Federal health, safety, and environmental regulations address emergency response planning and preparations in the event of a hazardous materials release. However, little progress has been made to document actions and plans that address recovery from disastrous hazardous materials transportation incidents, particularly incidents that result in human casualties, extensive property or environmental damage, or severe social or economic disruptions. Recent examples of such disasters include the New Orleans, LA, barge spill in 2008; the derailment of chlorine tank cars in Graniteville, SC, in 2005; and the Baltimore, MD, tunnel fire in 2001. Under HMCRP Project 11, ABSG Consulting, Inc., was asked to develop a compendium of best practices that can be used by local communities to plan for recovery from disastrous hazardous materials transportation incidents. To do so, the researchers (1) analyzed pertinent domestic and international examples (including review of after-action reports, lessons learned or observed, and best practices) from current practice, research findings, and other resources on disaster recovery; (2) identified procurement procedures, legal and environmental compliance requirements, and materials, labor, equipment, and expertise necessary to enable recovery; (3) on the basis of applicability and usefulness, identified best practices that could enhance local community planning for and recovery from disastrous hazardous materials transportation incidents; (4) identified institutional barriers to adopting the best practices and feasible solutions for overcoming them; (5) developed a detailed compendium of best practices; and (6) performed a gap analysis to compare recovery planning needs with the current state of the practice and proposed initiatives to address the gaps. The output of the research is a compendium of best practices, lessons learned, and proposed initiatives structured to assist local communities in developing or improving their recovery planning and operations as these relate to disastrous hazardous materials transportation incidents. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting