A locally-tailored chemical risk assessment will help focus community-wide preparedness activities toward the higher-risk scenarios and inform the community’s future preparedness investments (e.g., technology and medical countermeasures). Such a risk assessment may begin with existing site-level and broader community-based all-hazards risk assessments, layered with the identification of potential chemical release sites and associated areas and populations at risk. Release sites may include chemical manufacturing plants, factories, pipelines, railways, and agricultural sites/facilities, among others. Chemicals and sites posing release risks can be recognized based on their hazardous properties inventory volumes as well as by the site’s attractiveness to malicious actors of various types. Protective actions for the release site and surrounding areas can be informed with this knowledge.
Under the auspices of the EPA, data are made available by law to provide chemical risk information useful for planning; many of these datasets are available freely online and can be downloaded for ingestion into a jurisdictions’ systems like ArcGIS. In fact, most LEPCs/TEPCs and SERCs/TERCs will have used such data to guide their planning and preparedness activities. In addition to these resources, local planners can leverage the jurisdiction’s contributions to the community Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) and Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR) risk assessment processes conducted according to FEMA guidance will both enhance its risk assessment efforts and strengthen jurisdictional grant applications and justifications for investment in preparedness.
Local chemical industries will also have performed their own risk assessments for their operations and facilities. Additionally, many facilities are required by EPA regulations to develop a risk management plan (RMP). Jurisdictions should take advantage of any additional information they can gain from such plans when developing their own response plans. For example, the chemical sector can and often will rely on private sector response teams such as CHEMTREC®[1] to provide them with information, guidance, and response support during chemical incidents. Knowing which chemical facilities/transporters in the area plan for assistance from these kinds of private response entities will aid the jurisdiction in assessing their risk and further response needs.
Footnotes
1. CHEMTREC® is a registered service mark of the American Chemistry Council, Inc.