Emergency response plan components

Functional drill The purpose of a functional drill is to test an individual component of the emergency response plan. The drill could test the communication system, emergency operations center, evacuation, or the shelter-in-place plan. 12 months... 

The emergency response plan should be well thought out and reviewed constantly to ensure nothing has been left out or whether modifications to the plan are needed due to new chemicals or process units in the plant. Some of the more critical components (see Figure 18-2) are discussed in this section. 

Work will need to be done to identify the most efficient way to incorporate emergency response plan information into the emergency response and crisis management sections of an academic continuity plan. On the surface, it might appear to be most efficient to simply fold an emergency action plan into an academic continuity plan. This could be a viable option, but it will be important to ensure that the approach to creating the academic continuity plan will accommodate all of the components of the emergency action plan. This may be easily accomplished if an academic continuity plan addresses detailed issues, but it may not be effective if an academic continuity plan addresses only macrolevel issues. 

Earthquakes have caused disruption of the services provided by essential facilities such as hospitals, emergency communications centers, and fire stations. For the functions of these facilities to be available in the post-earthquake setting, the structure must perform safely and key nonstructural components must be protected. In addition to these engineering approaches, emergency response planning is necessary to identify off-site lifeline systems that could be disrupted by the earthquake, because a facility may need backup systems and supplies to contend with outages to the region s water, power, and transportation systems. 

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know (EPCRA). This 1986 act was a component of the (SARA), and it mandates that the use of hazardous materials in a manufacturing operation is preceded by the provision of information on the intent-to-use to regulatory authorities and the local community. This information is usually supplemented with a response plan addressing the actions that would be taken in the event of a spill or other release. 

In the United States, nurses constitute the largest sector of the health care workforce and will certainly be on the front lines of any emergency response. As part of the country s overall plan for disaster preparedness, all nurses must have a basic understanding of disaster science and the key components of disaster preparedness, including the following ... 

A search of NIOSH s website (www.cdc.gov/niosh) turns up 157 reports and references to PTSD. One report, from the U.S. Bureau of Mines, is titled, A human component to consider in your emergency management plans the critical incident stress factor. Other PTSD literature focuses on emergency response workers, the effects of disasters on workers, police, firefighters, miners and healthcare workers. 

Emergency health services (EHS) constitutes a critical element of the medical response to disasters and their planning is a key component of community disaster preparedness. This chapter reviews the characteristics of... 

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