Appendix D: Chemical Incident Consequence Management Decision Flow

The detailed flow chart beginning on the page below highlights the critical steps that characterize the response to and recovery from a nationally significant or large-scale chemical incident.

Notification

Flow chart begins with overall notification. The first phase is the recognition phase (e.g., detection, intelligence, symptoms/evidence of illness or injury). The first step of the recognition phase is initial notification received, which is followed by a key concluding decision point: suspected incident sites identified. Next, there are two actions to perform. The first is HazMat and first responder notified, followed by alert/consider standing up additional resources (e.g., JIC). Flowchart continues on next slide.

First Response

Continuation of flow chart on previous change. Begins with conducting initial threat assessment and performing a list of tasks. The list includes don personal protective equipment; general hazard analysis/site safety; preliminary HazMAt response; initial control measures; rapid intelligence/data gathering; and, risk communication strategy. The next step is determining if a chemical agent is suspected. If not a hazardous chemical agent, the flow chart ends with continuing appropriate actions. If a chemical agent is suspected, the next step is deny entry, contain area, and prioritize contaminated/affected areas and operations; as well as, re-evaluate HazMat action, public notifications, and public health options. The next step is performing additional emergency actions according to specific HazMat response plan, e.g. shelter-in-place, triage, evacuation/containment, decon appropriately, screening sampling, operational/utility shutdown, and mutual aid assets. The final step on this portion is perform public health screening and laboratory environmental sampling and analyses as needed. The flowchart continues on the next slide.

A continuation of the flow chart from the previous two pages. It begins with a question: Is the agent in sufficient concertation to cause injury? If no, risk communication strategies continue as need, then the flow ends, with no threat, no decontamination, allow re-entry, and resume operations. If yes, the agent was in sufficient concentration to cause injury, the next step is conduct risk communication strategies. The following step is use available agent-specific information to perform any addition continuing HazMat and emergency response actions, and implement other operational controls as needed (e.g., business continuity of operations and source reduction activities). The next step is emergency situation stabilization. The flow chart continues on the next slide.

Characterization

A continuation of the flow chart from the previous page. No longer in the response phase, this section is remediation. The first step is agent release confirmed; initial characterization activities. The next step is identify and prioritize areas, operations, and/or facilities for detailed characterization/remediation. The next step is conduct detailed characterization for remediation purposes (including information collected during first response phase). This step includes time since release, time since exposure, concentration of agent, extent of contamination, estimation of exposure, and characteristics of chemical agent (e.g., potential for re-aerosolization). The next step is to determine site-specific characteristics. This step is broken into three parts: enclosed/semi-enclosed, outdoor areas, and water. Enclosed/semi-enclosed examples are size of facility, ventilation systems, humidity, temperature, airflow, height of walls, and specific building materials. Outdoor area examples include meteorological conditions, building intakes, soil type(s), and surface run-off. Lastly, water examples include potential for contamination of drinking water facilities/sources, pH, redox potential, temperature, effects of dilution, and flow rate. The next three steps are evaluate initial containment and improve as necessary; conduct characterization environmental sampling and analysis; and. conduct environmental risk assessment for remediation purposes. The next step is to establish clearance goals. The flow chart continues on the next slide.

The characterization process continues with an evaluation of potential impacts to property and the environment. If impacts are identified, the next step is to determine which media are affected, which can include enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces such as HVAC systems and building materials, outdoor areas like agricultural crops and property, as well as various water bodies including distribution systems, ponds, and reservoirs. The process then assesses whether regulatory and stakeholder needs are addressed. If they are not, and if there are areas of unacceptable residual or environmental contamination, the chart indicates to proceed to step 500. If regulatory and stakeholder needs are addressed, and there is no contamination, no decontamination is necessary, allowing for re-entry and the resumption of operations as appropriate. If natural attenuation is not adequate to eliminate human health impacts, the flow chart suggests evaluating, reassessing, and implementing other public health and medical options, such as treatment and patient care, as well as other public risk-management communication options, potentially including the return to home or work. Lastly, if natural attenuation is adequate to address environmental concerns, the chart directs to step 400; if not, it directs to step 500

Decontamination

Flowchart continuation from previous page. This is the decontamination section, which can be skipped if no decon was deemed necessary. This section begins with evaluate other decontamination remediation options and necessary regulatory requirements. The next question is decontaminate in situ or remove? If decontaminate in situ, develop decontamination strategy, including ES&H concerns, stakeholder concerns, decontamination reagents, delivery systems, and risk communication strategies. Then prepare action plan. If remove, as opposed to decontaminate in situ, determine if dispose of items or recycle/reuse. If recycle/reuse, develop appropriate decontamination strategy and determine packaging/transportation requirement before developing action plan. If disposal, as opposed to recycle/reuse, then select appropriate treatment and disposal site and determine packaging/transportation requirements, then develop action plan. As you can seen, all paths led to developing an action plan. To develop action plan, prepare remediation, clearance sampling, and analysis action plan, to include selecting decontamination verification criteria and addressing clearance goals. Next, conduct decontamination and remediation actions as needed. The next question is: have decontamination verification criteria been met? If no, return to previous step. If yes, continue to next page. Flow chart continues on next slide.

Clearance

Continuation of flowchart from previous page. This is the clearance section of remediation. This section begins with conduct clearance environmental sampling and final risk assessment as needed. Subsequently, ECC provides recommendation to UC. Next is a question: have clearance goals been met? If not, should additional decontamination occur? If Yes, return to previous graphic (three pages/graphic prior), when clearance goals are established. If no, clearance goals should be modified, return to top of previous graphic/page. If yes, clearance goals have been met, consider and initiate long-term environmental monitoring actions. Then all long-term environmental/health issues have been addressed, this allow re-entry and resume operations as appropriate. Flow chart continues on next slide.

Reoccupancy

Continuation of flow chart from previous page. This is the re-occupancy section of the restoration phase. The first step is implement site-specific recovery plans and continued risk communication. Once re-occupancy reuse criteria are met, implement an appropriate phase approach to bring operations back on line. Then, continue long-term environmental and public health monitoring if needed. Lastly, recovery is complete, open for unrestricted use.

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