INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

MANAGER LEVEL

MODULE 5
RESPONSE

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SECTION A: ADMINISTRATION

1. COURSE

Course Title: Introductory Course on the Response to HNS in the Marine

Environment – Manager Level
Module Title: Response
Lesson Title: 5.A Key Components of an Emergency Response System
5.B Response Organisation
5.C Response Methods – Vessels
5.D Response Methods – HNS Releases
5.E Health and Safety
5.F Decontamination
5.G Disposal
5.H Post-Operational Activity
Training Provide a general introduction to the principles of emergency response
Objective(s): systems
Provide an introduction to response organisation
To describe the response methods and techniques to be considered in
responding to hazardous and noxious substances
To understand the need for a health and safety strategy
To understand the need for decontamination, disposal, post-operational
monitoring and survey
Enabling Describe the key essential components of an emergency response
Objective(s): system
Describe the key elements of a response organisation
Describe the different phases of response
Describe the response options in differing situations on board ships
Describe the response methods and techniques to be considered in
responding to hazardous and noxious substances based on their
physical properties
Describe the key considerations of an effective health and safety
strategy
Describe the considerations of decontamination, disposal, post-
operational activity and monitoring

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2. ADMINISTRATION

Time: 5.A 30 minutes

5.B 30 minutes
Total: 285 minutes
5.C 45 minutes
5.D 60 minutes
5.E 30 minutes
5.F 30 minutes
5.G 30 minutes
5.H 30 minutes
Location: Classroom
Reference(s) IMO – Manual on Chemical Pollution Section 1 – Problem Assessment
and Response Arrangements

3. SUPPORT

Handouts: Course Workbook

Exercises:
Equipment: Computer, Computer Projector, Projector Screen
Video Used: IMO Response to Marine Chemical Spills – Part 3 Response Options

4. KEY POINTS

1 Emergency Response Systems

2 Response Options

3 Health and Safety Strategy

4 Post-operational Activities

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SECTION B: EXECUTION

INTRODUCTION

1. Interest: As the international transport of chemicals increases, there is a growing

need to be able to respond safely and effectively to chemical spills into the marine
environment. Thus, the primary focus of both government and industry is on the
prevention of spills, but inevitably some spills will occur and therefore, plans and
procedures must be in place to ensure a safe and effective response. This module
will provide an introduction to the various response options and techniques to be
considered when responding to incidents involving hazardous and noxious
substances as well as addressing health and safety issues both during a response
and post-operatively.
2. Need: Without an understanding of emergency response, response options, a
comprehensive health and safety strategy and consideration of post-operational
activity it would be very difficult to implement a safe and effective response.
3. Title:

Instructor to display SLIDE 1

4. Range: In this module we will discuss Response. The module is sub-divided into
eight sub-modules each dealing with a particular section of this topic.

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Instructor to display SLIDE 2

The sub-modules are:

 Key components of an emergency response system

 Response organisation
 Response methods – vessels
 Response methods – HNS releases
 Health and safety
 Decontamination
 Disposal
 Post-operational activity

5. Objectives: Instructor to display slide 3

6. Questions: If at any time you do not fully understand what is going on or what we
are trying to achieve, please ask.

7. Testing: Instructor continual assessment.

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SUB-MODULE 5A

KEY COMPONENTS OF AN EMERGENCY

RESPONSE SYSTEM

SLIDE 4

In this first section we will consider the key components of an emergency response system
and then consider the response organisation and a systematic approach to decision making
during a response.

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SLIDE 5

KEY COMPONENTS OF AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM

Organisational arrangements – It is essential that all roles are defined clearly and that
all responsibilities and capabilities have been clearly identified.

Planning requirements should provide specific guidance in responding to an incident.

Monitoring and reporting – ensure that all incidents are assessed, evaluated and
followed up as appropriate.

Defined operational procedures – to allow a tiered response to an incident.

Training and exercising – to provide response personnel with the skills necessary to do
their jobs safely.

Financial and liability arrangements – to determine financial responsibilities and

liabilities of the various parties involved.

Looking at each of these components in turn we shall start with organisational

arrangements.

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SLIDE 6

Organisational Arrangements

Who is responsible for responding to the incident? The fundamental issue with respect to
identifying the roles, responsibilities and capabilities is to establish who is responsible for
responding to the incident and who is responsible for implementing the response plan.

Who is responsible for conducting specific tasks? Consideration must be given to the many
tasks that will take place during the course of the operation.

In assessing the organisational arrangements the following elements will have been
considered:

 prevention
 preparedness
 response
 recovery/remediation.

Let us consider the first of these elements, starting with prevention.

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SLIDE 7

Prevention consists of taking measures to reduce the likelihood of an incident occurring

and, in the event of an incident occurring, to minimising the effects, is critical to the
emergency response team.

We need to consider what we already have in place and should evaluate existing
documentation such as:

 policies
 guidelines
 legislation.

We then need to consider what we need to put in place:

 What mandatory compliance requirements are there?

 What does the legislation require to be implemented?
 What are you missing?

The next element to consider is preparedness.

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SLIDE 8

Preparedness is simply being prepared as being prepared will enhance your ability to
respond to emergencies. Remember the phrase “failing to plan is planning to fail”.

Instructor to ask “How do we prepare for an incident, what do we need to have in

place, what support should the administrations provide?”

Instructor to encourage suggestions from the students and record their thoughts
on a whiteboard or flipchart.

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SLIDE 9

Key considerations are:

 Develop an emergency response plan.

 Ensure that response resources and equipment are available.
 Make sure your personnel are trained and simulate scenarios regularly.
 Make sure that communication and alert channels are established including the
media.
 Take into account the various scenarios relevant to probable spills and the
organisation and activities likely to be involved. This should involve joint planning
and training of those who may need to work together if an accident occurs, including
industries and the surrounding communities.

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SLIDE 10

The administrations should provide:

 all relevant guidelines and policies for dealing with incidents

 define what reporting procedures are required and what the incident reporting
requirements are
 prepare and implement periodic inspection and auditing protocols and ensure that
appropriate equipment, systems and procedures are being implemented and adhered
to collect and disseminate information
 define the emergency response planning requirements and the response capability
and preparedness standards for vessels, facilities and port/harbour authorities
 establish information databases pertaining to shipping information (e.g. stowage
plans, bills of landing, ship passage, ports of call), chemical and physical properties
and response protocols; levels of confidentiality required for this information must be
established in conjunction with the relevant stakeholders
 establish a pool of experts to act as an advisory group. Individuals with expertise in
navigation, ship technology, ship operations, salvage, naval architecture, chemical
hazards, marine biology, physical and chemical oceanography, dispersion modelling,
spill response and fire fighting
 establish a co-ordination group made up of individuals with proven expertise in the
areas of emergency, crisis management and transfer operations.

Continued on next slide.

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SLIDE 11

Further support administration can provide includes:

 identify an operations centre to provide access to information databases, standard

operating procedures, advisory personnel and communications equipment
 identify chemical response units
 to train the personnel of the chemical response unit
 to co-ordinate with national, regional and international, e.g. IMO, organisations and
information sources in both routine and emergency situations.

The next organisational element to consider is planning requirements.

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SLIDE 12

PLANNING REQUIREMENTS include the preparation of detailed and specific plans for
responding to a marine incident.

International, regional, national and local emergency response plans should be prepared to
summarise roles and responsibilities for all parties, providing standard operating procedures,
lists of available resources, etc.

Plans are required at four levels:

 at an international level with the framework of an operational contingency plan

 at the regional level for multi-lateral assistance and mutual aid
 at the national level
 at the local level (e.g. for terminals and harbours/ports).

Should the magnitude of an accident be such that assistance is required these plans should
be integrated in such a way that it will be easy to incorporate additional response
capabilities, for example, a port emergency plan should be co-ordinated with the
neighbouring industrial facilities and local regional plans as well as with the national plan.

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SLIDE 13

This planning requirement may best be summarised in the diagram above which shows the
relationship between the differing level of plans.

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SLIDE 14

To assist responders and decision makers in managing the response, various types of
information should be gathered before an accident takes place.

Each organisation should develop its own system, meeting its own requirements. A response
support system can be anything from a list of experts to a computer-based system. However
there are some fundamental planning and assessment tools:

 inventory of the different response plans that can be activated in different areas and
the procedures required to activate them
 inventory of transportation patterns and commodities transported in different areas
 the chemical and physical properties of transported substances
 toxicological effects and exposure limits of substances
 chemical fate of substances
 spill scenarios, describing the substances transported for each sensitive area
 the identification of sensitive areas
 possible recovery techniques
 personal protective equipment requirements.

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SLIDE 15

Response tools should include:

 an incident assessment system

 a list of experts on maritime and chemical aspects
 predictive air dispersion modelling and related monitoring capabilities
 predictive water dispersion and related monitoring capabilities
 an inventory of incident assessment capabilities
 access to the ship’s manifest and loading plan
 search and rescue capabilities
 decontamination techniques for responders and exposed public.

The next organisational arrangement to consider is monitoring and reporting.

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SLIDE 16

MONITORING, REPORTING AND RECORD KEEPING – a key facet in the preparation

process is the establishment of reporting procedures which will indicate:

 who is responsible for reporting

 to whom are the reports to be made
 what format should be used for the reports
 when are the reports to be made.

The reporting procedures should be linked to an appropriate record keeping process.

The next organisational arrangement to consider is defined operational procedures.

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SLIDE 17

OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES – to ensure that an appropriate and effective response is

initiated in a timely fashion it is necessary to develop operational procedures.

It is of paramount importance that these procedures are clearly defined, properly

co-ordinated and that all roles and responsibilities are clearly identified and defined.

The next organisational arrangement to consider is training and exercising.

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SLIDE 18

TRAINING AND EXERCISE – training standards should be prescribed for all response
personnel, whether performing at the decision-making or operational levels.

They should include:

 training should be content specific with the job performance expectations

 schedules for implementation and compliance dates
 requirements for issuing certificates and their specific content
 requirements for periodic refresher training are defined, for example three-yearly
requalification
 exercises and drills are planned for regular intervals to ensure that the response
programme is effective
 ensure that all training organisations used are approved/certified prior to conducting
training
 that the training delivered is of an equivalent standard as international training
requirements.

The last organisational arrangement to consider is financial and liability arrangements.

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SLIDE 19

The last organisational arrangement concerns the financial and liability aspects.

Whilst these aspects will have been covered earlier in the emergency response system
nevertheless they play an important and fundamental part in the system.

In respect of the financial aspects the level of preparedness required will need to be funded
as well as having sufficient provisions to fund any response. In the latter it is vital that good
record keeping is established at an early stage to assist in the collation and management of
any claim.

In respect of the liability aspects the administration and relevant international, legal and
insurance bodies will determine the level of liability for differing parties. This will be
established by reference to national legislation and international conventions. We have
already covered some of these aspects in Module 2 – International Legislation.

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SLIDE 20

In this section we have considered the key components of an emergency response system.

In the next section of this module we will consider the key components and phases of the
response organisation and a systematic approach to decision making during a response.

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SUB-MODULE 5B

RESPONSE ORGANISATION

SLIDE 21

In this section we will consider the key components and phases of the response organisation
and a systematic approach to decision making during a response.

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SLIDE 22

When an incident involving an HNS spill occurs the first personnel to be involved will be the
ship’s crew. They are trained for emergency response on board but many of the crew
members may not be aware of the potential environmental impact of spills at sea. In
addition to this, in the event of an HNS incident, a ship’s crew may need to take shelter in
place or abandon ship. As a result of this each coastal state should have an effective
response organisation in place to deal with such events.

Response personnel intervening on the pollution are more likely to be those involved in oil
spill response and therefore they will be aware of certain environmental concerns. However
they may not be suitably familiar with the particular hazards of chemical spills. Alternatively
they could come from shore-based chemical response units, such as a fire brigade, with
limited knowledge of pollution response or maritime operations.

As a result of this it is essential that there is a well co-ordinated response system to ensure
incident management, including the recovery of lost packages and combating an HNS spill.
The system must be established on a permanent basis and must identify the personnel who
will respond and perform specific tasks in the event of an accident. They should also be
aware of emergency procedures that are to be followed by the ship’s crew.

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SLIDE 23

RESPONSE ORGANISATION – the number of personnel, organisations and activities

involved in response can vary greatly.

However to be effective the various response personnel and their activities must be
organised into a structure unit capable of conducting the operations required. Advisory
and/or assisting experts from the chemical industry, chemical accident emergency teams
from fire brigades and civil emergency authorities should be an integrated part of the
response organisation.

The primary aim is to establish a response organisation capable of effectively managing and
directing the successful mitigation of an incident. The structure of the organisation and the
functions performed should be modified on a case by case basis to adjust to the specific
requirements of each situation. There are however common feature of HNS incidents which
can be used to design a generic organisational structure and which need to be included at
the planning stage.

Elements to be considered are:

 the identification of an agency for overall command and on scene co-ordination

 the definitions of responsibilities and functions, including ship salvage, search and
rescue and pollution operations
 the delineation of authority
 the establishment of internal and external communications
 the co-ordination of activities and functions
 the identification of resources including information sources on HNS response
personnel, equipment, chemical specialists and the financial aspect in order to cover
the costs involved.

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SLIDE 24

RESPONSE PERSONNEL – to manage the various activities required in a response

situation, personnel must be selected and assigned the responsibility for conducting specific
operations. A suggested organisation is described below:

 Overall commander – the overall commander is responsible for general policy and
strategic decisions. He/she provides the link to higher government authority or port
management. In certain cases the overall commander could also be responsible for
international co-operation if this was required. The overall commander may be
assisted and advised by internal and external experts such as legal, compensation,
scientific, etc.
 On-scene commander – the on-scene commander or co-ordinator (OSC) is the
person responsible for organising the local response and co-ordinating the
deployment of required resources.
o The OSC may be a government or an industry representative.
o The OSC is a decision maker, a communicator and a manager of personnel.
o The OSC is responsible for directing the employment of needed resources.
o The OSC establishes an operations centre for the collection of information
incorporating concerns or sensitivities of a participating organisation/public/
media, and is responsible for reporting all aspects of the spill.
o The OSC will be assisted by response team leaders in the field.
 The scientific co-ordinator is responsible for directing and co-ordinating activities
related to the scientific aspects of the situation, including analysis, remedial actions,
sample collection, field monitoring and analysis of data.
 The safety officer provides advice and consultation on all matters related to health
and safety of those involved in response operations. He/she establishes and directs
the safety programme.
 The public information officer is responsible for releasing all information concerning
response activities to the news media and the public. He/she should be kept
informed of the latest information on the situation, as well as the strategies and
tactics to be implemented. He/she is responsible for verifying the press releases.

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 The security officer is responsible for general response area security (this will usually
be with local law enforcement personnel).
 The financial officer provides financial and contractual support.
 The record keeper is responsible for the official record of response activities.

A common response system, the US originated Incident Command System (ICS) is described
in your workbook.

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SLIDE 25

The definition of response is the effort of minimising the risks created in an emergency, to
protect people, the environment and property and to restore normal pre-emergency
conditions. There is a systematic approach to responding to HNS incidents which we will
consider shortly however marine HNS accidents share the following crisis components:

 there are large uncertainties

 important values are at risk – this includes the risk to human life
 tight time constraints
 the outcome is unpredictable and unexpected.

The response to a marine accident is a complex issue requiring highly specialised skills and
technology and the involvement of numerous organisations. Critical decisions need to be
made rapidly to prevent escalation and turn a developing disastrous situation into a non-
hazardous one.

The decision-making process must be flexible enough to handle a broad spectrum of

different incident-related issues in a timely, efficient and effective manner. The decisions
reached must be simple enough to be clearly understood by all those involved in the
response operations.

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SLIDE 26

The systematic approach to response was originally developed by the chemical industry to
assist the decision makers involved in the management of HNS emergency situations.

It is a systematic sequence of steps for collecting information and making decisions in a

logical and methodical manner. It is broken down into four steps:

 assessment – where all the information on the incident is gathered

 decision making – where the information is processed and interpreted to define
priorities, strategies and tactics
 the implementation where appropriate response actions are put into practice
 the feedback loop where the decisions made and the actions implemented are
reassessed against the evolving situation.

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SLIDE 27

This slide shows the relationship between the four basic response steps and the general
preparedness and response framework.

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SLIDE 28

The assessment of the situation will occur in two phases. First an initial assessment of any
maritime casualty will be made to decide whether any environmental response is needed.
Should an HNS response operation be required a detailed assessment will follow to identify
the best strategies and tactics and to facilitate their safe implementation.

In order to conduct a comprehensive assessment the following questions should be asked.

 What are the circumstances of the incident?

 What are the modifying conditions – the conditions that change the incident;
location, weather conditions, time of year, etc?
 What are the potential impact and losses from exposure?
 What response capabilities are available?
 What are the anticipated reactions of interested groups?

For data such as chemical and toxicological properties, ship structure, last port of call, etc,
the information is usually available from various government agencies, the master, the ship
owner, maritime authorities, international organisations and P&I clubs.

Other information can only be obtained by direct observation from the accident site. The
data can either be collected from a distance (conservative assessment), or by direct entry
into the contaminated site by an assessment team using appropriate personal protective
clothing and monitoring equipment. The information collected should be verified and, if
necessary, complemented. Special care should be taken when approaching, by sea or air,
any stricken vessel.

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SLIDE 29

DECISION-MAKING PHASE

Based on the description of the problem and of possible losses identified in the assessment
phase, the authority in charge may decide, where feasible and acceptable, to trigger an
environmental response operation. The goals and objectives of the intervention should be
clearly defined, saving lives, preserving the environment and protecting property being the
overall priorities.

The decision should be based on identifying the most critical issues. The more accurate the
description of the accident and its circumstances, the more adequate the understanding of
the critical issues. Decisions will be taken on issues such as:

 is a response necessary?
 if the situation does warrant a response, what type of action needs to be taken?
 if the response action is possible due to prevailing conditions?
 whether the response action has to be postponed as a result of a requirement for
further resources?

Response priorities can then be established by taking into consideration the modifying
conditions, the response capabilities at hand and the reaction of the different interest
groups. The priorities should address both preventative and corrective strategies. Only then
should response activities and tactics be carried out, taking into consideration three different
forms of action:

 actions on the vessel

 actions on the cargo
 actions on the released HNS.

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SLIDE 30

The IMPLEMENTATION PHASE consists of putting into effect your response strategies
and plans. It is at this stage that field operations are carried out.

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SLIDE 31

FEEDBACK LOOP

Any HNS incident is a dynamic situation. It requires on-going reassessment of the entire
situation to identify new elements which may require changing the original plans or stopping
activities taking place.

This continuous reassessment of the situation and of each of its elements brings the process
back to the first stage, allowing the decision maker to permanently ensure a safe, effective
and efficient response.

This systematic approach is a dynamic method which constantly examines and reassesses
the facts and the situation. It endeavours to anticipate changes to prevent any possible
escalation of the situation.

The systematic approach requires decision makers to carefully consider all aspects of the
operation, to develop and maintain effective communications with all response personnel
and to keep in mind any possible eventuality.

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SLIDE 32

WHY IS THIS APPROACH EFFECTIVE?

Using this approach, consideration of the following seven critical issues will ensure
substantially positive decisions:

 The approach enables a broad spectrum of alternative actions to be sought.

 It allows all possible objectives to be considered.
 The costs and risks can be carefully balanced as well as the impact, both positive
and negative, of each course of action.
 New information is constantly being sought to continually assess possible alternative
courses of action.
 All information is considered even if it does not corroborate the initial response
strategy.
 All alternative courses of action are re-assessed prior to making a decision. This
includes reassessing those courses of action that were initially discarded.
 It ensures that the plan of action is fulfilled.

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SLIDE 33

BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACH?

The main advantage of the systematic approach method is to unite the various decision
making organisations around a common objective.

The method provides a series of actions for decision making which will reduce the risks of
conflict related to the choice of priorities or varying points of view.

During an exercise or an incident, clear advantages can be obtained from a systematic

approach to decision making:

 A better understanding of the key decisions and of the decision making process by all
personnel.
 The fact that the situation is continually reassessed means that the pertinent facts
are not forgotten.
 This system helps ensure that priorities are established.
 The method enables the most effective use of resources.
 The method also increases safety for both the response teams and the public in
general.

That concludes this section of the module.

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SLIDE 34

In this section we have considered response organisation, phases of the response and a
systematic approach to decision making during a response.

In the next section of this module we will consider response methods on vessels.

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SUB-MODULE 5C

RESPONSE METHODS – VESSELS

SLIDE 35

In this section we will consider response methods with a particular focus on vessels,
vessel-based operations and considerations.

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SLIDE 36

When responding to accidents involving HNS some general first steps must often be taken
which are the same for many accidents no matter what substances are involved, what the
circumstances are or where the incident occurs.

Never rush into a chemical incident, but try to use your common sense and assess the
situation carefully. Plan the work on a worst possible case basis. Realise that each chemical
is different and that a new incident is not going to be the same as an earlier one. There is
nothing like a typical incident. Focus on the health and safety aspects as these are crucial to
the successful outcome of the incident.

The list above includes some general routines that should be applied regardless of the size
of the incident.

 Get a rapid general view of the situation and judge the need for the most urgent
actions to be taken, such as medical care of victims, restriction of access,
evacuation, reduction of leakages, etc.
 Warn passers-by, seafarers, public, etc. Inform appropriate authorities, agencies and
the media.
 Identify all involved chemicals. Note their mode of transport (bulk, container,
palleted goods, etc) as well as type of spill or discharged (escaped chemicals, lost
packaged dangerous goods).
 Judge the risk for fire, explosion, leakage as well as health risks and risks for
adjacent areas (utilise e.g. the IMDG Code, Material Safety Data sheets, Chemical
Safety Cards, Chemical Information Databases).
 Establish restriction areas (exclusion zones) and restrict access to these areas by
guarding the entrances.
 Activate response procedures: investigation, assessment, response, decontamination,
relieving and replacement of response personnel, materials and equipment.
 Make appropriate arrangements for beaches, swimming areas, fishing grounds, fresh
water intakes, etc, such as restriction of access or restriction of right to use.
 Use monitoring devices continuously for fire, explosion and health risks.

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 Assess emission rates, volumes, properties and reactivity for involved chemicals and
assess initial drift, spread and evaporation (direction, distance, volumes) and
calculate and forecast these behaviours by modelling programs and observations.
 Continuously monitor drift and spread in order to assess the risk, and continuously
take appropriate actions based on the judgements.
 Take appropriate steps to stop or reduce damage to environment and property.
 Contact, as soon as possible, relevant environmental bodies and plan for appropriate
handling of the hazardous waste that the accident and the operation may yield.

Your workbook contains a suggested response checklist.

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SLIDE 37

In planning a response it is appropriate to prioritise your actions no matter what substances

are involved, what the circumstances are or where the incident occurs. Your priorities should
include:

 Life saving
o search for casualties and rescue from the risk area
o first aid and decontamination of casualties
o remove casualties to a safe area
 Stop, limit or combat discharge
o contain or collect
o neutralise
o wash overboard
 Reduce damage
o fight fire
o cool products
o move products

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SLIDE 38

Is it feasible to carry our response actions at sea, at anchor, in sheltered waters or

alongside? Where is the safest place from which to stage response operations, remembering
that if you need external assistance in terms of personnel or equipment you need to
consider how they will be brought on board.

Administrations should be encouraged not to unreasonably deny ships requiring assistance

access to sheltered waters.

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SLIDE 39

In determining the best course of action you need to consider the following factors:

 Is it possible and safe to transfer at sea? Note that there are guidance and
recommendations available on ship-to-ship transfers
 What is the extent of damage to the cargo and bunker tanks?
 Is the release continuing or complete?
 Is there progressive tank damage and is the threat of further spillage greater at sea
than in sheltered waters?
 Can some action be taken to control/reduce the spillage while towing to shelter? This
might include transfer to another intact tank on board, or a limited ship-to-ship
transfer.
 If there is a fire situation, can the fire be successfully fought at sea?
 Is there a safe area of sheltered water?
 Is the risk of moving the ship to sheltered waters acceptable?

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SLIDE 40

When a spill on board creates toxic, corrosive or flammable vapours, the vessel should be
manoeuvred, if conditions permit, so that vapours move away from the accommodation and
operations space.

Ventilation may not always be effective for removing gas clouds, particularly for heavier than
air gases that settle and accumulate in low spaces.

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SLIDE 41

In the event of a vapour release we have already considered manoeuvring the vessel. Other
considerations are to eliminate all ignition sources when dealing with flammable vapours and
to consider using water mists to knock down any vapours. However be aware of the possible
reactions with water and balance any consequences against the risks.

The usual response to liquid release on board is to wash the spillage away with large
quantities of water. This can however cause severe marine pollution especially in shallow or
enclosed waters, environmentally sensitive areas or in proximity to intakes of drinking water.

Where possible spillages should be collected with sorbent material and placed in receptacles
for disposal ashore. Alternatively they can be transferred to empty tanks using portable
pumps.

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SLIDE 42

Fire fighting at sea presents unique problems, not least the limited space to manoeuvre in
narrow spaces and the danger that the vessel may list or even sink, especially with extra
water being pumped onboard.

On the other hand there is a ready supply of water as a fire-fighting agent, but what if the
HNS cargo is likely to react violently to water? In this case only dry inert powders should be
used. Paradoxically, if these materials are not available very large quantities of water may
be effective as this can have a cooling effect even if a chemical reaction is occurring.

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SLIDE 43

The consequences of your response actions must be balanced against the risks.

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SLIDE 44

When assessing the options in marine-related HNS incidents it is almost always preferable to
prevent the chemical leaving the vessel, by rendering the situation safe and stable. The
evaluation of modes of action will be taken in the decision-making phase of the operation,
and will be the result of the comparison of the results possible and the consequences of the
different actions, these will include:

 the risk to human health and safety

 the damage to property (vessel, cargo)
 the damage to the environment
 the potential cost
 the legal implications.

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SLIDE 45

Evaluation of intervention capabilities can be evaluated in two ways:

 Can it be done?
 Do we have the expertise and equipment to carry it out?

The question of resources should be easily answered if sufficient contingency and

pre-planning has been carried out prior to the actual incident.

Once the decision has been made to undertake an intervention then the response should be
done by specialists and as quickly as possible to reduce a potentially dangerous situation
evolving.

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SLIDE 46

As the response operation unfolds assess the options available – remember sometimes it
may be appropriate to do nothing except monitor the situation.

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SLIDE 47

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SLIDE 48

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SLIDE 49

An evaluation team should preferably be placed onboard, this will consist of an appropriate
number of persons with experience in salvage techniques, HNS spill response and
engineering. This team should be equipped with protective clothing and be landed onboard
by boat or helicopter. Their role is to ascertain the full status of the vessel in order to allow
the incident management team to progress to the detailed assessment phase.

Information that will be required is:

 cargo status and disposition

 equipment and facilities available on board
 measure gas levels
 determine the operational status of machinery on board.

Carry out a full risk assessment of an intervention operation and take any remedial action
that may be necessary to stabilise the situation.

The full scope of the inspection will have been agreed in an initial briefing and checklists, if
not pre-prepared, should be agreed at that time. (A similar approach will be used in
non-marine spills to quickly analyse the magnitude and effect of a chemical spill.)

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SLIDE 50

The decision to evacuate or shelter is very incident specific and the use of careful judgement
is necessary.

It is highly likely however that any decision as to whether a large-scale public evacuation is
necessary will be taken by the emergency services in conjunction with other local
authorities.

General guidelines:

Evacuation is a viable option when:

 There is time to relocate people.

 The discharge has already taken place, but personnel are sufficiently far downwind
to permit evacuation.
 The release is expected to be over a prolonged period of time.
 A fire has also occurred, which may get out of control.
 People not yet in the direct path of the direct path of the cloud are threatened by a
future wind shift.

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SLIDE 51

In-place-sheltering is a viable option when:

 the airborne contamination is moving so fast that there is little time to evacuate
 the release is short term
 weather changes are difficult to predict
 personnel may sustain injury during the evacuation.

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SLIDE 52

In this section we have considered the unique aspects of responding to a vessel with an
HNS problem.

In the next section of this module we will consider possible methods of response once the
HNS has been released.

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SUB-MODULE 5D

RESPONSE METHODS – HNS RELEASES

SLIDE 53

In this section we will consider response methods for HNS that has been released.

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SLIDE 54

We will now consider the different categories of response based on the physical
characteristics of the substances involved.

The three response categories we have available are:

 forecasting
 monitoring
 combating.

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SLIDE 55

As discussed earlier in the course the behaviour of HNS when released can be classified into
12 different subgroups.

This classification system can be used to identify appropriate forecasting and response
methods.

In this section we will examine some of the commonly used forecasting and response
methods for HNS which exhibit each of these behaviours.

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SLIDE 56

This table summarises the response methods against the classification groups. We shall now
consider each group method in turn.

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SLIDE 57

Be aware that any model is a simplified version of the reality it attempts to simulate. For
example some forecasting models simplify the behaviour of clouds of evaporated HNS by
ignoring the effect of the underlying terrain (calm or rough). The model may be too simple
to adequately forecast the behaviour of the HNS in the real world.

On the other hand realistic models may be very complex and require a lot of information to
be collected and input. Special training or expertise will be required to use such models.

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SLIDE 58

Forecasting can be sub-divided into three sections:

F1 – forecasting the spread of in air.

F2 – forecasting the spread on the water surface.

F3 – forecasting the spread in water body.

Forecasting HNS that sinks is a separate problem to consider.

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SLIDE 59

Method F1 is used to forecast the spread of gas clouds from volatile liquids (groups G and E)
and for flammable and toxic HNS.

Computer models are used to predict the movement of gases under different scenarios.

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SLIDE 60

Tables predicting the spread of the gases are produced and can be used to provide
estimates of spread in an emergency.

It must be stressed that these estimates are no substitute for monitoring as the models
cannot take into account the specific atmospheric and physical conditions at the time of the
incident.

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SLIDE 61

Method F2 is used to forecast the spread on the water surface of floating HNS – group F.

A simple vector diagram is used to calculate the effect of wind and current on a spill.

This simple model does not take factors such as evaporation or dissolution into account, but
assumes that chemicals belonging to sub-groups, FE, FD and FED will disappear within
approximately 10 hours.

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SLIDE 62

Method F3 is used to forecast the spread of group D HNS in the water body.

It is a simple geometric model and depends on knowing the direction of the current. It
cannot be used in stagnant water.

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SLIDE 63

Forecasting the spread of chemicals that sink (group S) is very difficult because of the large
number of interacting factors that influence the process, including the density of the
chemical, the degree to which it evaporates, drifts, dissolves and penetrates the bottom.

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SLIDE 64

Monitoring can be sub-divided into two sections:

M1 – monitoring the spread in air.

M2 – monitoring the spread in water.

However before we look at these methods we need to consider the purpose of monitoring.

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SLIDE 65

When HNS is spilled it is crucial to monitor the air for concentrations of hazardous
substances.

The aim of vapour monitoring is to:

 assess both toxic and fire/explosion hazards

 map the area where unprotected personnel should be evacuated
 judge the appropriate level of body protection for response personnel.

On some occasions the read-out values can be used directly for designing risk areas. In
other circumstances the instruments can be used to check risk areas that are already
assessed or defined according to some calculation method or forecasting model.

The most difficult measuring task on a site of a chemical accident is to make rapid
identification of unknown airborne substances by means of portable instruments. Such work
requires sophisticated instruments and trained expertise often not available when the first
risk assessment is made. Proper use of portable gas monitoring instruments generally
requires the exact knowledge of the gas’s identity but new detectors are also able to identify
threat levels rather than individual substances.

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SLIDE 66

Different methods are used to monitor spills on water depending on whether the HNS is:

 in the water column

 on the surface
 on the seabed.

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SLIDE 67

Aerial reconnaissance

It may be possible for HNS surface spills to be detected and monitored by various types of
airborne remote sensing instruments, depending on the substances’ properties.

Remote sensors work by detecting properties of the sea surface: colour, reflectance,
temperature or roughness. Pollutants can be detected on the water surface when it modifies
one or more of these properties. Cameras relying on visible light are widely used, and may
be supplemented by airborne sensors which detect oil outside the visible spectrum and are
thus able to provide additional information about the substance. The most commonly
employed combinations of sensors include side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) and
downward-looking thermal infra-red (IR) and ultra-violet (UV) detectors or imaging systems.
All sensors must be calibrated and require highly trained personnel to operate them and
interpret the results.

Satellite imagery

Satellite-based remote sensing systems have had some success in detecting oil spills and
should also be able to detect HNS spills on water.

The sensors on board are either optical, detecting in the visible and near infra-red regions of
the spectrum, or use radar. Optical observation of spilt HNS by satellite requires clear skies,
thereby severely limiting the usefulness of such systems. SAR (synthetic aperture radar) is
not restricted by the presence of cloud and is a more useful tool. However, with radar
imagery, it is often difficult to be certain that an anomalous feature on a satellite image is
caused by the presence of HNS. Consequently, radar imagery from SAR requires expert
interpretation by suitably trained personnel to avoid other features being mistaken for HNS
spills. To date, operational use has not been possible because of the time intervals between
satellite overpasses and the time necessary to process the data. However, such imagery can
be used later to complement aerial observations and provide a wider picture of the extent of
pollution.

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SLIDE 68

Occasionally unusual substances such as radioactive or infectious substances need to be

monitored. Only specialist personnel should be engaged for this type of work.

And finally, dogs – canine olfaction – the principle of canine olfaction is the ability that
trained sniffer dogs have to detect trace gases at concentrations lower than those that can
be detected by monitoring instruments.

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SLIDE 69

Combating can be sub-divided into four sections:

C1 – combating water-soluble gas clouds.

C2 – combating spills that float on water.

C3 – combating spills that dissolve in water.

C4 – combating spills that sink to the bottom.

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SLIDE 70

Small gas clouds can be ‘knocked down’ and washed out by water sprays produced by the
on-board pumps. This method can be used with any water soluble gases, such as ammonia
and sulphur dioxide. It can also be used against non-water soluble gases to reduce the risk
of fire and explosion by cooling down hot surfaces and suppressing sparks and flames.

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SLIDE 71

Spilled HNS that floats on the water surface will spread and form a large contact surface to
the air. Depending on its vapour pressure, it may evaporate rapidly and produce high gas
concentration. When responding to floating chemical spills on the water surface it is
therefore especially important to monitor air concentrations in order to assess fire and
explosion risks as well as danger to health.

Group F substances which evaporate quickly should be treated with foam to reduce
vaporising and reduce the risk of fire and explosion.

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SLIDE 72

Those that do not evaporate easily can be treated with sorbents and some other types of
treating or gelling agents that make the spill thicker and easier to collect.

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SLIDE 73

Some spills can be contained by booms (for a short time only, due to chemicals’ generally
low viscosity), before being picked up by recovery equipment.

During all such response work, special attention must be given to risks of health, fire and
explosion. On some occasions, these risks can be reduced by covering the spill with foam as
pointed out before.

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SLIDE 74

Recovery of floating spills using various types of skimmers

This method consists of applying certain types of skimmers on the floating spill. It can be
applied to spills of substances that float on the water surface and do not evaporate or
dissolve significantly.

 Vortex systems can be used for recovery of chemicals on the water surface in the
same way as light petroleum products. The chemicals should not be pre-treated with
response agents when applying vortex recovery systems.
 Belt skimmers have turned out to be usable for recovery of certain chemicals, e.g.
octanol and dioctyl phthalate. The process may sometimes be facilitated by pre-
treatment with e.g. sorbents.
 Sorbent rope systems can sometimes be used to pick up chemical spills from the
water surface. When using these systems, the chemical should not be pre-treated
with any response agents.

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SLIDE 75

Recovery of floating spills using polypropylene sorbent plates or pillows

This method involves distributing sorbents over the floating spill on the water surface and
recovery of the sorbent–spill mixture. Sorbents can sometimes be used for chemical spills on
inland or coastal water surfaces. Normally they are useless in the high sea. There are a lot
of different sorbents, designed for chemical spills, available on the market. These agents
have various appearances and compositions. Most of them are aimed and tested for spills on
land but a few are suitable for absorbing spills from the water surface. It currently appears
that the most efficient products are made of polypropylene. This polymer is available as
foam plastic plates or felt-like pieces that can be easily distributed over the spill.
Alternatively powdered sorbents are packed in pillows to make them easier to distribute.

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SLIDE 76

A spilled chemical, that dissolves in water, will form a growing “cloud” in the water body. It
is important to monitor the concentration gradients in the cloud to track the chemicals’
spread and drift in order to judge the hazards for the environment, fishery, recreational
areas, fresh water intakes, etc.

HNS spills that dissolve in shallow water may sometimes be mixed in with various treating
agents in order to reduce deleterious effects on humans and the environment. Examples of
such treating agents are:

 activated carbon
 oxidising agents
 reduction agents
 complexing agents
 ion exchangers
 flocculating agents.

Flocculation agents, gelling agents, activated carbon, complexing agents and ion exchangers
can also be used for treatment of mixtures of chemicals and water that have been recovered
from a spill site and pumped into barges or other intermediate storing containers.

Activated carbon is often used in this way and is a well-known, efficient agent for absorption
of many different organic chemicals.

Releases of acids and bases in streams, creeks and rivers have, on some occasions, turned
out to have devastating ecological effects even if the volumes are relatively small.

The explanation to the serious impact is that such a spill, if it is momentary or occurs in a
short time, forms a relatively concentrated ”cloud” that moves downstream and damages or
destroys the life in the water all along its course.

Spills of acids and bases in confined water areas should therefore be quickly located,
mapped, and then treated with neutralising agents.
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The following neutralising agents have turned out to be suitable choices:

 For spills of acids – sodium acid carbonate (sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3).

 For spills of bases – sodium dihydrogen phosphate (monosodium phosphate,
NAH2PO4).

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SLIDE 77

Discharges of chemicals that sink to the bottom can heavily contaminate the impacted
bottom sediments. Careful planning should be done, on such occasions, for the
decontamination work. A sophisticated system may be needed to take care of and clean the
contaminated sediments.

Sunken spills on the bottom can be recovered by different kinds of dredging techniques and
there are various types of suitable dredges.

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SLIDE 78

In this section we have considered the subject of response to released HNS.

In the next section of this module we will consider health and safety.

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SUB-MODULE 5E

HEALTH AND SAFETY

SLIDE 79

In this section we will consider the health and safety aspects of HNS incidents and
associated response.

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SLIDE 80

The wide range of toxicological and physical properties of HNS increases the need for
heightened protection of first responders to a chemical emergency.

Chemical response personnel may not realise that they are being exposed to chemicals. In
some cases, a very low exposure level may generate major or delayed effects. Very strict
response procedures are necessary to protect personnel and the public and measures
should be taken to systematically decontaminate personnel and equipment, so as to halt the
spread of contamination.

Health and safety officer – when an on-scene commander is appointed one of his/her
first duties is to designate a health and safety officer for all response-related work and to
ensure that safety procedures are effectively being carried out.

 The officer should set up a site safety plan for each workstation, specific to the HNS
spilled or used.
 He/she will be responsible for re-evaluating the risk levels periodically or as the need
arises. It is also possible that he/she may be required to set up new safety
procedures during the operation.
 The officer should establish a medical team including at least one physician, to
ensure that periodic checks are made of workers exposed to HNS and to other
dangers during operations.
 The officer is also responsible for disseminating all useful information about the
spilled HNS to the response team management, to the medical team who are likely
to come into contact with contaminated personnel, and to the response teams who
could come directly into contact with the spilled materials.
 The officer is also responsible for ensuring that all devices necessary for monitoring
and detecting, for example, explosive or toxic substances, are available, adequately
calibrated and in good working condition. We shall cover this in greater detail in
Section E.

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SLIDE 81

SITE SAFETY PLAN

The purpose of the site safety plan is to establish the requirements for the protection of
team members during all activities conducted at an incident. It should also contain safety
information, instructions and procedures. The plan must be prepared by qualified personnel
and should address each activity of the HNS response. Before operations commence, safety
requirement must be written and posted or distributed to all responders and discussed with
them. The site safety plan must be periodically reviewed to ensure that it is up to date.

CLASSIFICATION OF WORK AREAS

Work areas should be divided into three categories. This indicates the level of risk for
workers and the level of training and protection required.

The diagram shows the possible arrangement of work areas for an incident although there is
not a fixed format that can adequately address all accidents.

Exclusion zone – this area immediately surrounds the contaminated zone. It must extend
far enough to prevent adverse effects from the releases of hazardous substances on people
outside the zone. Only trained personnel wearing appropriate clothing should be permitted
to access this zone.

Contamination reduction zone – this is the area where personnel and equipment
decontamination occurs and where support is provided to workers entering the exclusion
zone. This area should have controlled entry points in order to limit access to authorised
personnel only, in order to reduce the spread of contamination. As before personnel working
inside this area should have adequate training and wear appropriate personal protection
equipment (PPE).

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Support zone – this zone contains the command post and other support functions
necessary to control the incident such as first aid, maintenance for equipment, offices and
administration, laboratories, etc. Personnel entering this zone may wear conventional work
clothes and their training need only be related to their jobs.

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SLIDE 82

One of the key elements of a health and safety strategy is the protection of response
personnel. Personnel protective equipment (PPE) provides vital protection in the event of a
HNS accident. What protection is required depends on different factors.

Instructor to ask class: “What factors may determine the type of PPE required?”

Instructor to encourage suggestions from the students: fire, toxicity, corrosivity,

volatility, radioactivity.

It is also determined by the severity of the chemical hazard in addition to the individual
circumstances encountered. PPE consists of respiratory apparatus and protective clothing. It
shields or isolates response personnel from the physical, chemical and/or thermal hazards at
the incident scene.

Respiratory equipment – response personnel need to wear respiratory equipment until

the incident site is confirmed to be free of airborne contaminates or when:

 The surrounding atmosphere is contaminated, or can potentially become

contaminated, with particulate, vapours or gases.
 The surrounding atmosphere is deficient in oxygen. The normal oxygen content in
the air should be close to 21% by volume.
 A combination of the above two factors is present at the spill site.

Protection of the respiratory system is achieved through the use of a respirator. This is a
device worn over the mouth and nose or covering the entire face or head. It is intended to
protect against airborne physical and chemical hazards, either by removing the contaminant
from the air or by supplying an independent source of clean air.

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A device that removes the contaminants is called an air-purifying respirator. It uses a filter
which acts passively on the air inhaled by the wearer. Filters or cartridges may have a shelf-
life and a maximum concentration for usage. As this type of respirator does not supply
oxygen it should never be used in an oxygen deficient environment. Unless the hazard is
known, and an air purifying respirator had been determined to be appropriate, this type of
respirator should not be used in a response situation.

The open circuit self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), an air supplying type respirator,
is the basic breathing apparatus for chemical response. An open circuit SCBA exhausts the
exhaled air into the atmosphere. Air is inhaled from a compressed air tank, passing through
a regulator, which reduces the pressure for delivery to a face piece.

Two types of open-circuit SCBAs are available, “demand” and “pressure demand”. With the
demand system, air flows into the face piece only upon inhalation, or “demand” of the user.
The danger of demand systems is that negative pressure in the face piece caused by
inhalation not only triggers air flow but could also draw “bad” atmospheric air through leaks
around the face piece. This type of system should never be used in an atmosphere
considered to be immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH). A pressure demand system
should be used instead.

The “pressure demand” (sometimes referred to a “positive pressure”) system causes a small
continuous flow of air to be passed into the face piece through the regulator. Regardless of
whether the user is inhaling or not, there is air and positive pressure in the face piece thus
eliminating any contamination from atmospheric air.

All SCBAs must be worn with full-face pieces and many are designed to fit inside a fully
encapsulated suit. Condensation on the visor may give rise to visibility problems. SCBAs may
be quite heavy and have a limited working duration until the air bottle is discharged. They
also require special training in order to use and maintain them.

A guide to establishing the correct level of respiratory protection is contained in the

workbook.

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SLIDE 83

Protective clothing ranges from safety glasses, hard hat and safety shoes to fully
encapsulating suits, with a supplied source of breathing air. It also includes disposable
coveralls, fire-retardant clothing, cryogenic clothing, splash suits and many other types of
clothing utilising different materials to provide a barrier against the hazard.

The primary safeguard of any protective clothing is the material from which it is
manufactured. The six main characteristics of a material to be considered for acceptable
performance are:

 Strength – the ability to resist damage.

 Chemical resistance – the ability to resist degradation and penetration.
 Thermal resistance – protection under adverse heat (or cold) conditions.
 Flexibility – does not constrain your activities, ease of movement.
 Cleanability – ease of cleaning and decontamination.
 Ageing resistance – durability over time.

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SLIDE 84

Personnel protective equipment is essential to protect the responder from exposure. PPE can
however inconvenience or disable the responder.

Instructor to ask class: “In what way might PPE disable the responder?”

Instructor to encourage suggestions from the students.

 wearing PPE can cause the responder to feel claustrophobic

 it can induce heat stress
 it can also induce rapid fatigue due to the additional physical effort required to move
in the protective suit
 it can impair communication
 it can impair the responder’s vision.

It is important that the PPE selected is appropriate for the circumstances of the incident.
Once the PPE is in use the response personnel should be monitored closely during the
course of the response for changes in their pulse rate, body temperature, skin colour,
mental alertness, blood pressure and body weight/fluid balance.

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SLIDE 85

Selecting the appropriate protection equipment for an HNS spill can be a confusing and
daunting task. The following factors should be considered:

 resistance of the materials or fabric to the chemical(s) spilled

 respiratory supply requirements
 heat stress
 reaction by-products when other chemicals are present
 the gamut of protective equipment configurations to choose from
 the phase of the response.

The task is manageable if the decision is taken to select a level of protection in relation to a
predetermined degree of hazard. To assist this decision some response organisations define
four levels of protection, A, B, C and D.

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SLIDE 86

LEVEL A

This is designed to provide the highest level of eye, skin and respiratory protection from
chemical threat. The responder’s entire body is shielded at this level and protection is
achieved by using a SCBA inside a totally encapsulating suit. This suit is used when highly
concentrated chemical vapours or gases are present, where the possibility of skin contact
with an aggressive liquid or solid is to be avoided or when the circumstances of the accident
are not clear.

This level of protection includes:

 positive pressure (pressure demand) self-contained breathing apparatus

 fully encapsulating chemical protective suit
 gloves, inner and outer, both are chemical resistant
 chemical-resistant boots with steel toe and shank. The type of boot will determine
whether or not it is worn under or over the suit
 cotton underwear, long john style
 hard hat to be worn under suit
 coveralls which should be worn under the suit
 two-way radio communications which should be intrinsically safe/non-sparking.

It is important that the responder is trained extensively in the use of the PPE. It is important
to operate a two man entry team during response with a back up team on standby. The
suit’s bulky design not only impairs vision but it also removes a fair degree of mobility and
agility when the individual may already be encountering a difficult situation. Tight spaces,
vessel movement, bad weather and the level of physical effort required can cause serious
problems. A hot day may rapidly cause heat exhaustion whereas as cold temperatures may
stiffen the garment and dramatically impair mobility. The proximity of flames may ignite
certain types of chemical protective clothing.

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SLIDE 87

LEVEL B

Level B protection is designed to provide splash protection while still using SCBAs for
maximum respiratory protection. It affords adequate protection in situations where the
concentration of known substances involved requires full respiratory protection, while
presenting a lesser hazard for the skin. It is selected for entering oxygen deficient
atmospheres, as it is less bulky and gives more manoeuvrability to its user.

Level B PPE includes:

 a positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus. The main difference over

Level A, however, is that the breathing apparatus is a worn outside the suit.
 a chemical-resistant suit which should be hooded clothing (overalls and long-sleeved
jacket, one or two piece chemical splash suit, disposable chemical-resistant coveralls)
 gloves, as before, both outer and inner and chemical resistant
 boots which are chemical resistant with steel toe and shank. These are worn outside
of the suit
 boot covers – these should be chemical resistant and disposable
 two-way radio communications which as before should be intrinsically
safe/non-sparking
 hard hat
 face shield.

(The boot covers, radio communications, hard hat and face shield are optional.)

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SLIDE 88

LEVEL C

Level C is designed for situations where a sufficiently low concentration of a known

substance allows the use of air-purifying respirators.

Level C protection includes:

 a full (or half) face mask, air purifying respirator

 chemical-resistant clothing which can be a one-piece coverall, a hooded two-piece
chemical splash suit, chemical-resistant hood and apron or disposable
chemical-resistant coveralls
 inner and outer chemical-resistant gloves
 steel toe and shank chemical-resistant boots
 boot covers
 cloth coveralls inside the chemical protection clothing
 two-way radio communications
 hard hat
 escape mask
 face shield.

(The boot covers, radio communications, hard hat, escape mask and face shield are
optional.)

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SLIDE 89

LEVEL D

Level D is the minimum level of protection. It does not include any special protection against
vapour or liquids. It may be used with a hard hat, gloves and eye protection and may be
supplemented by dust masks. Level D is a work uniform used for nuisance contamination
only. It requires only coveralls and safety shoes/boots. Other PPE is based upon the
situation. It should not be used when there are respiratory or skin hazards.

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SLIDE 90

LEVEL UPGRADING AND DOWNGRADING

The type of environment and overall level of protection should be assessed regularly as
more information about the site comes in and workers are required to conduct more varied
tasks.

Reasons for upgrading

 if there is a suspected or known presence of dermal hazards

 if there has been or is likely to be an occurrence of gas or vapour leak
 if there has been a change in the work task that will increase contact or potential
contact with hazardous materials
 an individual who performing the task requests an upgrade to their PPE.

Reasons to downgrade

 new information indicates that the situation is less hazardous than was originally
thought
 a change in site conditions has decreased the hazard
 a change in the work tasks will reduce the contact with hazardous materials.

It should be noted that situations may arise where the level of chemical protection required
will in fact place responders at an unacceptably high risk of injuries by factors which are not
associated with the chemical threat. In such cases, reconsideration of the approach will be
necessary, and may in fact lead to no intervention until the situation reaches a point where
remedial action becomes possible. Responders should ensure high safety standards on site
by following proper site entry procedures, as well as appropriate decontamination protocols
prescribed by the level of protection selected and the nature of the product involved. The
selection, acquisition and maintenance, the preparation of decontamination protocols and
the familiarisation and training of response personnel in the use of personal protective
equipment requires planning which should be carried out during the preparedness phase.

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SLIDE 91

In this section we have considered the subject of health and safety at HNS incidents and
during any associated response.

In the next section of this module we will consider decontamination.

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SUB-MODULE 5F

DECONTAMINATION

SLIDE 92

In this section we will consider the subject of decontamination.

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SLIDE 93

Decontamination is often overlooked. When responders enter a hazardous area they are
highly aware that they are being exposed to hazardous substances and are equipped with
PPE to protect them. When their role in the response is complete it is more likely that the
responder will come into contact with the hazardous substance. This is because they are
more relaxed and will be removing contaminated clothing and gloves.

Decontamination is the process for neutralising or removing contaminants. This is necessary

when personnel are moving from the spill site (exclusion zone) into a clean area
(contamination reduction zone). The best way of preventing the spread of contamination is
through avoidance. Every effort should be made to prevent any contact with contaminants.

Contamination can be avoided by following these rules:

 plan carefully
 know what contaminants you are dealing with
 pay attention to where you are putting your hands and feet
 don’t sit down
 don’t lean against drums or debris
 don’t put any equipment on the ground
 be practical.

It is also important to limit the number of people involved. As a result, exposure will then be
limited to the minimum number of personnel further reducing the risk of contamination.

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SLIDE 94

Decontamination Control Officer

After the decontamination area has been set up a person should be placed in charge of the
area. His/her responsibilities will be to:

 determine the level and type of decontamination that will be required

 supervise or operate the station, including upgrading or downgrading the level and
type of decontamination required
 control and monitor the movement of personnel through the decontamination station
 ensure that personnel are suitably attired
 maintain the availability of replacement clothing and equipment
 organise the handling and removal of contaminated waste from the site
 organise the handling and removal of decontaminated equipment
 signing personnel and equipment out of the station when decontamination has been
completed
 cleaning up the decontamination site post-incident.

A full list of the equipment required can be found in your workbook.

It is important when developing decontamination operating procedures that although they

are required to be thorough they also need to be sufficiently flexible to deal with every
possible eventuality. These procedures in conjunction with experience will enable the OSC or
decontamination station officer to determine the exact level of decontamination required.

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SLIDE 95

METHODS OF DECONTAMINATION

There are many methods of decontamination but they all fall into two categories:

Physical methods – this is where the chemical is removed from the contaminated item
without changing the chemical structure of the contaminant.

Chemical methods – this is where the chemical is removed from the contaminated item
using a process which changes the chemical into another product.

Examples of decontamination are:

Sorption – this is a dry technique which involves removing the contaminant using a suitable
material such as a paper towel or an inert natural product such as sand. The advantages to
this method are that there is no potential for a reaction with water, disposal of waste is
straightforward, costs are reduced and there is very little mess produced. The disadvantage
is however that although the contaminant has been removed it has not been eliminated or
reduced. It will need to be stored and transported securely for final disposal.

Vacuuming – this is used in the main for solids and powders.

Chemical alteration – this is the method where the contaminant is changed into a non-
hazardous product, for example when acids and bases neutralise each other. This method
should only be used with expert advice as it can create new hazards if carried out
incorrectly.

Dilution and washing – this method is the most common and uses water to flush away
the contaminant. Water is used on water-soluble substances and in the case of substances
that are not water soluble a detergent mix is used. There are very few cases where neither
of these solutions would be totally effective. In this event however a specialist solution can
be used. The disadvantages of this method are that a supply of clean water is required and

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a large amount of waste is created which leaves the potential for contamination of the
surrounding area and a final disposal problem.

Isolation and disposal – if clothing or equipment is severely contaminated and cannot be

cleaned to a satisfactory standard it should be treated as hazardous waste and disposed of
in accordance with the appropriate legislation.

There are many new products and techniques being researched and introduced to the
market place, mostly as a result of military or counter-terrorism programmes. Expert advice
should be sought before selecting the decontamination method.

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SLIDE 96

Ideally on-site decontamination should be carried out as close as possible to the incident as
this will prevent any spread of the contaminant. The selection of the layout of the
decontamination area will form part of the incident plan that has been implemented by the
on-scene commander. The area should be reasonably small and take into account several
factors:

 The weather should be considered, as an upwind location is the best option.

 How practical is the terrain and the amount of space?
 What services are available such as water and electricity?
 How accessible is the location and the spill itself?

Exclusion Zone – the exclusion zone is the area with the greatest potential to contaminate.
The highest level of PPE needed for the incident will be used in this area. All equipment and
personnel working in this area should be considered contaminated.

Contamination Reduction Zone – this is the area where personnel and equipment
decontamination occurs, and where support is provided to workers entering the exclusion
zone. Boundaries should be conspicuously marked, with entry and exit restricted. Personnel
leaving the exclusion zone must go through the decontamination stations. The size of the
zone depends on the number of stations in the decontamination procedure, the overall
dimensions of exclusion zone and the amount of space available at the site. Whenever
possible it should be a straight path. The decontamination area will contain a wash down
tank or a similar method for decontamination. The area should be equipped with drop bins
for equipment and clothing which has been decontaminated and waste bins for any
contaminated waste.

Support Zone – after decontamination, personnel can exit the CRC into the support zone.

Personal protective clothing, respirators, monitoring equipment and sampling supplies

should all be maintained outside of the CRC.

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SLIDE 97

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SLIDE 98

In this section we have considered the subject of decontamination. We have considered the
roles and responsibilities of the decontamination control office, some key dos and don’ts and
methods of decontamination and some basic guidance on establishing decontamination
zones.

In the next section of this module we will consider disposal.

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SUB-MODULE 5G

DISPOSAL

SLIDE 99

In this section we will consider disposal by which we mean the disposal of contaminated
material or recovered HNS.

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SLIDE 100

There are various methods for disposing of chemicals and chemical contaminated wastes.
These methods are normally applied after the response phase. Some of these techniques
will be conducted at the site but most are conducted at special facilities. The management
and disposal of HNS waste is an important part of any response and should be included as
part of the HNS spill contingency planning process.

Consideration should always be given to cleanup techniques and treatment methods that
will reduce the amount of material to be sent for final disposal. Any method utilised should
follow the established principles of sustainable waste management:

 prevent and minimise

 recovery through reuse and recycling
 disposal without harm to human health and the environment.

The final disposal of large amounts of HNS and HNS-contaminated debris can present major
logistical problems. Environmental factors and local regulations may restrict where
contaminated materials can be disposed of and in what concentrations and quantity.

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SLIDE 101

Whenever it is possible recovered HNS should be recycled and processed through a refinery.
Unlike oil, recycling to produce other HNS products is rarely possible due to the weathering
of the recovered HNS with sand, salt and debris. It is important to remember health and
safety considerations when handling, transporting and storing the recovered HNS and its
debris. Appropriate safety procedures should be put in place to ensure compliance to local
and national legislation. Operators must also be properly trained.

Recovered materials may consist of:

 HNS recovered at sea

 HNS recovered during shoreline cleanup operations
 HNS contaminated sand, mud, etc from dredging activities
 HNS contaminated beach debris (wood, plastic or seaweed), birds and mammals
 HNS contaminated cleanup materials, equipment and protective clothing
 HNS contaminated equipment
 residues generated by decontamination wash down stations employed to
decontaminate response equipment.

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SLIDE 102

Where might we be able to store HNS temporarily?

Temporary storage facilities are needed when the recovered material requires processing or
treatment before disposal or when transport of the HNS collected to the final disposal site is
impractical or uneconomic. Examples of temporary storage sites are:

 Integral tanks – HNS recovered at sea will normally be stored in integral tanks on
board the recovery vessels.
 If the hazard’s properties permit, it may also be recovered into towed floating tanks
or in towed or self-propelled barges prior to offloading into larger vessels or direct to
storage facilities on land.

Temporary on-site storage facilities should be identified and established at an early stage
and where possible should be identified in local contingency plans. The size, number and
type of the facilities involved will depend on the amount and nature of the material
recovered. It is important to ensure that segregation into the various waste streams is
possible and to keep separate the liquids from the solids. All materials must be labelled in
accordance with the relevant documentation.

Temporary storage facilities should be near the centre of the cleanup operations with good
access to roads. Cleaning facilities should be nearby so as not to spread any pollution. There
should be clear delineation between the contaminated and clean areas.

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These areas should be:

 remote from residential areas

 outside any areas that are considered to be vulnerable to groundwater contamination
 outside any areas that are considered to be of high environmental sensitivity
 as far removed from any watercourses as is practically possible
 provided with facilities to treat or contain spillages and rainfall.

It may be unavoidable on occasion to locate temporary storage facilities in an area that is

sensitive to groundwater or surface contamination. If this is the case then additional
containment safeguards will need to be provided which will include bunded and sealed
lagoons or double-lined cells together with drainage to prevent contaminated surface water
run off.

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SLIDE 103

In Situ Burning – many substances emit highly toxic vapours when burning. This method
is used in exceptional cases only, and approval is generally required from the authorities.
Floating spills on the water surface are normally difficult to ignite and usually require special
ignition techniques like incendiary bombs containing thermite flame throwers or air curtains.

Incineration – high temperature burning in a special combustion chamber gives complete

oxidation of substances if the burning is performed under carefully controlled conditions.
There are various types of incinerator systems. Incineration is generally very effective in
disposing of a wide range of substances where the process gives minimum pollution.

Wet air oxidation of chemicals under moderate temperatures and elevated pressure with
proper combinations of temperature, pressure and reaction time can give complete oxidation
of substances in specially designed equipment. The process is energy conserving with a
proper chemical feed and the oxidation reaction is thermally self-sustaining once started.

Pyrolysis – a combustion process in two steps based on insufficient oxygen supply. It is

used for complex waste mixtures that are converted by heat to solid easy to handle char in
a pyrolysing chamber with no oxygen. The volatile fractions are given off in a fume
incinerator.

Landfill – this is the burial of chemical waste in ground cavities or excavated trenches. The
material should be pre-treated according to applicable regulations in order to reduce the
contents of certain components.

Deep well storage – underground storage requires selection of a geologic formation and
drilling a well to an appropriate depth. The method is often strictly regulated and
surrounded by requirements regarding low seismic activity, low site value as a resource,
careful geologic investigation and perfect encapsulation technique.

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SLIDE 104

In this section we have considered the subject of disposal.

In the next section of this module we will consider post-operational activity.

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SUB-MODULE 5H

POST-OPERATIONAL ACTIVITY

SLIDE 105

In this section we will consider some post-operational activities.

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SLIDE 106

Once the response to an HNS incident has been completed all response personnel and their
equipment de-contaminated and returned ready for use and all waste disposed of, there are
still several factors to be considered. These factors include debriefing the incident personnel,
compiling the incident report and analysing the lessons learned. These are divided into
short-term and long-term objectives.

SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVES

De-briefing response personnel

The de-brief’s attendees should include all key witnesses and response personnel. It is
important as it provides the opportunity to update contingency plans, review response
strategies and procedures, review financial, equipment, human and training resources.

The debriefing should be conducted as soon as possible after the incident response is
complete and while all the information is fresh in the minds of the participants. The debrief
will focus on strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. It is important to
focus on opportunities for improvement rather than to level any criticism. If the response
team is too large to meet together an alternative would be to issue a questionnaire on the
operation which could be reviewed by key members of the team. It may also be necessary
to assign problem-solving tasks to team members or small working parties that could report
back to the team at a later date. It is important that one member of the team is responsible
for updating the response and contingency plan as a result of the evaluation.

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At the post incident de-briefing the following areas should be reviewed:

 Human resources – were sufficiently trained workers available, were the shift
patterns effective or were response personnel fatigued, how many work hours were
lost due to injury, weather, etc?
 Equipment resources – was the equipment appropriate to the HNS type, spill size
and weather conditions? What equipment was available and was it available at the
appropriate time for an effective response? What were the contractual arrangements
and were they cost effective? Was all the equipment compatible?
 Response strategies – were the strategies appropriate to the chemical type, the spill
size and the weather conditions? Were the strategies acceptable to the regulatory
authorities? Were key strategies implemented in a timely and effective manner?
 Decision making – was technical advice available when it was needed? How effective
were the team at formulating and acting upon key decisions? How adequate was the
financial support?
 Interaction with outside agencies – how effectively was the government approvals
processes utilised? Was timely and accurate information provided to the public? How
effective was the claims process? Were other interest groups accommodated where
possible?

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SLIDE 107

An incident report should be compiled, published and shared with the relevant authorities
both regional and international.

This should include an analysis of lessons learned; as understanding and acting on the
lessons learned is a key preparation for the next incident. It is especially useful for those
who were not actively involved in the response. Although no response is perfect every
incident can reveal better techniques, processes or solutions. It is important that this
information is passed around so that everyone can prepare and respond better next time.

Independent expenditure review – all response activities should be logged in a daily log. It is
the responsibility of the OSC to ensure that all activities are recorded. This includes all
financial transactions and recording all costs that have been incurred. This will help with
budgeting, cost recovery, any third party claims, legal and insurance questions.

 Cost justification – an OSC may be required to justify why certain costs were
incurred and whether they were necessary. This also helps when explaining the
rationale for undertaking response actions.
 Activity log – it is important that all response activities, decisions and
communications are entered into an activity log. This will help when explaining the
costs of the response. Information such as what equipment and labour has been
used, what contractors have been brought in, what vessels, aircraft and facilities
were used. Remember to document what was used, where it was used, why it was
used and when it was used.
 Equipment costs should be logged such as the purchase cost, hiring costs,
mobilisation costs and operational maintenance costs.
 Labour costs will include the number of people involved, what types of people and
what tasks were carried out.
 Contractor services costs – any invoices received from contractors should be checked
for accuracy and cross checked with your own records. Make sure that you pay your
contractors promptly to ensure good working relationships.

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 Travel costs – again check these for accuracy, check that the travel was necessary
and that it was reasonable. Ensure that the travel was authorised by a responsible
person.

An incident cost report should also be included as part of the incident report. This report is
more detailed and relies heavily on references to incident response actions and decisions. Its
organisation may be structured on the types of costs that were incurred and by whom. This
will form part of your claim to recoup your incident costs.

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SLIDE 108

Long-term objectives include the monitoring of personnel that are affected by the
incident, monitoring of response personnel, local populace and workers involved, the
monitoring of the incident site and the monitoring of the affected environment.

The scale and depth of the programme will be determined by the HNS substances involved.
Advice and assistance on determining and conducting such a programme can be accessed
through the relevant UN agencies. The objective of post spill monitoring is to assess the
physical, chemical and biological recovery of the shoreline.

 Physical recovery – this involves assessing damage to the beach structure, assess
the degree that the sediment has been affected and compare with pre-spill surveys if
possible.
 Chemical recovery – to monitor chemical recovery, surveys will be required to
document the HNS distribution. Surveys should define shoreline segments and
assess surface and subsurface contamination using standard technology so that valid
comparisons can be made.
 Biological recovery – biological monitoring is more complex and requires trained
experts. It involves studying living organisms to assess recovery. An indication of the
biological conditions prior to the spill is required in order to select the appropriate
species, methods and define recovery. As before sites for monitoring should include
uncontaminated areas in order to distinguish the natural effects from those caused
by the HNS.

Restoration can speed up recovery in some cases. Transplant programmes have proven
successful following the removal of bulk contamination or after weathering.

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SLIDE 109

In this section we have considered some of the key post-operational activities.

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SECTION C: CONSOLIDATION
On completion of the lesson, summarise with the student the key points of the
lesson.

SLIDE 110

This concludes Module 5 – Response.

In this module we have:

 Described the key essential components of an emergency response system.

 Described the key elements of a response team.
 Described the different phases of response.
 Described possible response methods and considerations.
 Described the key considerations of an effective health and safety strategy.
 Described the considerations of decontamination, disposal and post-operation
activity.

In order to consolidate these lessons we will conclude this module be watching an excerpt
from the IMO video – Response to Marine Chemical Spills – Part 3 – Response Options.

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SLIDE 111

This excerpt from the IMO video – Response to Marine Chemical Spills – Part 3 – Response
Options will consolidate the lessons of this module.

Start Time: 00:00

End Time: 23:29

Running Time: 23:29

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Instructor to display SLIDE 112

Finally ask the students if they have any questions before moving on to the last
slide.

SLIDE 113

This concludes this module. Our next module will be Media Awareness.

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