Every facility must establish an emergency plan in order to be able to react quickly and properly if an accident was to happen. This plan has to state, depending on the type of products that are stored, the possible issues that could occur (including leaks and spills), the way they have to be tackled and handled by the personnel inside the facility or warehouse or by people from outside services.
In order to make sure these emergency measures are properly applied, it is obviously compulsory to train all the people working inside the facility. They need to know how to recognize the signs that an incident is about to occur (smell, appearance of a chemical, and so on) and what are the steps they have to follow in order to defuse the situation, or if it is not possible where are the closest emergency exits.
It is possible to find more specific instructions in the Law for the Prevention of Labour Risks (LRPRL Ley de Prevención de los Riesgos Laborales in spanish). To help you understand how to proceed you should also take look at the ITC MIE APQ (Additional technical instructions on how to store and deal with chemicals).
There are several other factors that have to be taken into consideration when it comes to emergency situations and to deal with them.
First of all, you must ask yourself if your warehouse is concerned by the regulation regarding severe accidents. If yes you should refer to the Royal Decrees 1254/199 and 1196/2003 in which you will find information on how to carry out the safety controls that could prevent accidents related to the storage or handling of dangerous goods.
If the answer was “no”, you need to determine if the amount of chemicals stored in your facility was superior to the quantities specified in the Auto Protection Basic Regulation (Norma Básica de Autoprotección). Once again, if this is the case you should refer to the Royal Decree 393/2007 that deals with the centers, establishments or facilities that could possibly be the cause of a chemical accident. If you are not concerned by this regulation, you should refer to the article 20 of the LPRL.
As a consequence we are not talking about general emergency plans. They actually have to be thought thoroughly and adapted according to the different characteristics of the facility, of the chemicals stored, the quantity of products, etc.
In Barnastock, besides passing the inspections and regulatory revisions, we have a rigorous emergency plans known by all the workers to avoid, in case of accident, endanger our own employees and avoid worse chemical accidents.
