Does a PSM/RMP facility have to have an emergency response team? One of the most frequent questions I have gotten over the past several years so here is my official response: No and Yes. Thanks for reading and send donations to ….. LOL! A little consulting humor there. Seriously, the employer has choices, but ULTIMATELY the Highly Hazardous Chemical/Extremely Hazardous Substance is their ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY and believe it or not the two agencies have different expectations. Here is the breakdown between OSHA vs. EPA…
OSHA does NOT care if a facility has a response team; however, if they do have one they MUST COMPLY with 1910.120(q). OSHA is perfectly content with evacuating everyone, as their PRIMARY OBJECTIVE is employee safety. EPA on the other hand takes a different view, as thier PRIMARY OBJECTIVE is protecting the environment. Just evacuating everyone and having no plan to control the release could mean BIG TROUBLE from EPA for a business.
Here is what OSHA’s PSM standard states regarding emergency response:
1910.119(n) Emergency planning and response. The employer shall establish and implement an emergency action plan for the entire plant in accordance with the provisions of 29 CFR 1910.38. In addition, the emergency action plan shall include procedures for handling small releases. Employers covered under this standard may also be subject to the hazardous waste and emergency response provisions contained in 29 CFR 1910.120 (a), (p) and (q).
NOTICE that OSHA “requires” ONLY an emergency action plan (EAP) and that “employers covered under this standard may also be subject to the hazardous waste and emergency response provisions contained in 29 CFR 1910.120 (a), (p) and (q).” So we MUST comply with 1910.38 (as well as parts of 1910.165 in concert with .38); but 1910.120(q) will ONLY apply when the facility CHOOSES to have an in-house hazmat response team. Keep in mind this is BASELINE stuff here and after a catastrophic release where the facility could not respond to the incident AND their off-site assistance was not EQUIPPED, TRAINED, and/or STAFFED to respond – all bets are off and OSHA may very well take a different position, although I have yet to see this happen. As I said, OSHA will be content to get all employees, visitors and contractors to a SAFE location and let the release do what it may as long as there is NO hazard and exposure to the workers.
EPA takes a different appraoch and one that REQUIRES the facility either have their own team OR ENSURE that the off-site response is properly EQUIPPED, TRAINED, and/or STAFFED. As I have written before, RMP and PSM use nearly the exact same language when comparing PSM and RMP Program 3 Prevention Plan requirements; but one of the differences lies in the ER Planning requirements. Since OSHA is ALL about what goes on inside the “fence line” and EPA pays attention to BOTH inside and outside the “fence line” EPA has some very SPECIFIC mandates regarding a facility’s ER and their RMP. For example: