Process Safety Management (PSM): Emergency Planning & Response

This content introduces the OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) Standard, emphasizing that OSHA standards are written from human tragedy. The PSM Standard was developed following several major incidents involving hazardous chemicals. The seminal event was the 1984 Bhopal, India tragedy at a Union Carbide pesticide plant, where approximately 40 tons of highly toxic methyl isocyanate were released, resulting in thousands of fatalities—widely considered the worst industrial disaster in world history. Additional incidents included the 1985 Union Carbide facility leak in Institute, West Virginia, the 1989 Phillips Petroleum incident in Pasadena, Texas (23 fatalities), and the Arco facility explosion in Channelview, Texas (17 fatalities). These tragic events led to OSHA finalizing the PSM Standard (29 CFR 1910.119) in 1992, which includes 14 required elements. This course focuses specifically on emergency planning and response—Paragraph (n)—emphasizing its importance for employee safety and facility integrity.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the importance of emergency planning and response as part of the overall PSM program
• List OSHA 1910.119 emergency planning and response requirements
• Identify how to implement emergency planning and response into your overall PSM program
• Measure compliance with the emergency planning and response requirements