Chemical Spill
Before outlining employee responsibilities and administering training, it’s worth considering if the spill response should be outsourced. The HAZWOPER standard does allow the option for employees to evacuate the facility in the event of a spill if the company pre-arranges to have a fully-trained outside emergency team respond to the spill.
If your company will work with outside resources to respond to spills, it must be well-documented in your spill response plan and include contact information. The plan should also include a letter or other documentation from the outside resource(s) stating their commitment and detailing their services.
When employees will handle emergency releases, OSHA requires the following levels of training, depending on the extent to which workers will be involved in the response. Thorough spill response plans help everyone know what is expected in an emergency, and training helps ensure that plans will run smoothly when and if they are ever needed.