Emergency Response

Full Disclosure:  This is a horrible decision, based on legal matters and not on safety and health.  So use it wisely! In this case, we must decide whether the Power Generation Plant violated OSHA’s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response standard when employees at one of its power plants responded to an ammonia release without…...

A video was recently shared with me showing some crazy response tactics from what appeared to be a professional fire department.  But if you want to use this video in your training efforts, PLEASE ensure you use it as “How NOT to respond to such an event”.  Engine fire in a Chevy pick-up leads to…...

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As discussed, OSHA is making significant revisions to its Fire Brigade standard.  And in the DRAFT version, OSHA establishes a minimum staffing level for working/entering an IDLH atmosphere.  Many of you who are part of or manage the fire brigade may recall that OSHA has made room for “judgment” regarding staffing available and performing life-saving…...

This provision of the draft standard would, based on the type and level of service(s) established by the Emergency Service Organizations (ESO), require the ESO to establish minimum medical requirements based on the tiers of responder duties, tasks, and responsibilities. A qualified healthcare professional would perform the medical evaluation of the responders. The medical evaluation…...

The proposed OSHA standard will NOT apply to all public sector emergency responders. The scope is limited to Emergency Service Organizations (ESOs) and responders under OSHA’s jurisdiction. ONLY public ESOs that are in state plan states are under OSHA’s jurisdiction and therefore the analysis excludes public ESOs and responders in non-state-plan states. The following states…...

If you deal with emergency planning and response to releases of hazardous substances you can take a deep breath and have a sigh of relief… OSHA is NOT touching its HAZWOPER standard under its proposed revision to its emergency response standards.  The changes OSHA is proposing will apply ONLY to its Fire Brigade standard, 1910.156. …...

Who might be covered by a new Emergency Response standard? The draft Emergency Response standard would apply to employers that mitigate a hazard in an emergency response situation and the activity is currently covered by 29 CFR 1910.156, or is not covered by another OSHA standard. The standard would apply to, but not be limited…...

Have you seen OSHA’s proposed ER standard?  It will replace 1910.156 and encompass all aspects of emergency response, such as firefighting, fire rescue, emergency medical service, technical rescue (rope/high angle, cave, etc.), vehicle/machinery rescue, water rescue/recovery (land/shore-based, Swiftwater, underwater), search and rescue (urban, mountain, wilderness).  I have gone through the proposed standard and structured it…...

OSHA updated a 2017 Letter of Interpretation in January 2021 and it is causing quite a stir in the anhydrous ammonia (NH3) fertilizer industry and could have impacts on other industries that use NH3.  In this revised LOI, OSHA states… … Therefore, OSHA believes it is possible, and indeed likely, that any given release of…...