This guidance covers raising the alarm, named emergency roles, escape routes and signs, and protecting the environment from spills and firefighting water in an emergency.

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Further Reading

Further guidance on emergency preparedness and environmental spills:

• Emergency Preparedness
• Environmental Spills: Prevention and Response
• ISO 14001 Clause 8.2 - Emergency Preparedness and Response
• Environmental Management knowledge base

How to Download

These files are included in the alphaZ subscription. The training talk is also included in the ISO 14001 Toolkit and the integrated toolkits that include it.

Need Help Implementing?

If you'd like hands-on help preparing your emergency response plan and spill arrangements, our remote support services provide direct expert input from our team, by the day, by project, or on an ongoing basis.

Environmental Emergency Response Guidance

A general guidance document on environmental emergency response for all staff and the people given emergency roles. It explains why the first minutes matter, how risks shape the emergency plan, raising the alarm and informing the emergency services, protecting the environment in an emergency, and keeping escape routes, exits, signs and lighting ready.

Topics Covered

• Emergency response - prompt warnings, accurate calls to the emergency services, and trained, rehearsed people who know the premises and shutdown procedures
• Considering the risks - planning for foreseeable situations, from severe weather, fire, large spills and structural failure to staff or managers being unavailable
• The emergency plan - getting people away from danger, calling the emergency services, dealing with casualties and looking after those displaced
• Raising the alarm - named, trained people for calls, evacuation, traffic management and first aid, and what all staff need to know
• Protecting the environment - spill kits, covering drains, shut-off valves, containing firefighting water and telling the regulator where required
• Escape routes and exits - routes kept clear, and exits that open immediately from the inside without a key, in the direction of escape where possible
• Signs and lighting for evacuation - clear illuminated escape signs, tested emergency lighting and considering an independent power source such as a generator

Who Is It For?

All staff, who need to know the exits, the emergency equipment and how to raise the alarm, and the named people given emergency responsibilities.

Included in the ISO 14001 Toolkit

This guidance is supplied with the TT-6-04 Environmental Emergency Response training talk, which is part of the ISO 14001 Toolkit and the integrated toolkits that include it.

Using the Guidance

Brief it at induction, use it to support regular emergency practice, and keep it as a reference with the emergency response plan. Record who has received it, for example on the training matrix.

When an Emergency Causes Pollution

Many emergencies, such as fires, floods and large spills, can also cause pollution. The guidance shows how the emergency plan protects the environment, with spill kits to contain spills, drains covered or sealed, shut-off valves and isolation points used to stop leaks, contaminated firefighting water contained where possible and the regulator told where required. The incident is then recorded and the response reviewed.

Adapting the Guidance

Edit the guidance to match your own arrangements - the named people and their emergency roles, your exits, shut-off valves and isolation points, and the reporting requirements on your legal register.

Related Documents

Other documents that work alongside this guidance:

• PP-6-04 Environmental Emergency Response Policy Procedure
• F-IMS21 Business Continuity Register
• F-Q94 Business Continuity Plan Form
• F-ENV7 Spill Record Form
• GG-1-05 Business Continuity
• GG-1-20 Emergency Lighting
• GG-6-05 Spill Procedure
• GG-7-09 Fire Safety