I527-290 ESRIF Final Report (WEB).indd - European Commission

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COORDINATION AND
COOPERATION
Table 6: Main challenges for the “Natural Disaster” risk scenario
Coordination and cooperation demands might occur at local level fi rst (until
communication lines are restored), then it may cover the vertical dimension from the
fi rst responders on the spot to regional and national authorities, and sometimes even
beyond that to authorities in neighbouring countries and to EU bodies. In the horizontal
dimension, diff erent services from several disciplines, civil and military, and all kinds of
relief organisations, professional and voluntary, sometimes with diff erent nationality have
to be fi elded and somehow coordinated, at least at the lowest level by the emergency
headquarters, in order to assure that the best possible help is provided to all aff ected
people and the whole region of the disaster, and not primarily to “high-profi le” targets.
4.2.4 Risk scenario “Major industrial & technical accident”
Major industrial and ‘technical’ accidents may involve products and by-products of hazardous nature. Eff ects comprise
explosions, large fi res, toxic substances in the air, contamination of water, food, livestock and ultimately of people, and
radiation. The geographical pattern varies from local to wide-spread. Most scenarios develop a large coverage and long time
eff ects (contaminated soil, oil spills) due to the spreading of the hazardous substances and agents with wind, waterfl ows and
sorption. Industrial accidents occur without indications and warnings and are a surprise even for those responsible for the
technical process that eventually failed.
Most industrial accidents with major consequences were not “man-made” in the sense of intentional acts, but typically occur
as a result of human error or technical failures . While those accidents and their causes itself would be rather a topic for safetyrelated
research than for security (at least until the “man made option” is rolled out), their potentially disastrous dimensions are
defi nitely within the scope of Crisis Management, not least in terms of care for aff ected people, evacuation needs and eff ects
containment and recovery.
Industrial accidents could occur within the whole supply chain, i.e. from R&D to recycling and waste disposal, with their
specifi c demands for response forces.
CHALLENGES
“INDUSTRIAL
ACCIDENTS”
DESCRIPTION
COMPLEXITY Crisis Management has to start its operation on the basis of volatile situational awareness.
A stable initial picture of the situation is often diffi cult to get, as aff ected companies
develop their communication strategy on damage, risk and consequences on the spot. The
complexity derives also from the potentially large number of people involved; both victims
and fi rst responders. And the numbers constantly increase because of the spreading of
toxic fumes, displacement of toxic cloud, propagation of the contamination, etc.
Measures have to be taken not only on the site of the accident but also at other locations,
to provide medical and psychological help to the victims, housing for the persons who
have been evacuated, etc.
RISK IDENTIFICATION A specifi c challenge in the case of industrial accidents is to identify the specifi c products
involved and released to appropriately determine the technical and medical response.
The identifi cation of these products may however take valuable time; initial results of the
analysis will need confi rmation.
The safety of fi rst responders is at stake as well as the safety of the aff ected public.
COMMUNICATIONS Guaranteed free bandwidth for the Crisis Management teams is required when fi xed
phone lines have been destroyed and mobile phone networks are overloaded or do not
function properly, including interoperability amongst the remaining systems. The quality
of transmissions needs to be ensured, as communications may be obstructed by ambient
conditions, e.g. environmental restrictions.
ESRIF FINAL REPORT - PART 2 • Working Group: Crisis Management