Hazard and Risk Assessment During Disaster Response and Cleanup

“When disaster strikes, confusion and indecision often take place when we react instead of proact.” It’s hard to play catch-up when an incident is happening. We need to ask ourselves what our organizations’ capabilities would be during the first 100 hours of a disaster. To safeguard your employees’ safety and health, regulatory compliance needs to be in practice before a disaster occurs. The three most common routes for occupational exposure to toxic materials are inhalation, ingestion and absorption. Disaster risk assessments include the identification of hazards, a review of the safety and health hazards workers may encounter, and a reassessment if conditions change. In this session, we’ll discuss site safety, including respiratory risks, how to select and safely use appropriate respiratory protection, PPE, and decontamination procedures.