Draft Guidance: Response, Remediation, and Recovery Checklist for Chemically Contaminated Facilities

Abstract

A key part of preparedness in the event of a chemical warfare agent (CWA) or toxic industrial chemical (TIC) release at a large facility, such as an airport or subway, is to develop a concept of operations that allows for an effective incident response and recovery. This document is intended as a component of the concept of operations and will be used in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as a decision tool for the Unified Command (UC). The Checklist for Facility Response, Remediation, and Recovery presented in this document is principally focused on the Consequence Management Phase (see Figure 1; LLNL 2007a and 2007b) of a chemical release. Information in this document conforms to the National Response Plan (NRP) (DHS 2004) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS 2004). Under these two guidance documents, personnel responsible for managing chemical response and recovery efforts--that is, the decision-makers--are members of an Incident Command (IC), which is likely to transition to a UC in the event of a CWA or TIC attack. A UC is created when more than one agency has incident jurisdiction or when incidents cross political jurisdictions. The location for primary, tactical-level command and management is referred to as the Incident Command Post (ICP), as described in the NRP. Thus, regardless of whether an IC or a UC is used, the responsible entities are located at an ICP. Agencies work together through designated members of the UC to establish their designated Incident Commanders at a single ICP and to establish a common set of objectives and strategies and a single Incident Action Plan. Initially during the Crisis Management Phase (see Figure 1), the Incident Commander is likely to be the Chief of the fire department that serves the affected facility. As life-safety issues are resolved and the Crisis Management Phase shifts to the Consequence Management Phase, the work of characterization, decontamination, and facility clearance begins. There will likely be a coincident transition in organizational structure as well, and new remediation-focused groups, units, and personnel will be added as remediation needs are anticipated. In most cases, a UC would be formed, if not formed already, to direct the cleanup process jointly and to take ultimate responsibility for all cleanup decisions. The UC would likely include the Transportation Facility Manager or Emergency Operations Manager; representatives from state and local public health, environmental, and emergency management agencies; and Federal agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.