Chemical Engineering December 2017 - 54

Environmental Manager
Disaster Preparedness at
Manufacturing Facilities
Development of robust preparation and response procedures can help chemical
plants to weather disaster events and return to normal operations in a safe and
efficient manner
Tom Cubler, Tim Thompson
and Rey Rosas
Braskem America
H
aving a well-defined and
understood approach to
disaster preparation
response will ensure that
companies and facilities are in a good
position to manage a disaster event
as it occurs, and drive recovery and
restart once the event concludes (Figure
1). Coordination of several wideranging
departments, including, for
example, operations, procurement,
emergency response, communications
and public affairs and business
planning, will allow for rapid deployment
of the necessary resources to
limit damage and manage business
interruption of affected facilities and
the supply chain. Planning, training,
communication, exercising the
prevention and response plan and
critique of activities are elements of
the overall preparedness plan that
should be reviewed and tested frequently
to evaluate the proficiency of
key participants. This article intends
to describe the importance and components
of disaster preparedness
processes, procedures and training
to ensure effective preparation for,
and response to, manmade or natural
disaster scenarios.
Disasters come in many forms
and may include natural disasters,
such as hurricanes, earthquakes,
tornadoes, flooding and wildfires,
and human-made disasters, such as
industrial accidents, transportation
events and chemical, biological and
radiological events. The type of disaster
event your organization should
plan for may depend on geographical
location, type of manufacturing
process (for example, chemical, radioactive
and so on) or proximity to
other industrial organizations.
54
and
FIGURE 1. Disasters - both natural and manmade
- can create uniquely dangerous conditions for
chemical plant personnel and surrounding communities,
but there are many measures that can
be taken to prepare for and diminish the potential
damage caused by such events
Whether you call it disaster preparedness,
emergency response
planning, crisis management or
something similar doesn't much matter,
but the elements do. Missing a
piece of the pie in this area can make
a huge difference in how an event
plays out. Each facility's overall crisis
or emergency response plan should
include the elements discussed in
the following sections, at a minimum.
Note that this is not an exhaustive
list, but a guide - individual companies
should assess specific elements
for applicability.
Risk assessment
Assessing risk is the first step in disaster
preparation and should not be
taken lightly. This is your company's
opportunity to evaluate the potential
for a disaster event and determine
what your exposure might be.
For example, if you have facilities in
the U.S. Gulf Coast, a primary natural
risk is threat of hurricanes (Figure
2). For those on the U.S. West
Coast, earthquakes and wildfires are
a primary concern. All manufacturing
facilities need to assess the risks
associated with their processes (for
instance, chemical release, fire or
explosion), and what offsite consequences
might occur.
Risk assessments should include
the following:
* Risk of exposure to natural disasters
(such as hurricanes, tornadoes
or earthquakes)
* Risk for internal process upset
events (fires, explosions, releases
and so on)
* Risks from business or supplychain
interruption
* Other risks as determined by site
operation or location
Once the risks are determined,
controls either already in place or
needed to prevent or minimize the
event should be listed. When the
controls are determined to be inadequate
or unavailable, a plan should
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