FEMA Guide for Responding to a Chemical Incident

FEMA has published the guide Key Planning Factors and Considerations for Response to and Recovery from a Chemical Incident, providing a resource intended to help organizations at all levels of government and in the private sector to plan for incidents involving the release, or potential release, of a chemical substance. It begins by describing a series of chemical incident scenarios, one of which is a chemical leak into a waterway. For this, it includes a case study of the January 2014 leak of 11,000 gallons of a toxic chemical into the Elk River in Charleston, West Virginia, which impacted a local water treatment facility resulted in drinking water restrictions for up to nine days. Other scenarios include transportation accidents, such as rail tank car derailments, and deliberate events. Seven Key Planning Factors, or KPFs, are then presented to assist in identifying the numerous considerations that should inform planning and preparedness activities for these kinds of events. One of these, “Recognize and Characterize the Incident,” discusses the role of local water systems in monitoring for contaminants. Access the guide at FEMA or below.