EPCRA Regulations

2. On December 3, 1984 the residents of a Bhopal, India awoke to a toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas that had been discharged from the near-by Union Carbida India Limited plant. The deadly cloud infiltrated hundreds of shanties and huts as it slowly drifted in the cool night awaking sleeping residents to coughing, choking, and stinging eyes. By dawn the cloud had cleared and many were dead or injured. Reports of the incident were slow to reach America. Union Carbide, a U.S. corporation that owns 51% of the plant, based in Danbury Connecticut, was in the dark for many days. Union Carbide made front page across the country for months and is still considered the worst industrial disaster in the history of the planet. The official Indian government panel charged with tabulating deaths and injuries updated the count to

Additionally, specific responsibilities expected of each stakeholder is clearly defined in accordance with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA Title III), the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP), the National Response Team (NRT), and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

This external stakeholder is critical to the area is this Commission is the regulatory body for the development, storage and transportation of all hazardous chemicals throughout Texas. More specifically, the RRC has specific oversight over the oil and gas industry. How this external stakeholder sees its importance to a regionalized organization such as the HSEM, is the potential risk regarding the transmission of hazardous materials such as oil and gas. The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is home to several refineries, oil storage farms, petrochemical plants, and has a large industrial complex which utilizes hazardous materials. This point is raised with the intent to encourage participation by a state regulatory body all the while this agency is represented in Texas’s state emergency management plan. Simply stated if the with the footprint of such a significant industry, the regulatory body needs to be an active stakeholder in the planning process. This point is reinforced via United States Senate Bill 546, 114 Congress “Response Act” (2016); the Texas RRC will support emergency management preparation regarding the transmission of hazardous

Hazardous materials can be important in everyday life when properly handled. However, when improperly handled, they can result in injury, death, and destruction as well as have lingering effects that may last for years to come. To address the risk of an uncontrolled hazardous materials release, there must be a coordinated effort to identify, locate, and quantify the hazardous materials in a particular location (Drexel University Safety & Health, 2001). Typically, industry and government agree that a hazardous materials incident is one where

In the same year, the following measures were published: Federal Register, standards for general industry, construction, maritime and other manufactures. The publishing of standards led to the five first industries to be targeted by Occupational Safety and Health Act regarding safety hazards. They included marine cargo, roofing and sheet metal work, meat and meat products, certain transportation equipment and lumber and wood product (OSHA History). Also, safety standards were encumbered in the Occupational Safety and Health Act for exposure to asbestos, workplace falls preventative measure, lead and blood borne pathogens, and to furnish training for certain hazardous job (All About

Safety Director, Bert Flynn, Safety and Training Manager, Grover Mills, and Industrial Hygiene Consultant, Steve Woods attended a Process Safety Management and Risk Management Plan (PSM/RMP) meeting with members of Environmental Services to discuss the current and ongoing needs of Xcel Energy. Topics discussed during the meeting consisted of regulatory requirements, current roles and duties, risk/gaps in the current process, steps to bridge the gaps, and

My company, Eastern State Marine, has a contract to buy and use newly developed paint and rust remover from Virginia Allied Chemical. The rust and paint remover are chemical hazard. Chemical hazards can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin or both, and usually come in the form of mists, vapors, gases, dusts, and fumes (Goetsch 365). As a Human Resources Specialist I need to assess the risks in the workplace and implement and maintain effective control measures (HSE). My first step would be to fill out a safety data sheet and allow employees to view it. By filling this out, I will be able to properly identify the chemical and understand how harmful or toxic it could be. Once I understand how hazardous or toxic the chemical is, then I

The most recent disaster policy has been accounted as the policy that is included in the structure that defines the categories of finding the effective study of the situations that lies in terms of the national or federal disaster policy. Such a policy in the United States of America has been developed first in the year 1947, about 150 years ago (Baumgartner& Jones, 2015). However, the policies and the statures of functioning have been passed through a number of amendments that are liable to beincluded in the production of effective functioning in order to reduce the hazards that might come as a part of the aftermath of any natural disaster that takes place within the country. However, the policy has been extended in various regions that effectively include the states that are covered under the legislation of the United States of America. A number of stances have been aggravated within the same in terms of production of the

Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) must develop an emergency response plan, review the plan at least annually, and provide information about chemicals in the community to citizens. Plans are developed by LEPCs with stakeholder participation. There is one LEPC for each of the more than 3,000 designated local emergency planning districts. The LEPC membership must include elected state and local officials, police, fire, civil defense, and public health professionals, environment, transportation, and hospital officials, facility representatives, representatives from community groups and the media.

The Bhopal accident served as a wake-up call for the chemical industry (Lang, 1984, para. 23). In response, the Chemical Manufacturers Association created a program called Responsible Care®, "the chemical industry 's commitment to the continuous improvement of environmental, health, safety and security performance" (Overview, 2004, para. 1). Jeff Lipton, chief executive of Nova Chemicals Corp stated, "When the average person thinks about chemicals, they think about risks and hazards instead of benefits" (Herrick, 2003, para. 9). Responsible Care® addresses those concerns by implementing the following practices: (Overview, 2004, para. 2):

The current PSM standard does not require facilities to coordinate emergency planning with local emergency responders. This can result in a poor understanding of the hazards involved with the regulated chemical. Subsequently emergency responders may be at an increased risk of injuries and death. Requiring such coordination could improve emergency response and safety (Process Safety Management and Prevention of Major Chemical Accidents, 2013).

The aftermath of Piper Alpha was a complete rehaul of safety processes on oil rigs. The disaster prompt the U.K government to pass over a 100 new safety Procedures and harder regulations regarding the use of oil rigs in the North Sea. The U.K government also change who managements these safety of the oil rigs from the department of energy to the department of health and safety. I learned from the research regarding this disaster that even if a system looks soiled on paper and in practiced it can always be destroy to a lacked of commutating and a total lack of

In view of discussing things that first responders must consider when preparing for chemical, biological, radiological/nuclear, and explosive incident (CBRNE) threats has more to consider in the realms of public safety and emergency situation. To start with, every small group of individuals has the ability to cause massive damage and extensive human suffering with little or no warning. Typically, firefighters, cops, EMS staff, and regular citizen volunteers will react and be on the scene minutes after any assault happens. For such occasions later on, on the other hand, salvage and treatment of casualties and control or regulation of flame and different dangers will be significantly confused by the way that the site might likewise be defiled

The Hazard Communication Program Manger determines the appropriate emergency procedures based on the SDS, Hazardous Materials Business Plan (HMBP), Emergency Action Plan (EAP) and other documents identifying steps to take in emergencies. This section describes general emergency response procedures that are related to chemicals used in the workplace.

Safety issues were virtually ignored at the Bhopal plant. There were significant precautions taken at the US plant in West Virginia that were not in place in Bhopal. .There was a safety visit made there by the Americans in 1982 but no procedures or changes were put in place based on their recommendations. Even minimal safety standards that the plant had devised were pushed aside to provide more financial benefit. Refrigeration and cooling systems were off-line. This chemical must be stored