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Chemical emergencies management : The Department of Environment perspective

In the event that incidents such as fires, explosions or leakages involving chemicals occur in major hazardous installations, The Occupational Safety and Health (Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards) (CIMAH) Regulations 1996, would operate to control the onsite situation. However, should...

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Main Author: Pachaimuthu, Vellayutham
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Emergency management
Chemical industry - Safety measures
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115160/1/115160.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115160/
http://ethesis.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18230
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spelling my.upm.eprints.1151602025-02-25T06:54:09Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115160/ Chemical emergencies management : The Department of Environment perspective Pachaimuthu, Vellayutham In the event that incidents such as fires, explosions or leakages involving chemicals occur in major hazardous installations, The Occupational Safety and Health (Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards) (CIMAH) Regulations 1996, would operate to control the onsite situation. However, should such incidents escalate into disasters, there is the National Security Council's Directive 20 that outlines a policy to manage them. As a supporting agency under this Directive 20, the Department of Environment (DOE) is entrusted to fulfill its primary function of preventing and controlling pollution. The objective of this study is to evaluate that state of preparedness, both at the headquarters as well as the state level, as regards to the availability of equipment, the personnel's competence to handle monitoring, communication and safety equipment, their knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of DOE as a responding agency and about the contents of Directive 20. Information gathered was by way of a questionnaire targeted at different levels of the DOE personnel and it covered the various areas of focus outlined in the objective. The measurements of the variables were then quantified by devising a rating scale and analysed statistically using the SPSS program. The t- Test method of comparison of the means was also utilised to compare the headquarters and state groups. A Checklist and Audit of the availability and condition of the monitoring, communication and safety equipment needed during a chemical emergency were also carried out. Then, an Emergency Response Plan was formulated in line with DOE's role under Directive 20. The findings of the study indicate that though the personnel's knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of DOE is good, their understanding of Directive 20 is insufficient, and their ability to handle monitoring, communication and safety equipment is lacking. Capacity building programs such as trainings for the personnel and exercises to test its preparedness would be able to enhance DOE's capability and overcome any shortcoming in the management of a chemical emergency. 2021-09 Thesis NonPeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115160/1/115160.pdf Pachaimuthu, Vellayutham (2021) Chemical emergencies management : The Department of Environment perspective. Masters thesis, Universiti Putra Malaysia. http://ethesis.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18230 Emergency management Chemical industry - Safety measures
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
building UPM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Putra Malaysia
content_source UPM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://psasir.upm.edu.my/
language English
topic Emergency management
Chemical industry - Safety measures
spellingShingle Emergency management
Chemical industry - Safety measures
Pachaimuthu, Vellayutham
Chemical emergencies management : The Department of Environment perspective
description In the event that incidents such as fires, explosions or leakages involving chemicals occur in major hazardous installations, The Occupational Safety and Health (Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards) (CIMAH) Regulations 1996, would operate to control the onsite situation. However, should such incidents escalate into disasters, there is the National Security Council's Directive 20 that outlines a policy to manage them. As a supporting agency under this Directive 20, the Department of Environment (DOE) is entrusted to fulfill its primary function of preventing and controlling pollution. The objective of this study is to evaluate that state of preparedness, both at the headquarters as well as the state level, as regards to the availability of equipment, the personnel's competence to handle monitoring, communication and safety equipment, their knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of DOE as a responding agency and about the contents of Directive 20. Information gathered was by way of a questionnaire targeted at different levels of the DOE personnel and it covered the various areas of focus outlined in the objective. The measurements of the variables were then quantified by devising a rating scale and analysed statistically using the SPSS program. The t- Test method of comparison of the means was also utilised to compare the headquarters and state groups. A Checklist and Audit of the availability and condition of the monitoring, communication and safety equipment needed during a chemical emergency were also carried out. Then, an Emergency Response Plan was formulated in line with DOE's role under Directive 20. The findings of the study indicate that though the personnel's knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of DOE is good, their understanding of Directive 20 is insufficient, and their ability to handle monitoring, communication and safety equipment is lacking. Capacity building programs such as trainings for the personnel and exercises to test its preparedness would be able to enhance DOE's capability and overcome any shortcoming in the management of a chemical emergency.
format Thesis
author Pachaimuthu, Vellayutham
author_facet Pachaimuthu, Vellayutham
author_sort Pachaimuthu, Vellayutham
title Chemical emergencies management : The Department of Environment perspective
title_short Chemical emergencies management : The Department of Environment perspective
title_full Chemical emergencies management : The Department of Environment perspective
title_fullStr Chemical emergencies management : The Department of Environment perspective
title_full_unstemmed Chemical emergencies management : The Department of Environment perspective
title_sort chemical emergencies management : the department of environment perspective
publishDate 2021
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115160/1/115160.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115160/
http://ethesis.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18230
_version_ 1825162443643420672
score 13.239859

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