Comparison of Response Systems and Education Courses against HNS Spill Incidents between Land and Sea in Korea

Abstract

As the type of Hazardous and Noxious Substances(HNS) becomes various and the transport volume of HNS increases, HNS spill incidents occur frequently on land and the sea. In view of various damages to human lives and properties by HNS spills, it is necessary to educate and train professional personnel in preparation for and response to potential HNS spills. This study shows the current state of response systems and education courses against HNS spill incidents on land and the sea to compare those with each other between land and sea in Korea. Incident command system on land are basically similar to that at sea, but leading authority which is responsible for combating HNS spills at sea is changeable depending on the location of HNS spill, as it were, Korea Coast Guard(KCG) is responsible for urgent response to HNS spill at sea, while municipalities are responsible for the response to HNS drifted ashore. Education courses for HNS responders on land are established at National Fire Service Academy(NFSA), National Institute of Chemical Safety(NICS), etc., and are diverse. Education and training courses for HNS responder at sea are established at Korea Coast Guard Academy(KCGA) and Marine Environment Research & Training Institute(MERTI), and are comparatively simple. Education courses for dangerous cargo handlers who work in port where land is linked to the sea are established at Korea Maritime Dangerous Goods Inspection & Research Institute(KOMDI), Korea Port Training Institute(KPTI) and Korea Institute of Maritime and Fisheries Technology(KIMFT). Through the comparison of education courses for HNS responders between land and sea, some recommendations such as extension of education targets, division of an existing integrated HNS course into two courses composed of operational level and manager level with respective refresh course, on-line cyber course and joint inter-educational institute course in cooperation with other relevant institutes are proposed for the improvement in education courses of KCG and KOEM(Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation) to educate and train professionals for combating HNS spills at sea in Korea.