NCJ Number
190566
Date Published
February 1999
Length
90 pages
Annotation
This document presents the Delaware Hazardous Substances Incident Contingency Plan.
Abstract
The purpose of this plan is to establish policy and emergency response organization for responding to a broad class of hazardous substance incidents. It identifies State, county, and Federal responsibilities designed to minimize damage to human health, natural systems, and property caused by the release or potential release of hazardous substances. Hazardous substance incidents differ from other emergencies because of the wide diversity of causative factors and the pervasiveness of the potential threat. In Delaware, the majority of hazardous substance incidents are handled prior to their becoming a disaster. Preparation for coping with hazardous substance incidents requires joint cooperative efforts of numerous agencies. Safe and coordinated response to a hazardous substance incident requires the application of specialized techniques and organizational concepts. The Scene Management System is intended as a cooperative effort among independent agencies. Each agency is responsible for medical surveillance for their personnel based on their job description, potential for exposure to hazardous substances, and level of personal protection equipment to be used in performing their job. The emergency response portion of this plan is activated when notification of a hazardous substance incident is received by an emergency reporting center (911). Government notification is mandatory under several State and Federal statutes. Steps that are necessary and coordinate with all appropriate parties or agencies shall be taken to ensure restoration of the scene to a normal condition after the emergency. Appendixes, chart