Knowledge of emergency

Emergency classification by origin:

- Natural disaster;

- Technical accident;

- Social - political conflicts;

- Military action.

Transport accident, fire, explosion, accident followed by emission of strong toxic, radioactive and biological hazard, demolition of buildings and equipment are referred to technical accidents.

All technical accidents are divided into two categories.

Accident is referred to first category in case of:

- 5 fatal accidents or 10 and more injuries;

- emission of strong toxic, radioactive and biological hazard and their distribution over the sanitary zone of enterprise;

- 10 times and more growing concentration of environment contaminant;

- demolition of buildings, what causes high risk of injury or harm to great number of workers.

- accidents of second categories characterized by following consequences:

- up to 5 fatal accidents or 4-10 injuries;

- demolition of buildings, what causes high risk of injury or harm to some workers.

Accident should be immediately reported to site-manager or another officer that in turn should inform senior manager.

Director should engage accident liquidation plan, apply rescue measures and medical aid to injured workers and also inform local executive body, civil defense staff, public prosecutions department and trade union.

Natural disasters can be:

- meteorological (which occur in atmosphere) storm, hurricane, cyclone, extreme frost, drought;

- topological (which occur on the earth surface) flood, avalanche, snow avalanche;

- tectonic (underground) earthquake, volcano.

Disasters categories:

1. first category disasters go over territory of one administrative district with great economic impact;

2. second category disasters spread within one administrative district.

The emergency situation appears as result of:

- rapid natural processes caused by gravity, earth circulation or temperature difference;

- effect of the external natural factors, which result in aging or corrosion of materials of constructions, structures and decreasing of physical-mechanical parameters;

- engineering or manufacturing defects of structures (designer’s error; low quality of materials; breaking the rules of safety precautions for repairing and other works);

- influence of technological processes on materials of structures (overloading; high temperatures, vibration, aggressive medium);

- incompliance with safety standards for construction and technological processes, which cause kettle explosion, chemical spill etc;

- military activity of all kinds.

Irrespective to the origin and type emergency situation progresses in four inherent phases.

Emergency scenario:

1. INITIATION – premises future emergency situation through: activating unfavorable natural processes; accumulating the engineering or manufacturing defects, multiple technical breakdowns; equipment malfunctions; its duration can be approximately estimated by means of regular statistics of failures, breakdowns, «local» failures, observations of seismic, meteorological, mudflow struggling and other stations;

2. ACTIVATION – usually triggered by human. Statistics testifies that more than 60 % of accidents arise because of staff errors;

3. CULMINATION – phase releases energy or substance, which affect people and environment; it frequently engages powerful, toxic or biologically active components, as chain reaction destroying energy and substance spill;

4. FADING – may last for years to minimize adverse consequences.