Water & Wastewater Asia May/Jun 2021

VIEWPOINT
Electrical Incidents
can occur in an
instant, with no
warning as those
given by incoming
typhoons and other
storm events
There are specific roles in managing ICS, falling into five main categories:
1. COMMAND: One person should take charge of any incident,
and allow no contradictory instructions to confuse operators and
responders
2. OPERATIONS: This group is responsible for directing and ensuring
the tactical actions to meet and mitigate the situation
3. PLANNING: This group collects incident information as it
comes in, documents it and then ensures it goes to the right
response teams
4. LOGISTICS: Confusion can reign at any incident, but everything
needs to be coordinated from where emergency response teams
go, to where the teams can go for supplies, meals if needed,
and so on
5. FINANCE/ADMINISTRATION: This group needs to track all
financial expenditures, including costs of responders, equipment
needed, and contracts needed to be signed to get the right
people involved
Incidents can even be created by
mechanical failures or electrical power
sources, ones that are thought to be
completely reliable and outside the
facility’s control. When one power
generator trips and goes offline, power
surges can trip others in a cascading
and growing circle around the original
problem source unless other powergenerating
facilities are extremely
vigilant.
Electricity cannot be shut down as
easily as turning off a water tap, and
unless a facility has alternate standby
power generators, an electrical incident
can quickly get out of control if impacts
critical cooling and chemical systems
of nearby facilities. Operators may have
no idea that a potential life-threatening
situation is about to impact them.
Steam pipeline incident: One piece of 61cm diameter pipe, Schedule 160, that was 30.5m long, went 800m into the
field. The pipe weighed 807 kilogrammes per linear meter with a wall thickness of 6cm. Twenty-five metric tonnes
hurtling 0.8km through the air is a life-threatening incident
Every facility – no matter how big or
small – needs an ICS, or at least a
modified version of one. Consider the
following questions:
- WHAT do you need to do when an
incident occurs where you are or
nearby?
- WHO is responsible for doing it?
- HOW do you communicate with
others, especially if radio and cell
phone coverage may be nonexistent?
- WHAT is the procedure if someone
in the ICS is injured? Do medical
teams have easy access to the
location?
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