists."

Some Pacific airports may be closed to international flights if they could not meet the International Civil Aviation Authority's new security requirements, which come into force on July 1, 2006, she said. The new rules include X-ray baggage screening, metal detectors and tight passenger screening.

"If international airlines were unable to land at Pacific entry points because ... security requirements were not met, the impact on the Pacific's tourism sector would be devastating," Ms Clark said.

Fiji alone would need several million dollars in aid from donors such as Australia, the European Union and New Zealand, said Fijian Justice Ministry chief executive Sakiusa Rabuka.

"We are very, very concerned that the airports can be used as staging points for attacks by people who are coming to Australia or New Zealand," Mr Rabuka said. "We don't have the human resources, the technical resources or the financial resources to handle this."

Ms Clark said among the most urgent problems were new International Maritime Organisation rules on secure handling of cargo, which come into force in July.

"If cruise ships stopped calling at Pacific ports, then the tourism market would dry up," she said.

"If cargo capacity disappears because foreign ships and aircraft are unwilling to berth or land, or if delivery becomes unreliable, the economic impact would be very damaging."

(Courtesy: Mr. Mayer Nudell, USA .)