DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLANDisasters are major accidents which cause wide spread disruption of human and commercial activities. The word “disaster” refers to those emergency situations where the no. of casualties is very large like in natural calamities.

Normally, common accidents are absorbed by the community, but disasters are major accidents and community cannot absorb them with their own resources.

Most of the disasters, natural or man made have sudden onset and give very short notice or not item to prevent the occurrence.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN

Disasters may cause loss of human life, injuries and long term disablement of people working in the organization and local community around the industrial area.

Normally, loss of lives, total or partial disability have more impact on the community than damage to the properties.

Damage to the property has a long term social impact like loss of revenue, employment and rebuilding cost and lead to sever economic constraints.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN

In spite of a petroleum installation having sound design, engineering and management practices, the possibility of a major accident or disaster cannot be ruled out.

The threat of a major fire, explosion, toxic release or natural disasters involving employees, property, public and environment is always there.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN (Cont…..)

When an emergency situation develops, it is necessary that a concise and well-written emergency plan should be in place in every petroleum installation which can be put into action without loss of any time.

Most of the emergency situations can be controlled by careful evaluation of the anticipated possible events and evolving a plan to meet such situations and organize suitable drills or rehearsals for effective implementation at the time of emergency.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN (Cont…..)

A major emergency can develop due to failure of operating systems or due to natural disasters like cyclones, earthquakes, floods, lightning, etc.

In case of natural disasters, not much can be done to avoid their occurrences, but a good disaster/emergency plan can minimize the casualties and damages by well conceived evacuation, rehabilitation programmes.

DEFNITION OF EMERGENCY:

It is the major emergency (one death outside factory premises & ten injury inside a plant) which may be defined as one which has the potential to cause serious danger to persons and /or damage to property and which tends to cause disruption inside and /or outside the site and may require the use of outside resources.

EMERGENCY (Cont….):

Emergency is a general term implying hazardous situation both inside and outside the factory premises.

The emergencies are termed "on-site“, when it confines itself within the factory even though it may require external help and "off-site" when emergency extends beyond its premises.

It is to be understood here, that if an emergency occurs inside the plant and could not be controlled, it may lead to an off - site emergency.

ACTIVITIES THAT CAN REDUCE THE RISK OF ACCIDENTS:

• Good Design

• Good Operation

• Good Maintenance

• Good Inspection

Emergency Management Plan

An emergency plan also called On-site Emergency Plan or a Disaster Management Plan is a master plan containing the emergency response, responsibilities of key members, communication means and response strategies to control a range of major incidents.

This plan is drafted after a careful analysis and assessment of various risks associated with the installations.

Emergency Management Plan ( Cont…..)

The plan should also follow the provisions of Factories Act, 1948 and the guidelines from the Chief Inspector of Factories of the state.

The civic authorities of the area usually prepare disaster plans for emergency situations outside the premises.

The management of the installation should give full cooperation to the civic authorities in preparing Off-site Emergency Plan.

Objectives of Emergency Plan

The objectives of a major emergency management plan are:

To control emergency incidents.

To prevent loss of life and minimize the risk of injuries to employees and neighboring population.

To minimize damage to company installation and public property.

Objectives of Emergency Plan (Cont….)

To minimize impact on environment.

To provide maximum possible safety to the emergency response personnel.

To inform employees, public, and authorities about the risks assessed, safeguards provided and role of the organization.

To work jointly with the off-site plan of the local authorities.

To seek help from the company's corporate office, sister companies and outside agencies.

Emergency/Disaster Scenarios

Every petroleum installation should identify the possible major emergency situations for which a disaster plan has to be made like:

Fire ExplosionToxic Release Drowning Oil Spill on Water FloodOil spill on Land Product / Transport EmergencyCyclone Earthquake

Categorization of Emergencies

As a general practice, emergency situations are categorized into three levels depending upon their magnitude and consequences like :

Level-1

The emergency situation arising in any section of one particular plant/area which is minor in nature and can be controlled within the affected section itself with the help of in-house shift staff. Such an emergency does not have the potential to cause serious injuries or damage to property, environment or to other sections of the installation.

Categorization of Emergencies ( Cont…)

Level-2

The emergency situation arising in one or more plants/areas which has the potential to cause serious injuries, property loss and/or environmental damage in the installation.

Such an emergency situation always warrants to mobilize all the resources available in-house and /or outside to mitigate the emergency.

The impact of this level of emergency is however, within the installation.

Categorization of Emergencies ( Cont…)

Level-3

If level-2 emergency consequences spread and affect the nearby community outside the premises, it is termed as level-3 emergency.

Elements of a Major Emergency Management Plan:

Emergency Organization with responsibilities of key members.

Key Members and their contact numbers.

Emergency Control centre.

Emergency Communication

Emergency Response

Evacuation / Rescue

Emergency Resources

Emergency Organization and Responsibilities of Key Members

Management of a major emergency in an installation requires a well-coordinated team with a senior member of the installation acting as head of the emergency team.

He is called the Chief Emergency Commander.

An organizational structure of the emergency management team showing the reporting of various key members should be made.

Emergency Organization and Responsibilities of Key Members ( Cont….)

The responsibilities of each key member should be clearly written and made known to the member.

The members should be made familiar with their roles by regular drills/rehearsal.

Key Members and Their Contact Numbers

A key member for coordinating the following functions of an emergency should be identified:

i. Operations

ii. Security

iii. Medical

iv. Rescue/Evacuation

v. Human Resources

vi. Emergency Maintenance and Repairs

vii. Emergency Materials

viii. Technical and Engineering Services

ix. Transportation

x. Public Relations

A list showing the contact telephone numbers of all the key members should be made which should be regularly updated to incorporate any changes. This list should be available to each member to be kept handy in his wallet.

Emergency Control Centre

An emergency control centre in a safe place in the installation should be identified.

This centre should be equipped with necessary communication equipment like telephones, walkie-talkies, mobile phones, etc., and also with the essential documents of the installation.

The chief emergency commander and most of the emergency team members will operate from this centre.

Emergency Communication

A reliable system of informing the various people in the installation should be in place.

This can be a siren or an alarm system, which is audible in the whole installation.

VHS radio can be used to communicate the emergency situation to civic authorities and other outside agencies, which need to be informed of the emergency.

Emergency Response

The emergency plan should include the strategic actions to be taken by various emergency groups under the coordination of the respective key members. Emergency response system should include:(1) How the emergency groups should approach an emergency area(2)Wind Direction(3)Which route should be followed(4)The various emergency actions(5) Personal Protective Equipment to be used etc.

Rescue / Evacuation

This should include:

The means of safe evacuation and rescue of personnel likely to be affected or those who have already become the victims of the emergency.

Alternate locations for housing the evacuees should be identified.

A safe assembly point should be identified for each plant/area in the installation where people not required during the emergency will assemble from where they can be easily taken out to alternate locations.

Emergency Resources

This plan should include lists of important consultants / agencies from whom additional help could be obtained in case of emergency situations.

Lists of important suppliers and vendors of medicines, safety equipments, fire fighting equipments, pollution control equipments etc. should be included.

All these informations should be compiled in the annexure to the Emergency Plan.

End of Emergency

The plan should identify the arrangements for declaring the end of emergency. There should be a proper siren / alarm to given under the direction of the Chief Emergency commander to declare the end of the emergency.

Mock Drills

The emergency plan should be rehearsed regularly by conducting Regular mock drills to keep the emergency team members refreshed with their roles during an emergency. should be conducted to check the response of the mutual-aid members.

Based on the shortcomings observed during mock drills, the emergency plan should be updated.

Mock Drill should be conducted at least once every year.

Mutual Aid:

Some times the internal resources of an organization may not be adequate to handle a major emergency situation. In such situations, external help can be sought from the neighboring units and government agencies.

A written agreement should be made with the neighboring organizations in the area to help each other with additional resources in case of any emergency situation arising in their installations.

The contact numbers for all these organizations should be available with each organization.

Emergency Inventories: It is necessary for every petroleum installation to maintain a minimum inventory of various emergency consumables and equipment for fire fighting, medical, pollution control and safety.

A list of these inventories should be a part of the emergency plan.

Regular physical check of stock levels of these inventories should be done against this list and immediate action should be taken to replenish them if required.

Conclusion:

In spite of all the precautions and safe procedures followed, the chance of an emergency arising in a petroleum operation can not be ruled out.

Therefore a good written emergency / disaster management plan should be in place.