Industrial Incident Command System (ICS)
According to OSHA, the HAZWOPER standard applies to five groups of employers and
their employees and specifically includes any employees who are exposed to hazardous
substances and who are engaged in several operations including clean-up, treatment,
storage and disposal of hazardous waste. In addition, workers involved in an emergency
response operation dealing with hazardous waste and workers who have to perform
duties at a waste site where hazardous contamination are equally expected to be fully
trained and protected.
For further clarification, an interpretation letter provided by OSHA gives some guidance
as to what constitutes a hazardous substance or situation:
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High concentrations of toxic substances.
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Situation that is life or injury threatening.
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Imminent Danger to Life and Health (IDLH) environments.
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Situation that presents an oxygen deficient atmosphere.
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Condition that poses a fire or explosion hazard.
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Situation that required an evacuation of the area.
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A situation that requires immediate attention because of the danger posed to employees in the area.
Employees that will be in command of an emergency response team must have an initial 24hr training to the operations level and additional command management training/information. This course focuses on command management tools needed to effectively manage a hazardous material emergency. This course reinforces the ICS officer’s role and responsibility during an emergency.
