 |
Operations Plus WMD is a training level in dealing with hazardous materials.
|
Operations Plus WMD is a training level in dealing with hazardous materials.
The term refers to public sector emergency response operational units or task forces with training to Level Two Operations plus Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Technically, WMD incidents fall out of OSHA's scope if there is a National Response yet their role is defined, with the exception that it includes means and methods to protect responders in the potential or actual case of a weapons of mass destruction (WMD)incident, if they have the training on what they are doing and do not place themselves in danger. This could be nuclear, biological or chemical even as far as an event of chemical warfare without adequate planning it could place the Operations Plus personnel in the danger zone it would be very undesirable if they could be seriously injured or fatal.
So the Operation [1] OSHA minimum Level 2 Operations standard could be applicable more so if not a National Incident, yet case specific. [2] Furthermore, in the bigger picture other federal agencies [3] are involved and OSHA follows those procedures so typically responders would have training at this Operations Plus WMD [4] from a viable training facility that has instructors trained through a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Grant and other education and experience or shall have needed critical training that would keep them from being in danger. In the bigger picture these responders obtain any resource necessary to respond save lives or mitigate a WMD incident safely. [5] Whatever the cause is examples of such resources can be found on government websites or private sector. In the private sector instructors who specialize in Operation's Plus WMD can assist in public or secret contracts. Scientists help develop Operations Plus WMD training and remediation programs for WMD that will play a critical role in training public sector environmental workers or Emergency Response Teams (ERT). [6]
This training is broken in segments for triage, chemical, crime scene, risk management, explosives, biological, and radiological and used widely by hospitals in major populated areas for training emergency response teams managers or instructors that go beyond the Operations levels in NIMMS National Incident Management Systems. In part because of facilities, situational and those who seek more knowledge. The future of WMD holds many uncertainties. Operations Plus WMD would be needed for current homeland security. It might be needed in current war's aftermath with other training such as Unexploded Ordnance Specialist (UXO) like remediation of depleted uranium or aftermath of future wars. Operations Plus WMD responders work with specialist in incident command, safety, response managers, and other officials who make decisions in an incident.
Much of the current information is based on a National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) standard 472:
1) NFPA 472 The formal name for NFPA 472 is the “Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents, 2008 Edition.” It represents the consensus standard for hazmat competency requirements and serves as the reference for minimum firefighter hazmat training.
2) Some changes with NFPA 472. Under the 2008 Edition of NFPA 472, key Operations Level Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction (HM/WMD) tasks have been more clearly defined and labeled as "Mission-Specific Competencies": The use of PPE; Air Monitoring and Sampling; Victim Rescue/Recovery; Product Control; Evidence Preservation/Sampling; Performing Mass Decontamination; Performing Technical Decontamination, and Response to Illicit Laboratory Incidents. 3) What are "Mission Specific Competencies"? This term refers to competencies where the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) can match the expected tasks and duties of its personnel with the competencies required to perform those tasks. These competencies should be performed under the guidance of a Hazardous Materials Technician (HMT), allied professional, or Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). A more detailed description of specific tasks can be found in NFPA 472, Chapter 6. [7]
However, the other basis of such information are also in FEMA publications Guidelines for Haz Mat / WMD Response, Planning and Prevention Training, [8] To the point the original efforts came about from efforts of The Resources Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), and passage of Superfund then amended in 11986 Superfund Amendments and reauthorization Act (SARA) Title I, Section 126(a)(b)(c), was enacted to require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop standards for safety and health. Thus emerged HAZWOPER as the US Government was faced with clean-up sites from a variety of sources its own (including nuclear waste) and private sector. Therefore Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) 29 CFR 1910.120 (1989) [9] The guidelines from NFPA [10] 472 as designed exceed the OSHA standard developed it to define the competencies for personnel responding to hazardous materials emergencies.
Within Guidelines for Haz Mat / WMD Response, Planning and Prevention Training it breaks down a two track approach to public sector training: 1) Required by OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120(q) describes minimum training requirements. 2) recommended training, objectives' that reflects the training organization described in NFPA 472 and 473 standards and other training recommendations that incorporated or developed by the national author team. [11]
Chicago Safety institute takes a comprehensive approach offering a program that includes Operations Plus WMD, radiation screening, air monitoring with a three tier approach that manager or workers can utilize to mitigate the situation and help be better enabled to protect their co-workers.
1) OSHA compliance 29 CFR 1910.120
2) Emergency Response utilizing available NFPA 472 and 473 or training customized with any necessary additions at an Operational Level for workers and managers to gain the needed skill sets.
3) That include a comprehensive Operations Plus for WMD, emergency response, and environmental clean-up training; for workers, manager, specialists or Site Safety Supervisors for contractors engaged in such aftermath of these emergencies with the potential for an emergency to reoccur and/or existing environmental clean-ups. Although time is not the entire criteria of training that is mostly performance based, it easily could take over 120 hours to bring a manager up to speed provided they had experience and education.
The average worker engaged in a WMD clean-up would still have to have 40 hours of training. Regularly engaged clean-up workers usually would include the practice using Level A or Level B protection Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) NFPA 1991 PPE and the employer work place assessment of hazards usually by an Environmental Health and Safety Specialist and their site specific training for safety based on those tasks and outcomes. However a WMD incident could require NFPA 1994 or CBRN approved gear. For example a site with radioactive material and Beryllium would have to have a detailed task analysis to prevent exposure, UXO could have a chemical warhead, or a Clandestine Laboratory or a warhead may have released after an explosion it could have potential for an emergency to reoccur such that a blister or nerve agent may be present.
Operation Plus WMD plays an important role in controlling the incident and forms the basis of what some Incident commanders might need to know and comprehensive guide for managers of former military clean-up site or others where WMD is found in an unwanted place.
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also animals from dangerous situations. Male firefighters are sometimes referred to as firemen.
"NFPA 704: Standard System for the Identification of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response" is a standard maintained by the U.S.-based National Fire Protection Association. First "tentatively adopted as a guide" in 1960, and revised several times since then, it defines the colloquial "Safety Square" or "Fire Diamond" which is used by emergency personnel to quickly and easily identify the risks posed by hazardous materials. This helps determine what, if any, special equipment should be used, procedures followed, or precautions taken during the initial stages of an emergency response. It is an internationally accepted safety standard, and is crucial while transporting chemicals.
A confined space is a space with limited entry and egress and not suitable for human inhabitants. An example is the interior of a storage tank, occasionally entered by maintenance workers but not intended for human occupancy. Hazards in a confined space often include harmful dust or gases, asphyxiation, submersion in liquids or free-flowing granular solids, electrocution, or entrapment.
Process safety managementsystem is a regulation promulgated by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). A process is any activity or combination of activities including any use, storage, manufacturing, handling or the on-site movement of highly hazardous chemicals (HHCs) as defined by OSHA and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Emergency management, also called emergency response or disaster management, is the organization and management of the resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies. The aim is to prevent and reduce the harmful effects of all hazards, including disasters.
Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials. An example for dangerous goods is hazardous waste which is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment.
Lock out, tag out (LOTO) is a safety procedure used to ensure that dangerous equipment is properly shut off and not able to be started up again prior to the completion of maintenance or repair work. It requires that hazardous energy sources be "isolated and rendered inoperative" before work is started on the equipment in question. The isolated power sources are then locked and a tag is placed on the lock identifying the worker and reason the LOTO is placed on it. The worker then holds the key for the lock, ensuring that only they can remove the lock and start the equipment. This prevents accidental startup of equipment while it is in a hazardous state or while a worker is in direct contact with it.
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response is a set of guidelines produced and maintained by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration which regulates hazardous waste operations and emergency services in the United States and its territories. With these guidelines, the U.S. government regulates hazardous wastes and dangerous goods from inception to disposal.
The Hazardous Materials Identification System (HMIS) is a numerical hazard rating that incorporates the use of labels with color developed by the American Coatings Association as a compliance aid for the OSHA Hazard Communication (HazCom) Standard.
Right to know is a human right enshrined in law in several countries. UNESCO defines it as the right for people to "participate in an informed way in decisions that affect them, while also holding governments and others accountable". It pursues universal access to information as essential foundation of inclusive knowledge societies. It is often defined in the context of the right for people to know about their potential exposure to environmental conditions or substances that may cause illness or injury, but it can also refer more generally to freedom of information or informed consent.
Essentials of Fire Fighting is a fire service training manual produced by Fire Protection Publications (FPP) and the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA). Fire Protection Publications is a department of Oklahoma State University College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology (CEAT) in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This manual is used by fire service training agencies and departments around the world to train personnel to become firefighters. The Essentials of Fire Fighting is the required training manual used in countless local fire departments and state/provincial training agencies in every region of the United States and Canada. Since the release of the first edition of this manual in 1978, more than 2.5 million copies of the Essentials of Fire Fighting have been distributed to the fire service.
An incident response team (IRT) or emergency response team (ERT) is a group of people who prepare for and respond to any emergency incident, such as a natural disaster or an interruption of business operations. Incident response teams are common in public service organizations as well as in other organizations, either military or specialty. This team is generally composed of specific members designated before an incident occurs, although under certain circumstances the team may be an ad hoc group of willing volunteers.
Effective safety training is an unofficial phrase used to describe the training materials designed to teach occupational safety and health standards developed by the United States government labor organization, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA has produced many standards and regulations that affect employers and employees in the United States. United States employers have a legal responsibility to educate employees on all workplace safety standards and the hazards that their employees may face while on the job, and providing effective safety training meets that responsibility.
The Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security (OKOHS) is an agency of State of Oklahoma that is responsible for reducing the State's vulnerability to acts of terrorism and for minimizing and recovering the damage caused by terrorist attacks. OKOHS is a division of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services is a California cabinet-level office responsible for overseeing and coordinating emergency preparedness, response, recovery and homeland security activities within the state. The agency was created by AB 38 (2008), superseding both the Office of Emergency Services (OES) and Office of Homeland Security (OHS).
Firefighting in the United States dates back to the earliest European colonies in the Americas. Early firefighters were simply community members who would respond to neighborhood fires with buckets. The first dedicated volunteer fire brigade was established in 1736 in Philadelphia. These volunteer companies were often paid by insurance companies in return for protecting their clients.
The Midwest Consortium for Hazardous Waste Worker Training provides training to workers who may be exposed to hazardous materials while performing jobs covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard, and to help employers comply with OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.120.
Elizabeth M. Harman is employed by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) in Washington, D.C. She was appointed by IAFF General President Harold A. Schaitberger as the assistant to the general president for grants administration and HazMat/WMD Training Division February 25, 2013.
Hurricane response is the disaster response after a hurricane. This response encompasses assessment and repairs to buildings and infrastructure, removal of debris, and providing public health services. Hurricane responders may be exposed to many hazards such as chemical and biological contaminants, and injuries from work activities.
A Special operations firefighter, also known as Fire Service Special Operations, is a specialist firefighter who has been specially trained to execute tasks other than standard firefighting operations. The National Fire Protection Association's Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments defines special operations as "Those emergency incidents to which the fire department responds that require specific and advanced training and specialized tools and equipment". The NFPA 1710 further defined special operations as "Special operations include water rescue, extrication, hazardous materials, confined space entry, highangle rescue, aircraft rescue and fire fighting, and other operations requiring specialized training".