Regardless of whether an industrial incident is intentional or accidental, most of the resulting challenges are the same. The plant’s safety administration must provide for a comprehensive response that manages the situation by assisting the injured, while mitigating any further or continuing threat. This can be much easier said than done, especially with today’s heightened awareness of terrorist and other malicious motivations.
It’s an understatement to simply say that the safety manager’s playing field is much more complicated these days. More often than not, first responders can’t be sure if the threat of additional damage and injury is still present when they arrive and it can be harder than ever to make that determination. That’s especially true in the event of possible intentional incidents.