REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS/DISASTER

1. REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS/DISASTER

2. Active Threats Industries etc • Active Threats • Enemy: Terrorism • Means: WMDs to dirty bombs • Methods: Difficult to predict • Targets of attack: Military units to schools • Time: When least expected Types of Chemical Disasters • Natural Disasters • Man-made Disasters -Accidental Chemical Spill -Terrorism Commercial and industrial chemicals Chemical warfare agents

3. Deleterious Effects of Chemical disasters • Breathing difficulties, eye irritation • Skin abnormalities, nausea, respiratory problems • Chest or abdominal pains & death. • Precise symptoms would depend upon the agent used, and the severity of the symptoms can depend upon the person’s proximity to the contamination. • Skin lesions, eye problems, respiratory failure, internal organ failure, weight loss, fever, vomiting.

4. Brutality of chemical disasters

6. Chemical warfare agent exposed on Iraqis 1988 Iraq used CW agents against Kurdish rebels Thousands of Kurdish civilians are killed 16March 1988 Memorial to the victims of the Halabja gas attack U.S. soldier on patrol in Halabja cemetery for the victims of the gas attack

7. MIOSIS CAUSED BY BLISTER AGENTS BLISTERS CAUSED BY HD

8. EFFECT OF SARIN EXPOSURE ON RABBIT PUPIL

9. Bhopal Gas Tragedy • Worst industrial disaster in history • 2,000 people died on immediate aftermath • Another 13,000 died in next fifteen years • 10-15 persons dying every month • 520,000 diagnosed chemicals in blood causing different health complications • 120,000 people still suffering from • Cancer • Tuberculosis • Partial or complete blindness, • Post traumatic stress disorders, • Menstrual irregularities • Rise in spontaneous abortion and still birth

10. How it happened • December 3-4, 1984: 40 tonnes of methyl iso-cyanate (MIC) released from Union Carbide plant at Bhopal • Accidental release caused by leakage of water into MIC storage tank • None of the safety systems worked • Safety standards and maintenance system ignored for months • Complete absence of community information and emergency procedures • Public alarm system operated after the gas had leaked for nearly four hours

11. Case Study: Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack • Incident was not recognized as nerve agent attack until approximately 3 hours after release. • 12 dead, 692 Actual Victims from exposure, total 5500 treated • Only 688 of the 5,500 victims were medically transported. The rest were transported by passers-by or went themselves. Over 400 vehicles responded • 4,500 persons approximately were “walking well” • Nearest Hospital saw 500 patients in the first hour. • Over 1000 units of atropine were available

12. Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack Mass decontamination was not performed. • 135 responders suffered effects of exposure. • 20% of the hospital workers suffered secondary exposure. • Over 50% of those involved remain effected today. • 37% requested financial aid from the government. • $2.6 M was spent on medical expenses in first year. • 10% of victims quit school or work. • Personal belongings were placed into bags and returned to victims who were told to burn them.

13. Management • Risk assessment • Disaster prevention and mitigation • Preparedness • Disaster risk management as part of rehabilitation • Raising awareness • Strengthening local disaster risk management capabilities

14. Emergency Planning and Response • Regular running of equipment & tests on facilities • Emergency Management Plans -on site - off site • On site drills once in 6 months • Off site drill with Dist.Administration once in a year • Mutual aid Agreements with Neighboring industries/District Fire Services. • Updating of plans

15. HAZARDOUS WASTES (APPLICABLE TO ALL INDUSTRIES PRODUCING HAZARDOUS WASTE) • Treatment of Hazardous Wastes • (I) Reduction at Source/reuse/Recycle • (II) Dilution of Hazardous Waste. • (III) Commercial Available Alternatives • Physical treatment • Chemical treatment • Biological treatment • Thermal treatment • Stabilization/solidification/ sorption

16. MEASURES TO BE TAKEN DURING THE EMERGENCY CONDITIONS • The plant authorities should immediately contact the local administrator in case hazard is likely to spread beyond the factory. • The concerned Police Officers along with civic officials should make arrangements for evacuation of the people from the vicinity to safe areas. • The plant authorities should extend all technical support in controlling the damage. • Most importantly, it is the responsibility of the industry management that the people do not get panicky. • After all the hazard is totally eliminated, people may be brought back to their respective places of working and living.

17. Preparedness

21. Shelters

22. Management • Understanding the event of chemical disaster by • Detection systems • Identification of adverse/abnormal health symptoms like vomiting of blood, itching of eyes, itching of skin and burns on skin in humans • Unusual death of human and animals • Alerting the disaster management team to wear the protective gear. • Alerting the population to wear the protective gear. • Detecting and mapping the affected area of disaster by team as cold, warm and hot zones.

23. Simultaneous evacuation of affected people from hot/affected zone by rescue team with protective gear. • Simultaneous decontamination of affected area by disaster management team. • Evacuation of civilians to contamination free shelters and bunkers at the time of disaster. While shifting they should be provided with protective gear and should be decontaminated before entering the safe zone. • Exposed individuals shall be decontaminated and shifted to shelters after the examination by doctor. • Medical protection shall be provided to affected peoples.

24. DOs SOP Cordoning off of hundred meter Diameter Finding out the wind direction Clearing of the down wind side immediately at least up to 500 meters with a corridor of 50 meter width Detection, rescue and decontamination team to wear individual protective equipment Detection team to detect contaminants using detection equipments and identify the agents Detection team after detection to demarcate the area in to hot zone, warm zone and cold zone depending on concentration. Note: Detection team shall carry the flags or the plastic tape for the cordoning off the area

25. SOP • Rescue team comprising experts including medical doctors, nursing staff, chemists, police personnel to rescue and evacuate the casualty using the following given procedure- - Triage of the casualty by putting the green, yellow and black bandages to the casualties - Decontaminate the casualties with PDK - Provide the first aid and evacuate using casualty bags (full and half) and send them to hospitals, if required - Less preference to be given to the casualty with black bandages

26. SOP • Decontamination team to decontaminate the area, buildings, vehicles, equipment and set the decon. center in the cold zone • Casualties to be decontaminated at decontamination center and given bath before sending them to their appropriate and designated places. • Detection, rescue, decontamination team and others to be decontaminated • Safety officer to intimate the incident commander for the declaration of the zone to be safe and clean

27. SOP DO NOTs • Not to crowd near the victim to avoid further contamination • Not to go in down wind direction • Not to get back in the cordoned off area till final clearance • All teams not to remove protective equipments until their declared safe • Not to handle contaminated clothing and protective equipments with bare hands. Put them in polythene bags and send them for safe disposal after sealing the bag

28. AttributeNo Structure for the unit to manage the chemical disaster Administrator-One ( no IPE) shall be present in staging area Team commander- One (shall occupy or make command post) Dy. commander- One (with IPE) Safety officer- One (with IPE) Communication- One (with IPE) officer Detection team- Three (with IPE) (one team for detection and another team for demarcation of zone)

29. Structure for the unit to manage the chemical disaster Rescue team-Four (with IPE)(one team for rescue and evacuation from the contaminated zone, another team for the shifting of the casualties after decontamination from decon. station to the designated clean zones or hospitals) Decontamination team-Three (with IPE)(one for decon. of area, objects, buildings, vehicles, etc. another team for the decon. of the casualties and teams involved in the operation at decon. station) Medical team-One doctor (NBC trained) and four nursing staff

30. Management All operations shall go simultaneously Decontamination of area shall start after evacuation of casualties Used equipments, vehicle to be decontaminated

31. Take Home Message • Educate your people! • Contact your local office of Disaster Preparedness • Work with your Disaster/ Emergency Medical and Nursing staff to develop an action-plan. • Conduct disaster drills on all shifts. • Managers must be prepared with manpower, supplies and staff.

32. Preparedness Is the Key to combat Chemical disaster Awareness Training Equipment Resources Planning Exercises Preparedness

33. Response and Planning Exercises YOU Control the Situation... ... the situation doesn’t control you

34. THANK YOU

35. Disaster Prevention and mitigation • It denotes the activities that prevent or mitigate the adverse effects of extreme natural or man made events.

36. Disaster preparedness • Participatory drafting of emergency plans, • Infrastructure measures (emergency accommodation, etc.), • Carrying out disaster preparedness exercises, • Building up and/or strengthening local and national disaster preparedness capabilities and rescue services, • Coordination and deployment planning, • Early-warning systems: • Setting up and operating communications systems, • Delivery of technical equipment, • Operator training.

37. Raising awareness • Support for raising awareness of the connection between cost and benefit in disaster risk management at the economic, social and political level. • Raising awareness amongst populations living in risk areas of the hazards and vulnerabilities and the opportunities for disaster risk management. • Implementing appropriate early-warning systems. • Participation of the population, the municipal administration and other institutions in all phases of disaster risk management.

38. Strengthening local disaster risk management capabilities • The cornerstone of effective disaster risk management is the establishment and/or strengthening of a local system containing the above listed activity areas and incrusted in an overall national system, mobilizing all possible social and political actors at the municipal level and getting them to shoulder responsibility in the process

39. MAJOR CHEMICAL DISASTERS THAT SHAPED PUBLIC POLICY • Triangle Factory Fire New York (USA) 1911 100 garment workers died in fire • Minamata Mercury Disaster (Japan) 1932-68 3,000 people suffered, severe mercury poisoning symptoms, deformities or death • Seveso Dioxin Disaster (Italy) 1976 3,000 animals died, 70,000 slaughtered to prevent dioxins entering food chain • Bhopal Gas Disaster (India) 1984 15,000 killed, over 500,000 affected • Shri ram Oleium gas Leak (Delhi) 1986 1 Died, 1000 Injured

40. Chemical Terrorist Events • 1985 - Covenant Group found to possess 33 gallons of cyanide Northwestern Arkansas • 1992 - Police prevented Neo-Nazis from using cyanide in synagogue • 1994 - Aum Shinrikyo used sarin in Matsumoto – 7 dead, 280 injured • 1995 - Aum Shinrikyo uses sarin in Tokyo subway – 12 dead, 5,500 injured

41. Examples of major toxic releases.

42. Examples of major fires

43. Examples of industrial explosions

44. CAPACITY BUILDING School syllabus of all boards (10+2) must have a brief introductory course on chemical warfare agents. Training programs for the teachers on chemical warfare agents, protection, detection and decontamination against the agents should be given. All training academy (Civil Administration, Police, Fire fighting, etc.) must introduce course and training on CW agents for the personal getting basic pay Rs.5000 and above. All medical and nursing colleges must have extensive syllabus on CW agents and their medical protection (Antidotes and other related treatments). At least 10 quick reaction teams should be raised in a district to meet the chemical disaster involving personal from various agencies. NCC and NSS units of the colleges should have a C disaster wing. Training program for NBC disaster management should be initiated to train government officials, elected representatives and community leaders.