Theme -15

Industrial Disaster Response

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November 2010 5.03-0016-2010

For further information Contact:

Disaster Management Institute

Paryavaran Parisar,
E-5, Arera Colony, PB No. 563,
Bhopal-462 016 MP (India),
Fon +91-755-2466715, 2461538, 2461348,
Fax +91-755-2466653
dmi@dmibhopal.nic.in DMI
www.dmibhopal.nic.in Bhopal
Imprint
Chief Editor
Praveen Garg, IAS,
Executive Director, DMI, Bhopal, India
Editors
Dr. Rakesh Dubey, Director, DMI, Bhopal, India
Florian Bemmerlein-Lux, Sr. Advisor, InWEnt, Germany
Support
Sudheer Dwivedi, Dy. Director, DMI, Bhopal, India
Dr. Asit Patra, Asstt. Director, DMI, Bhopal, India
Neeraj Pandey, Content Manager, InWEnt India
Amit Kumar Dadhich, Content Manager, InWEnt India
Huda Khan, Content Manager, InWEnt India
MoEF
The Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) is the nodal agency in the administrative
structure of the Central Government for the planning, promotion, coordination and
overseeing the implementation of India’s environmental and forestry policies and
programmes.
The Ministry also serves as the nodal agency in the country for the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme
(SACEP), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and for
the follow-up of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED). The Ministry is also entrusted with issues relating to multilateral bodies such
as the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), Global Environment Facility
(GEF) and of regional bodies like Economic and Social Council for Asia and Pacific
(ESCAP) and South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) on matters
pertaining to the environment.
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worldwide operations dedicated to human resource development, advanced training,
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for industrial Disaster Risk Management (iDRM) We are commissioned by the German federal government to assist with the
implementation of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. in
Edition 1, 2010 addition, we provide the German business sector with support for public private
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Capacity Building International, Detailed Information can be explored using our WEB sites:
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Phone +49 30 25487-116 Cooperation and Development (BMZ) supports several environment related projects
steffi.mallinger@inwent.org in India through GTZ. ASEM focuses on seven major thrust areas -Sustainable
Industrial Development, Sustainable Urban Development, Sustainable Consumption
and Consumer Protection, Sustainable Environmental Governance and the cross
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www.hrdp-iDRM.in

GTZ ASEM Disaster Management Institute

Advisory Service in Environmental Management (DMI) Bhopal
A-33, Gulmohar Park, The Disaster Management Institute (DMI) was set up in 1987 by the Government of
Madhya Pradesh (GoMP) as an autonomous organization in the aftermath of the
New Delhi 110049 industrial disaster in Bhopal.
Fon +91-11-26528840 Since inception, DMI has built vast experience in preparation of both On-site and
Fax +91-11-26537673 Off-site Emergency Management Plans, Safety Audit, Risk Analysis and Risk
www.asemindia.com Assessment, Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP), etc.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) constituted under the
Disclaimer chairmanship of the Prime Minister selected DMI as a member of the Core Group
Though all care has been taken while researching and compiling the for preparation of the National Disaster Management Guidelines- Chemical Disaster.
contents provided in this booklet. DMI-InWEnt-gtz-ASEM accept no It is a matter of pride that NDMA has selected DMI for conducting Mock Exercises on
liability for its correctness. chemical (industrial) Disaster Management at key industrial locations in the country.
The reader is advised to confirm specifications and health hazards The Ministry of Environment and Forests, InWEnt and gtz-ASEM Germany have
described in the booklet before taking any steps, suitability of action recognized DMI as a Nodal Training Institutes for capacity building in industrial Disaster
requires verifications through other sources also. Risk Management.
Information provided here does not constitute an endorsement or
recommendation. www.HRDP-iDRM.in
Contents 1. Why emergency response ?

1. Why emergency response ? -2

Since response mechanism in brief at one place is not available especially for the
2. Emergency Levels -3 event of chemical (industrial) disaster, hence this module provides an insight view to
administration for quick response. This module is amalgam of provisions made by
3. Causes of the emergencies -4 the Ministry of Environment and Forests under Environment (Protection) Act 1986
4. Characteristics of the released hazardous chemicals -6 and the initiatives taken by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

5. Incident Response System (IRS) -7

The module provides brief structure for implementing the district level response action
5.1. NDMA inititatives -7 and operational coordination for all types of industrial (chemical) accidents. Response
6. The Incident Response Teams (IRTs) at State and District Levels - 12 mechanism defines basic roles, responsibilities and operational concepts for response
across all levels of Government, NGOs and the private sector. The overarching objective
6.1. MOEF initiatives - 13 of response activities centres upon saving lives and protecting property and the
- 16 environment.
7. Consequences of chemical releases
7.1 Typical impacts on health - 17 Presently the status of response mechanism is as:
7.2 Typical demands on health services - 18
a. Lack of accountability because of ad-hoc and emergent nature of arrangements
7.3 What the assessment IC should focus on - 18 and no prior training for effective performance;
7.4 Interventions/Response likely to be needed: Specific health/medical b. Lack of an orderly and systematic planning process;
interventions - 19 c. Unclear chain of command and supervision of response activity;
d. Lack of proper communication, inefficient use of available resources, use of
7.5 Other critical public health interventions - 19 conflicting codes and terminology and no prior communication plan;
8. What to do in response to a warning - 19 e. Lack of predetermined method / system to effectively integrate inter-agency
requirements into the disaster management structures and planning process;
9. What IC needs to do when a disaster strikes - 20
9.1 Sequence of actions - 20 Different disasters require different types of expertise for response. Thus, in case of
rescue and relief in natural disaster, it will generally be the local Police and the NDRF /
9.2 Preliminaries to be done 'immediately' in all cases - 20
SDRF, in case of Fire it will be the Fire department, in case of drought it will be the
9.3 Points to remember - 22 Agriculture department, in case of Epidemics and other Biological disasters it will be
- 23 the Health department, while in case of chemical/industrial disaster along with Police,
9.4 Emergency, health and rehabilitation services
Health and Fire departments will have to play the lead role and the remaining
9.5 Population Displacements - 23 departments will have to play the supporting role as per requirement and their core
9.6 Managing stress - 24 competencies. The Chief Coordinator at the district level is District Collector with the
support from various departments.
9.7 Personal emergency kits - 24
10. Conclusion - 25 f. Lack of coordination between the first responders and individuals, professionals
and NGOs with specialised skills during the response phase; and
11. Glossary - 29 g. Lack of use of common terminology for different resources resulting in improper
requisitioning and inappropriate resource mobilisation etc.
12. References - 30
In view of the paradigm shift towards improved pre-disaster preparedness, there is an

1 2
 urgent need for a proper and a well prepared response
system which would have:-
a. Well thought out pre-designated roles for each
member of the response team;
b. Systematic and complete planning process;
c. System of accountability for the IRT (Incident
response team) members;
d. Clear cut chain of command;
e. Effective resource management;
f. Proper and coordinated communication set up;
g. System for effectively integrating independent
agencies into the planning and command
structure without infringing on the independence
Fig-1 of the concerned agencies; and
h. Integration of community resources in the
response effort.
Response doctrine with the four pillars knowledge, experience, skills and attitude can
be made effective (Fig-1).
The following five key principles of operations define response mechanism:
1. Engaged partnership
2. Tiered response
3. Scalable, flexible, and adaptable operational capabilities
4. Unity of effort through unified command
5. Readiness to act
The Disaster Management Act 2005 is umbrella act and describes the instruments and
mechanism for all types of the disasters. For chemical (industrial) emergency, provisions
have been made through Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals
(MS and IHC) Rules 1989 and Chemical Accidents (Emergency planning, preparedness
and response) (CAEPPR) Rules 1996 under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 and
line ministry is Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), GOI. The module describes
the initiatives of NDMA and the MOEF so that in real crisis the response mechanism
should be effective through amalgamation.
2. Emergency Levels
Response mechanism differs with the severity level of emergency. Emergency incidents
are classified according to their severity and potential impacts, so that appropriate
emergency response operations can be implemented.
3 4
Emergencies can be categorised into three broad levels on the basis of seriousness and
response requirements, namely:-
(a) Level One : This is an emergency or an incident
which-
(i) can be effectively and sefely
managed, and contained within
the site, location or installation by
the available resources;
(ii) has no, impact outside the site,
location or installation.
(b) Level two : This is an emergency or an incident which-
(i) cannot be effectively and safely managed or contained at the
location or installation by available resources and additional
support is alerted or required;
(ii) is having or has the potential to have an effect beyond the site,
location or installation and where external support of mutual aid
partners may be involved;
(iii) is likely to be danger to life, environment or to industrial assets or
reputation.
(c) Level Three : This is an emergency or an incident with off-site impact which could
be catastrophic and is likely to affect the population, property and environment inside
and outside the installation, and management and control is done by district
administration. Although the Level-III emergency falls under the perview of District
Authority but till they step in, it should be responsibility of the unit to manage the
emergency.
Level I and Level II emergency are generally considered as on-site emergency while
Level III is off-site emergency.
3. Causes of the emergencies
Industrial emergency occurs due to release of chemicals from an industry. Chemicals
are stored in bulk at various storage conditions like at high pressure and or high
temperature or at cryogenic conditions. Chemicals are either stored in gaseous phase
or liquid or in both phases. When these chemicals released out into the atmosphere,
then based on their nature these chemicals either will ignite and may explode or if it is
toxic then will spread in a plume in the local area.
The behaviour of the chemicals is shown in Fig-2.
 Start
Data input
chemical properties
meteorological conditions
operating conditions
Initial event
4. Characteristics of the released hazardous chemicals
For proper and effective response mechanisms it is essential to know the characteristics
of the released hazardous chemicals. The characteristics of the chemicals can be
determined either knowing toxicity or inflammability. The following paragraphs help in
understanding the nature of chemicals (MS and IHC rules 1989).

(a) Toxic Chemicals: Chemicals having the following values of acute toxicity and
Outflow which owing to their physical and chemical properties, are capable of producing
major accident hazards:

Inhalation
Oral toxicity Dermal toxicity
Liquid release S.No. Toxicity toxicity
Gas release Two Phase release LD50(mg/kg) LD50(mg/kg)
LC50(mg/l)
1. Extremely toxic <5 <40 <0.5
Explosion 2. Highly toxic >5-50 >40-200 >0.5-2.0
Fire Toxic release
3. Toxic >50-200 >200-1000 >2-10

Final event Final event Final event (b) Flammable Chemicals :

(i) flammable gases: Gases which at 20oC and at standard pressure of 101.3KPa
are :-
Jet fire VCE Heavy (a) ignitable when in a mixture of 13 percent or less by volume with air, or ;
(b) have a flammable range with air of at least 12 percentage points
Flash fire BLEVE Light regardless of the lower flammable limits.
Pool fire Missiles
The flammability shall be determined by tests or by
Fireball
calculation in accordance with methods adopted by
International Standards Organisation ISO Number
10156 of 1990 or by Bureau of Indian Standard BIS
Number 1446 of 1985.
Final event
analysis (ii) extremely flammable liquids : chemicals which
have flash point lower than or equal to 23oC and
boiling point less than 35oC.
Mapping visualisation
(iii) very highly flammable liquids : chemicals which have a flash point lower
than or equal to 23oC and initial boiling point higher than 35oC.
Stop
(iv) highly flammable liquids : chemicals which have a flash point lower than
Fig-2 or equal to 60oC but higher than 23oC.

5 6
 (vi) flammable liquids : chemicals which have a flash point higher than 60oC RESPONSIBLE OFFICER
but lower than 90oC.
Nodal Officer
(C) Explosives : explosives mean a solid or liquid or pyrotechnic substance (or a (Air operations)
INCIDENT COMMANDER Deputy
mixture of substances) or an article:-

(a) which is in itself capable by chemical reaction of producing gas at such a Information & Media Officer COMMAND
temperature and pressure and at such a speed as to cause damage to the STAFF
Liaison Officer
surroundings ; Safety Officer

(b) which is designed to produce an effect by heat, light, sound, gas or smoke
or a combination of these as the result of non-detonative self sustaining
exothermic chemical reaction. GENERAL
Operations Section Planing Section Logistics Section
Pollution Control Board and Chief Inspectorate of Factories or Controller of Explosives STAFF
will confirm the properties of the released chemicals based on the above properties.
Fig-3

5. Incident Response System (IRS)
To respond the emergency management NDMA has developed guidelines on Incident
Response System (IRS) and guidelines on chemical (industrial) disaster management.
MOEF, has notified the CA (EPPR) Rules 1996. Module will deal in brief one by one:
5.1.1 Command Staff: The Command Staff consists of Incident Commander (IC),
Information & Media Officer (IMO), Safety Officer (SO) and Liaison Officer (LO). They
report directly to the IC and may have assistants. The Command Staff may or may not
have supporting organisations under them. The main function of the Command Staff is
to assist the IC in the discharge of his/her functions and it has been discussed in brief
as:-

5.1 NDMA initiatives a. The Incident Commander (IC) will

i. obtain information on situation status like number of people and the area
The Incident Response System (IRS), developed by NDMA in 2010, is an effective affected etc.; availability and procurement of resources; requirement of facilities,
mechanism for reducing the scope for ad-hoc measures in response. It incorporates all Staging Area, Incident Base, Camp, Relief Camp, etc.; availability and requirement
the tasks that may be performed during Disaster Management irrespective of their level of Communication system; future weather behavior from IMD; and any other
of complexity. Organisation functions through Incident Response Teams (IRTs) in the information required for response from all available sources and analyse the
field, inline with their administrative structure and DM Act 2005. Responsible Officers situation.
(ROs) have been designated at the State and District level as overall in charge of the ii. establish immediate priorities, including
incident response management. The RO may however delegate responsibilities to the search and rescue and relief distribution
Incident Commander (IC), who in turn will manage the incident through IRTs. The IRTs strategies;
will be pre-designated at all levels; State, District, Sub-Division and Tehsil/Block. On iii. assess requirements for maintenance of
receipt of early warning, the RO will activate them. In case a disaster occurs without law and order, traffic etc.; if any at the
any warning, the local IRT will respond and contact RO for further support, if required. incident site, and make arrangements
A Nodal Officer (NO) has to be designated for proper coordination between the District, with help of the local police;
State and National level in activating effective response. iv. brief higher authorities about the
situation;
Apart from the RO and Nodal Officer (NO), the IRS has two main components; v. ensure that adequate safety measures for responders and affected communities
a) Command Staff and are in place;
b) General Staff. The structure is shown in Fig-3. vi. ensure proper coordination between all sections of the IRTs.

7 8
b. Information and Media Officer (IMO)
The news media are important partners in an emergency. The media and individual
journalists can provide vital information; they may have been in areas not visited by
anyone from government side and have talked with people of the affected area. IMO
should encourage them to keep informed of what they see. Respond when possible.
At all times foster goodwill and cooperation with the news media. Give them
constant updates, informal interviews etc. They will respond with informed reporting.
Encourage them to share your vision for long-term effective assistance. When
dealing with media the following points need to be remembered:
Preparing for an interview
Anticipate the questions they will ask and think of the message you want to convey.
Work out exactly what you are going to say. Stick to it.
Never assume the media understands the terminology you are employing. Remember
that their audience is the average man in the street.
The more understandable you are, the more time
they will give you. In case of fire, for example in
place of saying that the zone of 37.5 kW/m2 of heat
radiation is Y meters will carry no message to public,
one should say that upto Y meters the damage will
be maximum and mortality will be highest due third
degree of burn. Simplify and summarise the basic
points, repeat them with emphasis during the
interview.
Take command of the interview. If you have something important to say, say it. Do
not be side-tracked into answering other questions which you feel are not relevant.
Prepare handouts, emphasising the main points of your statements.
Points to remember
-Stick to facts, and put them in context.
-There is no such thing as 'off-the-record'.
-Be careful what you say in the presence of journalists, even after a formal interview
is finished and at social gatherings.
-Do not mention weaknesses.
Hints on issuing a press release
Your key point should be in the first paragraph.
The text needs to be brief (maximum one A4 page).
The title and the opening line are the most important part: they need to grab
attention and encourage people to read on.
Avoid referencing academic work or text, refer to people or researchers.
Use a language that is appropriate for the audience.
9 10
If you are working with a particular newspaper or radio/television station, you may
need to do some research about their editorial style.
Translate materials into local languages. Have regular resource persons/ journalists
available to do this.
c. Roles and Responsibilities of Liaison Officer (LO)
The LO is the focal point of contact for various line departments, SDRF, NDRF,
representatives of NGOs, etc. participating in the response. The LO is the point of
contact to assist the first responders, cooperating agencies and line departments. LO
may be designated depending on the number of agencies involved and the spread of
affected area.
d. Roles and Responsibilities of Safety Officer (SO)
The SO's function is to develop and recommend measures for ensuring safety of
personnel, and to assess and/or anticipate hazardous and unsafe situations. The SO
is authorised to stop or prevent unsafe acts. SO may also give general advice on
safety of affected communities. He/She should ensure the lacunae in compliance of
existing safety regulations at the incident site.
5.1.2 General Staff: The General Staff has three components which are as follows:-
a. Operations Section (OS): The OS is responsible for directing the required tactical
actions to meet incident objectives. Management of disaster may not immediately
require activation of Branch, Division and Group. Expansion of the OS depends on
the enormity of the situation and number of different types and kinds of functional
Groups required in the response management. This section is responsible for
operational movement of food, water, vehicles and other materials and equipments
at those places where there is need. The Staging Area (SA) will be established at a
suitable area near the affected site for immediate, effective and quick deployment of
resources.
b. Planning Section (PS): The PS is responsible for collection, evaluation and display
of incident information, maintaining and tracking resources, preparing the Incident
Action Plan (IAP) and other necessary incident related documentation. They will
assess the requirement of additional resources, propose from where it can be
mobilised and keep IC informed. This section also prepares the demobilisation plan.
c. Logistics Section (LS): The LS is responsible for providing facilities, services,
materials, equipments and other resources in support of the incident response. The
Section Chief participates in development and implementation of the IAP, activates
and supervises Branches and Units of his/her section. In order to ensure prompt and
smooth procurement and supply of resources as per financial rules, the Finance
Branch has been included in the LS. 6. The Incident Response Teams (IRTs) at State and District
The Fig-4 shows the framework of General Staff.
Levels

The IRT is a team comprising of all positions of IRS organisation as shown in Fig-4

General
headed by Incident Commander (IC). The Operation Section (OS) helps to prepare

Staff
different tactical operations as required. The PS helps in obtaining different information
and preparing plans as required. The Logistic Section (LS) assesses the availability and
requirement of resources and takes action for obtaining them. IRTs will function at

Compensation/

Procurement
Claim Unit
Time Unit

Cost Unit
State, District, Sub-Division and the Tehsil / Block levels. As per the NDMA guidelines,

Unit
Finance
Branch
these teams will respond to all natural and man-made disasters.

The lowest administrative unit (Sub-Division, Tehsil or Block) will be the first responder
as the case may be. If the incident becomes complex and is beyond the control of local
Provisioning Unit

Facilities Unit
IRT, the higher level IRT will be informed and they will take over the response
LOGISTICS SECTION

Support Unit
Resource

Ground
management. In such cases the lower level IRT will merge with higher level IRT. When a
Support
Branch

lower level of IRT (e.g. Block / Tehsil) merges with a higher level (e.g. Sub-Division,
District or State), the role of IC of lower level of IRT will change. When the Block level
IRT merges with Sub-Division level IRT, IC of the Block level may play the role of Deputy
Deputy

IC or any other duty that the IC of higher authority assigns. This process will be
Communication
Liaison Officer

applicable at all levels.

Medical Unit

Food Unit

Fig-4
Unit
Service
Branch

In any disaster response, the initial efforts would always be taken by the District
Administration. However, when Districts are overwhelmed in any situation, the support
necessarily has to come from the State and National level. While the IRS is mainly
relevant at the basic functional level, it is absolutely necessary that the support
INCIDENT COMMANDER

functionaries from the State and the National level also confirm to the principles of
Documentation

Data Interpre-
tation unit
Situation
Resource

IRS in the emergency support duties. This will be greatly beneficial for the proper
PLANNING

Unit

Unit
Unit
SECTION

coordination of the various response efforts at the National and State level with that
of the District. It is therefore necessary to clearly understand the structure of the IRS in
the context of State response. The hierarchical representation of RO with State EOC,
Headquarters IRT and its lower level of IRTs at State level are shown in Fig-5.
Information and Media Officer

Transportation
OPERATIONS

Water

CHIEF SECTETARY / RO
Road

Rail

Air
SECTION

Branch
Safety Officer

Nodal Officer
(air operations)
HQ IRT State EOC
Response Branch

Task Force/Strike
(Single Resource
(Geographical)

(Functional)
Staging Area

Division

Group

Team)

INCIDENT COMMANDER INCIDENT COMMANDER INCIDENT COMMANDER

IRT District - A IRT District - B IRT District - C
Fig-5

11 12
At district level the IRT looks as shown in Fig-6 where District Collector is overall in (d) continuously monitor the post accident situation arising out of a major chemical
charge as IC and other sub-division’s officers work as IC of the respective sub-division/ accident in the State and forward a report to the Central Crisis group;
IRTs. (e) review the progress report submitted by the District Crisis groups;
DISTRICT MAGISTRATE / RO
(f) respond to queries addressed to it by the District Crisis groups;
Nodal Officer (g) publish a list of experts and officials in the State who are concerned with the
(air operations) management of chemical accidents.
HQ IRT District EOC
Composition of the State Crisis Group
(i) Chief Secretary Chairperson
(ii) Secretary (Labour) Member Secy.
INCIDENT COMMANDER INCIDENT COMMANDER INCIDENT COMMANDER (iii) Secretary (Environment) Member
Sub-Division IRT Tehsil IRT Block IRT (iv) Secretary (Health) ”
(v) Secretary (Industries) ”
Fig-6 (vi) Secretary (Public Health Engg.) ”
Fig-7 gives the composition of Command staff in the IRS organisation. (vii) Chairman, State Pollution Control Board ”
INCIDENT COMMANDER Deputy (viii)4-Experts (Industrial Safety & Health) to ”
be nominated by the State Government
Information and (ix) Secretary/Commissioner(Transport) ”
Media Officer (x) Director(Industrial Safety)/Chief Inspector of Factories
Liaison Officer (xi) Fire Chief ”
Safety Officer
(xii) Commissioner of Police ”
Fig-7 (xiii)One Representative from the Industry to be ”
nominated by the State Govt. ”

6.1 MOEF initiatives 6.1.2 Functions of the District Crisis Group (DCG)

As per Chemical Accidents (Emergency planning, preparedness and response) (CAEPPR)
Rules 1996, four tier of Crisis Groups arrangement have been made. The State, District
and Local are more important and the same have been briefed as:
6.1.1 Functions of the State Crisis Group (SCG)
(i) The State Crisis Group shall be the apex body in the State to deal with major
chemical accidents and to provide expert guidance for handling major chemical
accidents.
(ii) The State Crisis Group shall-
(a) review all district off-site emergency plans in the State with a view to examine its
adequacy in accordance with the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous
Chemicals Rules and forward a report to the Central Crisis Group once in three
months;
(b) assist the State Government in managing chemical accidents at a site;
(c) assist the State Government in the planning, preparedness and mitigation of
major chemical accidents in the State;
(i) The District Crisis Group shall be the apex body in the district to deal with major
chemical accidents and to provide expert guidance for handling chemical accidents;
(ii) The District Crisis Group shall -
(a) assist in the preparation of the district off-site emergency plan;
(b) review all the on-site emergency plans prepared by the occupier of Major
Accident Hazards installation for the preparation of district off-site
emergency plan;
(c) assist the district administration in the management of chemical accidents at a
site lying within the district;
(d) continuously monitor every chemical accident ;
(e) ensure continuous information flow from the district to the Central and State
Crisis Group regarding accident situation and mitigation efforts;
(f) forward a report of the chemical accident within fifteen days to the State Crisis
Group;
(g) conduct at least one full scale mock-drill of a chemical accident at a site each
year and forward a report of the strength and weakness of the plan to the State
Crisis Group.

13 14
 Composition of the District Crisis Group Composition of the Local Crisis Groups
(i) District Collector Chairperson (i) Sub-divisional Magistrate / District Chairperson
(ii) Inspector of Factories Member Secy. Emergency Authority
(iii) District Energy Officer Member (ii) Inspector of Factories Member Secy.
(iv) Chief Fire Officer Member (iii) Industries in the District/Industrial area/ Member
(v) District Information Officer ” industrial pocket
(vi) Controller of Explosives ” (iv) Transporters of Hazardous Chemicals ”
(vii) Chief, Civil Defence ” (2 Numbers)
(viii) One Representative of Trade Unions to be (v) Fire Officer ”
nominated by the District Collector ” (vi) Station House Officer (Police) ”
(ix) Deputy Superintendent of Police (vii) Block Development Officer ”
(x) District Health Officer/Chief Medical Officer ” (viii) One Representative of Civil Defence ”
(xi) Commissioner, Municipal Corporations ” (ix) Primary Health Officer ”
(xii) Representative of the Department of Public (x) Editor of local News paper ”
Health Engineering ” (xi) Community leader/Sarpanch/Village ”
(xiii) Representative of Pollution Control Board ” Pradhan nominated by Chair-person
(xiv) District Agriculture Officer ” (xii) One Representative of Non-Government ”
(xv) 4 Experts (Industrial Safety & Health) to be ” Organisation to be nominated by the
nominated by the District Collector Chair-person
(xvi) Commissioner (Transport) ” (xiii) Two Doctors eminent in the Local area, to ”
(xvii) One Representative of Industry to be nominated ” be nominated by Chair-person
by the District Collector (xiv) Two Social Workers to be nominated by the ”
(xviii) Chair-person/Member-Secretary of Local ” Chair-person
Crisis Groups

7. Consequences of chemical releases

6.1.3 Functions of the Local Crisis Group (LCG)

(i) The Local Crisis Group shall be the body in the industrial pocket to deal with
chemical accidents and coordinate efforts in planning, preparedness and mitigation
of a chemical accident;
(ii) The Local Crisis Group shall-
(a) prepare local emergency plan for the industrial pocket;
(b) ensure dovetailing of the local emergency plan with the district off-site
emergency plan;
(c) train personnel involved in chemical accident management;
(d) educate the population likely to be affected in a chemical accident about the
remedies and existing preparedness in the area;
(e) conduct at least one full scale mock-drill of a chemical accident at a site every
six months and forward a report to the District Crisis Group;
(f) respond to all public inquiries on the subject.
To help district/local administration to act effectively and efficiently in response to
emergency situations which has an impact on people's health and other services during
industrial disasters, industry is characterised by the following components:
-Storage vessels of chemicals, these chemicals may be toxic or inflammable in
nature.
-Piping systems for transportation of the chemicals, solvents, water, steams, etc. to
the process area.
-Process area where reaction takes places at various temperature, pressure in
reaction vessels.
-Topography and landuse pattern along with the local community in the area.
There are always possibilities of the release of these chemicals either due to material

15 16
failure of the pipes or vessels or due to high pressure and high temperature. Release is
also due to human faults. The released chemical may be of toxic in nature like chlorine,
ammonia, etc or inflammable like hydrogen, LPG, etc. creating losses to human life
environment and property.
The behaviour of the released chemical is depicted in flow diagram as Fig-2. In
summary the consequence of the released chemical will be either fire or explosion if it
is flammable. The term like BLEVE, VCE used in the flow diagram are discussed in other
modules. The toxic chemical will spread in the form of toxic cloud and the behaviour
of the cloud will depend on the climatic conditions and on the amount of the released
chemical.
Fire
Industrial and transportation accidents involving toxic chemicals and pollution
incidents associated, occur at various places. Sudden acute
incidents may occur as a result of a fire, explosion or other
accident in the handling of chemicals at an industrial
or storage site, the impact of a natural disaster or terrorist
attack on such sites, or during the transportation of
hazardous chemicals.
Industrial Fire
Silent releases may occur from industrial or storage sites due to undetected leaks, or
from waste sites. Outbreaks of illness may be the first sign
of such releases. Exposure may be limited to people within
the site, or extend to the public outside via air or water
pollution or, more slowly, through the contamination of
soil and food.
Problems are compounded when pre-emergency medical and paramedical
services are lacking and occupational health is undeveloped as a medical speciality.
7.1 Typical impacts on health
Direct impacts
-Deaths and serious injuries from explosions, building collapses and transport
accidents.
-Burns.
-Deaths and illness/internal damage from exposure to toxic chemicals, during the
release, from direct dermal exposure and inhalation later: from dermal exposure
through contact with contaminated objects and ingestion of contaminated food
or water.
17
Some effects, e.g. eye or skin irritation, broncho constriction or central nervous system
depression, can occur within a few minutes or hours of exposure. Others may be
delayed, e.g. chronic lung damage, respiratory difficulties and cancers.
Accidents involving volatile hydrocarbon compounds, herbicides, ammonia or chlorine
have particularly serious public health effects.
Low socio-economic status populations living near hazardous sites (including storage
sites) are particularly at risk. People with diabetes or asthma, and smokers, may be
particularly susceptible.
Indirect impact
-Psychological and psychosocial effects: fear and anxiety, increase in disease and
non-specific medical symptoms
-Social disruption if people are displaced; economic costs
7.2 Typical demands on health services
In case of an explosion or transport accident:
-treatment of casualties
-psychological trauma care
In case of an incident involving release of toxic chemicals:
-assessment of public health risks, decision on 'best outcome' approach to managing
the situation, implementation of measures to protect people and their environment
(by public health services)
-treatment and monitoring of exposed people (by medical services)
-None (unless a health facility or staff and directly affected)
7.3 What the assessment IC should focus on
Number of casualties requiring treatment for injuries or burns
When there is a (suspected) chemical emergency:
-The source and type of contaminants, the magnitude of the release, the likely
dispersion pattern, the specific public health risks and the populations at risk.
-The exposure of individual people at the site, first responders, surrounding
population (through environmental and personal/ biological monitoring based on
sampling, questionnaires and surrogate markers).
-Health effects, initially acute effects then longer-term effects (data on functional,
physical, morbidity and mortality outcomes).
-The capacity of local services to respond appropriately with qualified personnel
protective equipment, specific antidotes, diagnostic capacity, decontamination
facilities, etc.
18
7.4 Interventions/Response likely to be needed: Specific health/medical
interventions
Registration, diagnostic testing, treatment and monitoring of exposed individuals, with
advice from the nearest poison centre (in case of chemical poisoning).
7.5 Other critical public health interventions
Analysis of options to manage the situation and selection of the 'best public health
outcome option' taking account of weather forecasts and environmental modelling
predictions of the likely dispersion of chemical pollutants in the area and/or water
courses.
Definition of 'hot', 'warm' and 'cold' zones around the scene of the accident;
excluding all persons without protective clothing from the hot and warm zones.
Information to the public on risks and precautions: e.g. sheltering from air pollution
(staying indoors and closing all windows), restrictions if water, soil or food supplies
are contaminated.
Evacuation, if necessary, and provision of essential services at the evacuation sites
(if health risks are acute).
Prevention or containment of fire-fighting water run-off (using drainage ditches or
holding tanks).
Monitoring the source of contamination and likely contaminated media well beyond
the moment at which the release is thought to have been controlled.
Remediation measures to make the environment safe and clean a range of specialist
information and services are required including chemical and medical toxicology
(including laboratories), environmental and medical epidemiology, and
environmental and biological monitoring.
8. What to do in response to a warning
Immediately on receipt of warning of an imminent threat (e.g. a toxic release/ chemical
spill, fire or explosion) the local government should take action on the following points:
Contact the industry site co-ordinator and other principal partner organisations to:
confirm the threat
obtain additional information and coordinate preparatory actions
activate any existing contingency plans
Contact regulatory agencies like State Pollution Control Board, Chief Inspectorate of
Factories of the areas concerned to:
exchange information
arrange for them to take appropriate precautions for their own safety
and the protection of communications, vehicles, stocks and other property.
19
agree on arrangements for initial on-the-spot investigations
assessments and reporting if/when a disaster does occur
ask for on-site emergency plan of the concerned industry from occupier to get
authentic information
start reviewing the off-site emergency plan prepared by district administration
Put all the first responders (fire, police, medical) staff on alert to take appropriate
action on demand. Be ready with ambulances and fire fighters.
Check the readiness of telecommunication and information management systems.
Assemble basic information on the threatened areas, maps showing impacts zones
affected by toxic releases, explosion, fire, etc. and information should be to the scale
and should look like as:
up-to-date information on transport and stocks of drinking water, sanitation,
medicines and health care, shelters, relief distribution like food, clothing, etc.
inform higher offices like district collector of the district and or divisional
commissioner with the present and future situation likely to be escalated where
state level or national level support may be required.
include information on which action is required immediately by the
government and others, to minimise the losses.
in case of interstate implications, take immediate steps and arrange to pass
information to neighbouring state (s) through Chief Secretary without delay and
if required ready to mobilise resources from neighbouring state and also set
ready to deploy the resources to the neighbouring state.
9. What IC needs to do when a disaster strikes
9.1 Sequence of actions
Fig-8 shows the normal sequence of local/district office actions at the beginning of an
emergency.
While the 'preliminaries' listed below must be completed rapidly, the first priority is to
assure the safety of staff and the ability of the local/district office to function and
provide whatever support needed to the victims. If the office itself has been affected,
check the safety of the office (if accessible), determine whether any staff needs
assistance, and check the functionality of office systems. If necessary, establish a
temporary office in other available premises which is safe. Call all important
departments and hold a meeting to assess the situations and probable action points.
9.2 Preliminaries to be done 'immediately' in all cases
The following are things a local/district office should do within a few hours after
20
 receipt of information concerning a new disaster or emergency situation that could

Who dose
call for assistance:

Whom?
When?
Action

With?
How?
what
Decision 3 Activate any existing or inter-agency emergency plan: redeploy staff and

SDRF, etc..
liaise with
reorganise the office as conditions require; check the functioning of
telecommunication and information management systems. Seek extra help from
Assessment

what to do?
other tehsils of the same districts or nearby district, if needed.

ndations ?
recomme-

by whom?
findings
Contact representative officer of the Chief Inspector of Factories Office and
Present

Gives

why?
main

State Pollution Control Board, Controller of Explosives in the areas concerned

to: ensure the right information like type of chemical, released amount,
Assessment Decision 2 report

characteristics, likely area of impact; arrange for them to undertake an initial rapid
assessment; agree arrangements and a schedule for reporting
If yes, what?
Resources
required?
Analysis

Contact the Civil Hospital of the district to: coordinate arrangements for health
Action ?

assessments and a concerted response among members of the district crisis group
Sequence of response actions in emergency

Reference
values
members.
For security risks contact the Police department and agree on security measures to
be taken; ensure that security provisions and telecommunication meet the required
what evolution?
Rapid health

minimum standards and that all staff are properly briefed/trained.

What needs?

(what, which
constraints ?
Emergency?

resources?)
resources?
what local

Response?

Look up and review basic information on the affected areas, the impact of
(yes/no)

previous disasters and lessons learned from the subsequent relief and recovery
What

Fig-8
processes in those areas. (Information for all disaster-prone areas should be
compiled as part of preparedness and should be available in the district
Preparation of

headquarters.)
How? (logistics)
How?(methods)
What to do ?
assessment

Ensure the real press releases to: avoid rumors and ensure that electronic media
Which team?

should help to the local residents about do's and don'ts.

Where?
(ToRs)

9.3 Points to remember

-Stick to facts, and put them in context-

Decision 1

happened?

-There is no such thing as 'off-the-record'. Everything you say and do can be

needed?
Where?
What ?

When?

reported. Be careful what you say in the presence of journalists, even after a formal
Alert/

What

interview is finished and at social gatherings

-Never make disparaging or critical remarks about local authorities or international
partners
Emergency

-Do not mention weaknesses they might be all that is reported

-Your key point should be in the first paragraph
-The text needs to be brief (maximum one A4 page)
NDMA, etc.

-The title and the opening line are the most important part: they need to
MoEF, etc.
liaise with

liaise with
precautions?
What may

grab attention and encourage people to read on

Warning

happen?
Where

-Avoid referencing academic work or text, refer to people or researchers

What

-Use a language that is appropriate for the audience

-If you are working with a particular newspaper or radio/television station, you may

21 22
 need to do some research about their editorial style
-Translate materials into local languages. Have regular resource persons/ journalists
available to do this.
9.4 Emergency, health and rehabilitation services
9.6 Managing stress
A certain level of stress can be positive and motivating and can lead to increased
performance to the IRT members. Excessive cumulative stress results in poor
performance, sickness and eventually 'burnout' (physical and mental exhaustion).

Advise and assist the health department and other organisations, if required, in Violent and unexpected incidents can cause trauma to the affected population. They
providing emergency services, maintaining/re-establishing normal health care services, overwhelm a person's normal coping skills. The effects may be immediate or delayed
and in planning and organising services for displaced people, nutritional rehabilitation and may require treatment. IC should ensure trauma care on priority.
where needed, and physical rehabilitation for disabled people. Assist the MoH and other
authorities in obtaining necessary technical information and advice in case of a Different individuals react differently and have different capacities to cope with stress.
chemical incident or radiation accident.
9.7 Personal emergency kits
9.5 Population Displacements
IC should make necessary arrangements in the high risk area that residents should be
People may become displaced when: equipped with the following basic emergency survival preparedness kit and in case of
their homes and/or livelihoods are displacement residents of the affected areas should move with the following items:
destroyed by a sudden disaster, their -Prescription medications for oneself and family members (also note if these are to
means of livelihood are undermined be taken with food, water, milk, etc)
by crisis; or they are subjected to -Eyeglasses and/or contact lenses
unbearable discrimination or -Infant formula and diapers
persecution. They are entitled for civil -Pet food and extra water for your pet
protection and the assistance of the -Copies of important family documents stored in a portable, waterproof container.
local government. Proper camp of -These could include insurance policies, birth certificates, identification (passport ID
stay and medical should be ensured page), bank account records, etc.
for the victims. -Cash, travelers checks and change
-Emergency first aid reference material
Arrangement for drinking water, -Sleeping bag or blanket for each person (additional bedding in cold climate)
food, medicines, clothing, safety -Complete change(s) of clothing including long sleeve shirts, pants and shoes.
from theft and robbery, should be -Household chlorine bleach (unscented without additives) and an eyedropper. This
ensured. The lighting, security, and can be used as a disinfectant (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) in extreme
pests should be in the priority of situations to treat water
the IC. -A fire extinguisher
-Strike anywhere matches in a waterproof container
Population displacement is a big -Feminine personal hygiene products
challenge hence care should be -Mess kits, one per person, including paper cups and plates, plastic utensils, and
taken that the members of the towels
response team should be safe, -Paper and pencil
hence they should have personal protective equipments (PPEs) as shown in right. -Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children.

The camp for the displaced victims or population should be near and clean and must Depending on the personal requirements, the emergency preparedness survival kit may
have provisions for other necessary amenities. include some, none, all or more of the items listed above.

23 24
10. Conclusion Exercise

IRTs should note down the priority points required to the local need
IC should refer the following documents on receipt of the warning of happening any
chemical (industrial) disaster:
....................................................................................................................................................................................
Incident Response System developed by NDMA , GOI for detail action. This is
....................................................................................................................................................................................
available at www.ndma.gov.in
....................................................................................................................................................................................
National Disaster Management Guidelines Chemical Disasters (Industrial), GOI for
....................................................................................................................................................................................
detail action and reference. This is available at www.ndma.gov.in
....................................................................................................................................................................................
Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules,
....................................................................................................................................................................................
1996 This is available at www.moef.gov.in
....................................................................................................................................................................................
Action to be taken should be reviewed and recorded in the prescribed format as
....................................................................................................................................................................................
developed by NDMA. The format is given in annexure 1. IC should assess the situation
....................................................................................................................................................................................
and inform to upper tier for the further action. If required State Government may
....................................................................................................................................................................................
request for the deployment of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
....................................................................................................................................................................................
Presently the location and area of responsibility of the various NDRF battalion in the
....................................................................................................................................................................................
country are as follows:
....................................................................................................................................................................................
Area of responsibility ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Area of responsibility
Location ....................................................................................................................................................................................
for natural disaster for CBRN emergency
....................................................................................................................................................................................
Guwahati N.E. States ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Kolkata battalion
Kolkata West Bengal, Bihar, Sikkim, Jharkhand
Incident Commanders as (1) District Collector and as (2) Chief Secretary should note
Mundali Orissa, Chhatisgarh, North Andra down their priority by consulting NDMA guidelines and CA (EPPR) Rules
Pradesh, ( Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Vishakhapatnam) ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Arakkonam battalion ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Arakkonam Tamil Nadu, Kerala, South Andra ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Pradesh, Puduchery, A and N Islands, ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Lakshadweep ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Pune Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Pune battalion
Gandhi Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Nagar Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu ....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
Bhatinda Chandigarh, Punjab, J and K, ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Himachal Pradesh ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Ghaziabad battalion
Ghaziabad U.P., Uttara Khand, Haryana, Delhi ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Patna* ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Vijaywada* ....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
*Patna (Bihar) and Vijaywada (Andra Pradesh) have also been approved in principle to ....................................................................................................................................................................................
locate NDRF battalions for natural disaster, and therefore, the area of responsibility ....................................................................................................................................................................................
will be readjusted once two NDRF battalions are made functional. ....................................................................................................................................................................................

25 26
Pollution Control Board should make points for response on an incident considering Incident Briefing - IRS Form 001
the Fig -1................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
1. Incident Name
....................................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................................... 2. Map Sketch (Give detail of the affected site)
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
Date Prepared Time Prepared
Fire fighters, Medical care personnel, Police including the traffic police make their
priority points ...................................................................................................................................................... 3. Summary of Current Actions
.................................................................................................................................................................................... a. Action already taken
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................................... b. Action to be taken
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................................... c. Difficulties if any response including mobilisation of resources
.................................................................................................................................................................................... and manpower
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................................... NOTE : Attach a separate sheet under each heading in case space is not sufficient

27 28
11. Glossary 12. References

Command staff: The command staff consists of the Information Officer, Safety Officer 1. Incident Response System: National Disaster Management GuidelinesIncident
and Liaison Officer. They report directly to the Incident Commander and may have Response System, National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India
assistants. The command staff may or may not have supporting organisations below it. July 2010.

General Staff: The group of incident management personnel reporting to the Incident 2. Disaster Management Act 2005
Commander. They may each have a deputy, as needed. General Staff consists of
Operations Section Chief, Planning Section Chief and Logistics Section Chief. 3. Emergency Response Manual, Guidelines for WHO Representatives and Country
Offices in the Western Pacific Region Provisional Version, October 2003.
Incident Action Plan: A plan with objectives reflecting the overall incident strategy
and specific tactical actions and supporting information for an operational period. The 4. Environment (Protection) Act 1986 and its provisions and regulations and rules.
plan may be oral or written. When written, the plan may have a number of
attachments, including incident objectives, division assignment list, incident radio
communication plan, medical plan, traffic plan, safety plan, incident map, etc.

Incident Command Post: Location at which primary command functions are executed.
The Incident Command Post may be co-located with the incident base or at other
incident facilities.

Incident Response System: The combination of facilities, equipment, personnel,

procedure and communications operating within a common organisational structure,
with responsibility for the management of assigned resources to effectively accomplish
stated objectives pertaining to an incident.

Incident Response Team: The incident commander and appropriate general or comm
and staff personnel assigned to manage an incident.

Planning Section: The Planning Section is responsible for the collection, evaluation,
and display of incident information, maintaining and tracking the resources and
preparing the Incident Action Plan and incident related documentation. They may also
assess the requirement of more resources and keep Incident Commander informed.

Responsible Officer: The Responsible Officer is the senior most officer in the hierarchy
of State and District Administration. At the State level, the Chief Secretary (Chairperson
of SEC) and at the District level, the District Magistrate / District Collector (Chairperson
of DDMA) will be the Responsible Officer. Such officer is the overall in-charge in the
management of emergency response at the respective administrative levels.

29 30
Notes Notes

31 32