Spill Response Plans: Running Two Sets of Books

Many companies confuse the creation of a contingency plan, emergency response plan, integrated response plan…..call it what you will, as being prepared in the event of a release. The simple truth is all too often these plans are nothing more than compliance documents. They typically follow the government requirements and nothing more. These plans are not a “how to” guide. Spill plans meet the regulatory requirements, but do little for the response team. This presentation will focus on the developing a ‘second’ plan that is more geared to the responding group and the types of information that would be most useful to them.

One of the biggest challenges to spill responders is getting accurate and complete information. There are a number of reasons why the information could be lacking. The inexcusable part is to learn of the information deficiency when the stink has hit the fan. With the available resources, there is ample time to collect the necessary information to expedite a response should it ever be necessary.

 Other hinderances to effective response include location and content of spill carts, facility maps, location of air monitors, methods of communication, how to perform decon. These are issues that can be evaluated in advance. It’s the “you can pay me now or pay me later” theory. I suggest now!

In this presentation we will discuss:

         Using chemical cheat sheets

         Communication issues

         Spill kits

         Facility maps that work for responders

         Brainstorming time for other ideas