National Response Plan (NRP)

When a disaster strikes, FEMA activates the worker safety and health provisions (annex document) of the National Response Plan (NRP). The annex describes actions needed to ensure that threats to safety and health are recognized, evaluated, and controlled consistently so that responders are properly protected during incident management operations. The activation of the Worker Safety and Health Annex gives the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) the responsibility to coordinate a comprehensive response involving federal, state, and local agencies and private-sector organizations to ensure the safety and health needs of responders are met. There is confusion, however, as to whether OSHA is acting as an advisory “coordinator” or as an enforcement agency. OSHA personnel at the WTC and the Gulf region reported they were not clear what role they must perform (and the language in the National Response Plan is not explicit). Thus, the need for a clear and comprehensive mandatory program.

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MANAGING MULTIPLE OIL SPILLS FROM A NATURAL DISASTER: THE KATRINA OIL SPILL RESPONSES

International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings ◽

10.7901/2169-3358-2008-1-1219 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 2008 (1) ◽

pp. 1219-1223 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ronald Cantin ◽

Roger Laferriere ◽

Larry Hewett ◽

Charlie Henry

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Hurricane Katrina ◽

Natural Disaster ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Oil Spills ◽

The United States ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Response Options ◽

National Response ◽

Response Plan

ABSTRACT Every nation faces the possibility of a major natural disaster and few plans are in place to deal with the massive consequences that follow. When Hurricane Katrina reached landfall, the human toll and extent of damage made it the worst natural disaster in American history. The news headlines were filled with the images of desperation and the efforts of the thousands of heroes across the spectrum of government who worked tirelessly to help the citizens of the Gulf Coast of the United States recover. Less visible to the American public was the vast environmental impact caused by millions of gallons of oil released by hundreds of individual oil spills. The total oil volume lost to the environment is estimated at over 8.2 million gallons, making it the second largest oil spill in United States history. Moreover, this spill was the first major environmental disaster managed under the newly published National Response Plan, a plan developed following the tragic events of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This paper will describe how response managers overcame the incredible challenges of managing multiple oil spills in an enormous area devoid of the support infrastructure, human resources and the logistics network normally present in major spills within the United States. The authors will offer a first hand account of the strategies employed by the response management system assembled to combat the spills. They will describe key lessons learned in overcoming competition for critical resources; the importance of combining scientific, legal and other support in determining response options such as burning and debris removal; and the methodology employed in creating a Unified Area Command that included multiple responsible parties. Finally, this paper will provide insights to processes within the Joint Field Office, an element of the National Response Plan, and how well it performed in supporting response efforts.

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THE OSRO CLASSIFICATION PROGRAM: WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT IS NOT

International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings ◽

10.7901/2169-3358-1997-1-453 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 1997 (1) ◽

pp. 453-457 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

CDR Robert A. Van Zandt

Keyword(s):

Oil Spill ◽

Oil Spills ◽

Oil Pollution ◽

Response Planning ◽

National Response ◽

Resource Inventory ◽

Computer Based ◽

Response Plan

ABSTRACT The Coast Guard's oil spill removal organization (OSRO) classification process underwent significant revision in late 1995. The revision was necessary to strengthen the program into a more credible and useful tool for facilitating preparation and review of vessel and facility response plans. The revised process is more closely linked to the response planning criteria that vessel and facility owners and operators are required to meet under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. As a result, the process provides a better indication of an OSRO's capacity and potential to respond to and recover oil spills of various sizes. Data provided by each OSRO are being included in the computer-based national Response Resource Inventory (RRI). The paper describes the important features and limitations of the revised classification process and gives an interpretation of what the new classifications mean to response plan holders and reviewers. It also describes the method by which plan holders can use the computer-based RRI as a tool to conduct their own analysis of an OSRO's capacity to meet their specific planning requirements.

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Risk Assessment and Virological Monitoring Following an Accidental Exposure to Concentrated Sabin Poliovirus Type 3 in France, November 2018

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines8020331 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 331

Author(s):

Marion Jeannoël ◽

Denise Antona ◽

Clément Lazarus ◽

Bruno Lina ◽

Isabelle Schuffenecker

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Accidental Exposure ◽

Exposed Worker ◽

Poliovirus Type ◽

Viral Culture ◽

Short Period ◽

National Response ◽

Response Plan ◽

Virological Monitoring ◽

Type 3

The safe and secure containment of infectious poliovirus (PV) in facilities where live PV are handled is the condition to achieve and maintain poliomyelitis eradication. Despite precautions to minimize the risk of release of PV from such facilities to the environment, breaches of containment have already been documented. Here, we report the management of an incident that occurred on 30 November 2018 in a French vaccine manufacturing plant. Five adequately vaccinated operators were exposed to a Sabin poliovirus type 3 (PV3) spill. A microbiological risk assessment was conducted and the operators were monitored for PV shedding. On day 5 after exposure, Sabin PV3 was detected only in the stool sample of the most exposed worker. Shedding of Sabin PV3 (as detected by viral culture) was restricted to a very short period (less than 15 days). Monitoring of this incident was an opportunity to assess the relevance of our national response plan. We concluded that the measures undertaken and reported here were appropriate and proportional.

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Homeland Security and Public Health: Role of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the US Department of Homeland Security, and Implications for the Public Health Community

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine ◽

10.1017/s1049023x0000128x ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 327-333 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Kristi L. Koenig

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Emergency Management ◽

Homeland Security ◽

Department Of Veterans Affairs ◽

Department Of Homeland Security ◽

The Public ◽

National Response ◽

Response Plan ◽

National Disaster ◽

Primary Mission

AbstractThe terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 led to the largest US Government transformation since the formation of the Department of Defense following World War II. More than 22 different agencies, in whole or in part, and >170,000 employees were reorganized to form a new Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with the primary mission to protect the American homeland. Legislation enacted in November 2002 transferred the entire Federal Emergency Management Agency and several Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) assets to DHS, including the Office of Emergency Response, and oversight for the National Disaster Medical System, Strategic National Stockpile, and Metropolitan Medical Response System. This created a potential separation of “health” and “medical” assets between the DHS and HHS. A subsequent presidential directive mandated the development of a National Incident Management System and an all-hazard National Response Plan.While no Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) assets were targeted for transfer, the VA remains the largest integrated healthcare system in the nation with important support roles in homeland security that complement its primary mission to provide care to veterans. The Emergency Management Strategic Healthcare Group (EMSHG) within the VA's medical component, the Veteran Health Administration (VHA), is the executive agent for the VA's Fourth Mission, emergency management. In addition to providing comprehensive emergency management services to the VA, the EMSHG coordinates medical back-up to the Department of Defense, and assists the public via the National Disaster Medical System and the National Response Plan.This article describes the VA's role in homeland security and disasters, and provides an overview of the ongoing organizational and operational changes introduced by the formation of the new DHS. Challenges and opportunities for public health are highlighted.

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