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BETWEEN TERRORISTS AND TORNADOES - IT IS TIME TO REVIEW YOUR EMERGENCY EVACUATION PLAN (BY SCOTT HOLLIS, MISSISSIPPI MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION LEGAL BRIEFS) - DECEMBER 2001

For some residents of central Mississippi, the tornado of November 24th will prove just as unforgettable as the terrorist attacks of September 11th. In the wake of such catastrophes, we should scrutinize not only the safety of ourselves and our homes, but also the safety of our coworkers and our workplaces. Of primary importance is a workplace emergency evacuation plan.

Planning

The success of any emergency plan is largely due to preparation. The ability of your employees and coworkers to safely evacuate your facility in a natural or manmade disaster will depend on their understanding of how and where to go. It is, therefore, incumbent upon the management to implement a fast and effective plan. The plan should address all potential emergencies and should be reviewed and updated regularly.

OSHA Requirements

Understanding the details of OSHA's evacuation plan requirements is essential to avoiding penalties as the result of an emergency-related injury or death. The requirements for evacuation plans are found at 29 C.F.R. §1910.38. The standard applies to all emergency plans mandated by OSHA. It requires that businesses with 10 or more employees must maintain a written plan and make the plan available to all employees. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees can orally inform their employees of the plan. Regardless of the number, all workers must be trained as to their roles. Since employers are also required to train an adequate number of workers to lead the evacuation procedures, the plan should be reviewed with the leaders at implementation, when the leadership changes and when the plan is amended.

In addition to those requirements mentioned previously, the following elements must also be included in your evacuation plan:

1. The plan should contain emergency evacuation procedures and escape route assignments. Floor plans or maps clearly identifying escape routes are encouraged. Those maps should also indicate the location of emergency equipment, like fire extinguishers and first aid kits.
   
2. Your plan must address those procedures to be followed by employees designated to remain and operate critical plant operations. Those include monitoring power supplies, water supplies and other essential functions that cannot be shut down in every instance.
   
3. Rescuers, families and management will need to know the evacuation status of personnel. Therefore, the plan must include a procedure which accounts for all on-site employees once the evacuation is underway. To avoid misinformation, you should designate a responsible individual to report this information.
   
4. Emergency response teams will be your first defense in a crisis. Qualified employees capable of performing rescue and medical duties should be assigned to such a team. Team members should be trained in various areas, including first aid, CPR, fire fighting, shutdown procedures, spill control, and even trauma counseling.
   
5. So that emergency evacuation procedures can be initiated, the preferred means for reporting fires and other emergencies should be part of your plan. These include manual pull alarms, public address systems or telephones. Additionally, since electricity and telephone service may be nonexistent during an emergency, alternate forms of communication, like radios, should be considered.
   
6. Your plan must also contain the names or job titles of those to be contacted for additional information or explanation under the plan. A chain of command will minimize confusion by empowering specific employees with decision-making authority. These people should be charged with assessing the seriousness of a situation, directing emergency procedures, contacting outside emergency services and even ordering the shutdown of plant operations.
   
7. The facility should also be equipped with an alarm that is either audible or visible to all personnel. It must be recognizable as the signal to activate emergency procedures. If the alarm is used to warn of multiple hazards, a distinctive signal should be established for each. The alarm must also have an auxiliary power supply and comply with the mandates of §1910.165.
   

The requirements set forth in §1910.38 are only minimums. The specifics of the operations within your facility may necessitate additional safeguards that should be included in your emergency evacuation plan. Beware, OSHA requires such safeguards in some fields. For example, those facilities dealing with hazardous materials should also refer to §§1910.119 and 1910.120.

Violations and Fines

As with all OSHA standards, failure to comply can generate significant exposure. The most common penalties imposed under 29 U.S.C.A. §666 are fines, but imprisonment is a possibility following a willful violation which results in death. Although there is some history of citations for willful violations, most plan-related violations are classified as serious violations and encompass everything from specific inadequacies to the complete absence of a plan. §666 defines a serious violation as one in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard. It is difficult to specifically identify the amount of plan-related fines for serious violations as they often follow a fire, spill, death or other major event for which the employer is cited for numerous violations. Although fines for serious violations are mandatory under the statute, there is a $7,000 limit for each violation.

Consultation and Information

The preparation and formulation of a safe and effective emergency evacuation plan may require professional assistance. Many governmental agencies provide information and services for free or at low cost. There are also private consultants who specialize in every field and can, therefore, better address your specific needs. Additionally, your insurance carriers may have staff members with expertise in emergency planning who could prove helpful in your preparation.

For more information regarding emergency plans and OSHA requirements, visit www.osha-slc.gov; contact your local OSHA office; or write to OSHA Publications, Room N3101, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210, telephone (202) 219?4667.

This article was prepared by Scott Burnham Hollis, an associate in the litigation group of Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A., Post Office Box 427, Jackson, Mississippi 39205-0427, telephone: (601) 949-4855, e-mail: shollis@watkinsludlam.com