Under regulation 75 of the Dangerous Goods Safety (Storage and Handling of Non-explosives) Regulations 2007 (Storage and Handling Regulations), small business operators of licensed dangerous goods sites is required to prepare an emergency plan.
What is an emergency plan?
Emergency planning is the process of safety planning with the objectives of:
- protecting people
- minimising damage to property and the environment
- minimising the disruption to operation in the event of an emergency.
The outcome is a plan that considers the hazards associated with dangerous goods on site and potential emergency scenarios and includes instructions and the provision of resources to help occupants to respond efficiently and effectively to on-site emergencies involving those goods. Potential emergency situations involving dangerous goods include:
- fires
- explosions
- spills and leaks
- gas releases
- medical emergencies.
The emergency plan should be simple, flexible, tested and up to date. It needs to be available to all site personnel, who should be trained in the emergency response procedures. Regular practice sessions should be held to ensure that the written procedures can be successfully implemented.
In a few cases, if small business operators store more than ten times manifest quantities of dangerous goods, then the emergency plan needs to be supplemented with a FES emergency response guide. This is in the form of a Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) template, which is completed by the operator to give the emergency services responder vital information in a concise format.
Information on how to obtain the template is contained in the Emergency planning for licensed dangerous goods sites: Information sheet, which summarises an operator’s emergency planning requirements under regulations 75, 76A and 76B of the Storageand Handling Regulations.
Five-step approach to emergency planning
- Decide who is responsible for preparing the plan
For small businesses, the plan preparation is usually taken on by one or two people. For larger organisations, this typically means forming an emergency planning committee. - Identify the dangerous goods hazards
The hazards posed by the dangerous goods on site should have been assessed under regulation 48 of the Storage and Handling Regulations. As part of that risk assessment process, the hazards would have been listed, and the likelihood and consequences of the risks evaluated. A good start for hazard identification is to list the intrinsic hazards of dangerous goods as described in their safety data sheets (SDS). - Write the plan
The written emergency plan should cover at least the seven elements described in the next section. - Train and test
Training needs to be conducted for execution of the plan. Everyone on site must know their roles and what they need to do. - Review and correct
To ensure the emergency plan stays up-to-date and effective, review it: at least every three years; after any emergency; and when shortcomings are identified from a practice emergency exercise.
What should be included in an emergency plan?
- Plan title
- Site detail
- Dangerous goods hazard details
- Emergency equipment
- Emergency response actions
- Communication
- Post-emergency follow-up actions.