Custom «HAZMAT Accident » Essay Paper Sample

Introduction

As the newly elected sheriff in my county, I have received information that several truckloads of hazardous material will come through a significant thoroughfare after mid next week. The county manager has requested me to attend a meeting with the tracking officials to discuss my HAZMAT response capabilities, in case an accident occurs. However, the deputy sheriff has informed me that our department has no plan for HAZMAT response. This paper looks at a plan that will provide recommendations on the potential impact incase a HAZMAT accident happens.

Discussion

Several governmental agencies need to participate in developing this plan. These agencies include HAZMAT security, the fire brigade, the local broadcast media, public works, local weather service, U.S. department of transportation and occupational safety, government county hospital and health administration.  The  above mentioned government agencies need to participate in formulating a plan for HAZMAT response because, in case of an accident, all those agencies will participate in the response program, in one way or another. The process of HAZMAT response requires adequate plan and an interdisciplinary approach that has an adequate arrangement. It requires  effective teamwork. Therefore, these agencies need to participate in the plan so that they can know the areas and responsibilities they will handle, in case the accident happens. They also need to participate in developing the plan so that the plan incorporates different ideologies and expertise regarding HAZMAT accident response (DeLisi, 2006).

The specific areas that will need attention in case of a HAZMAT accident include first aid, fire outbreak, and property safeguarding, safety and traffic management. The agencies will handle all issues that come with HAZMAT accidents. HAZMAT security will handle general duties that may arise out of the accident. It will advise people on what to do in case the accident happens, together with offering basic first aid. The fire brigade will handle possible fire outbreaks and offer first aid to people injured by the accident. The department of transportation and occupational safety and health administration will handle cases of securing property, offering first aid services and managing road traffic. The county hospital will take in patients that will have injuries from the accident and require urgent medical attention ( Peterson, 2003).

The plan should encompass certain agreements. These agreements entail forming a local planning team, developing appropriate committees that the plan may require and evaluation of the available resources that should develop and implement the HAZMAT plan. We should also agree on establishing procedures required for receiving and processing requests from the public.  The process also requires personal training that will make the plan effective. First, one must possess training of all forms of hazardous materials. One must understand all forms of hazardous materials and the danger they pose to the public in case of an accident. This has importance because it will help during the planning process (DeLisi, 2006).

Secondly, one must possess training in hazardous material identification and response. The individual must understand how to identify a hazardous material. This will help in forming appropriate hazardous response programs. The individual must know the requirements needed in case of a call for a HAZMAT response. One should understand what the whole process entails and how the response program goes on, in relation to all the stakeholders required to participate.  Training on site management and control has significance. Securing the physical layout of the accident has importance because it forms the core of all response procedures. Therefore, individuals must know how they should manage and control the site of the accident, in case it occurs. Lastly, one should understand the assessment and risk evaluation of hazards. This entails collecting and prioritizing hazard data and informational from the sources available. This will help the response team to deal with the most urgent problem that may arise in case of an accident and in so doing they will reduce the impact of the accident (Shafer, 2006).

Other action plans that need development include determining the nature of the accident, ensuring safety of all personnel from all hazards, instigating tactical objectives to accomplish rescue programs, medical and public protection needs and ensuring the integrity of potential evidence. If a hazardous accident should happen, my response will start by identifying personnel and resource requirements to start the rescue mission. These will include the number of rescuers, rescuer safety, and command and safety approval to start the operations, the time to rescue uncontaminated and contaminated victims. This will also include secondary public, protective actions. The injured casualties will receive first aid and be taken to hospital for further treatment ( Peterson, 2003).

After that, we will carry out decontamination and clean up or recovery operations. When we arrive on the scene, our focus will involve reducing the level of contamination on the scene and minimize the potential of secondary contamination beyond the scene of the accident. We will ensure that we carry out an effective transition to clean up and carry out recovery operations. This involves identifying the contaminants, nature of response required and the level of decontamination operations required on the scene. We will also identify life-threatening situations and implement procedures to minimize further damage. We will also ensure the coordination of environmental authorities and actions to ensure appropriate clean up, after which, we terminate the incident (Pohanish, 2004).

Conclusion

The HAZMAT plan requires keen and appropriate deliberation that will enable the departments responsibly carry out effective response actions. Therefore, several teams should participate in coming up with a plan that will help in case a HAZMAT accident occurs. Each step in the planning process has a lot of significance.