Presented by:

Optimal laboratories, Inc.

Outline of Presentation
 What is an incident/accident?
 Causes of incident/accident
 Incident/Accident Investigation
 Incident/Accident Reporting
What is an accident?
An uncontrolled or unplanned
release of energy that
causes or contributes to
illness, injury, death and/or
damage to the environment,
property, equipment or
materials.
All accidents
have a cause and
effect!
 The Sandoz chemical spill was a major environmental
disaster caused by a fire on 1 November 1986, which
released toxic agrochemicals into the air and resulted in
tons of pollutants entering the Rhine river, turning it red.

 The stored chemicals included, beside urea and

fluorescent dye, organophosphate insecticides, mercury
compounds and organochlorines.
 The chemicals caused a massive mortality of
wildlife downstream, killing among other things a
large proportion of the European eel population in
the Rhine, although the situation subsequently
recovered within a couple of years.

 The cause of the blaze was never established.

 The Jiyeh Power Station oil spill is an
environmental disaster caused by the release of
heavy fuel oil into the eastern Mediterranean after
storage tanks at the thermal power station in Jiyeh,
Lebanon, 30 km (19 mi) south of Beirut, were
bombed by the Israeli Air force on July 14 and July
15, 2006 during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
 The plant's damaged tanks leaked up to 30,000
tonnes of oil into the eastern Mediterranean Sea, A
10 km wide oil slick covered 170 km of coastline,
and threatened Turkey and Cyprus. The slick killed
fish, threatened the habitat of endangered green
sea turtles, and potentially increased the risk of
cancer.
 The Exide lead contamination, in southeast Los
Angeles County, California, United States, came
from a battery recycling plant that emitted lead,
arsenic and other dangerous pollutants over
decades that contaminated as many as 10,000
homes in half a dozen working-class, Latino
communities near the plant.
 The residents have expressed outrage over the
failure of state regulators to act as the plant was
allowed to operate without a full permit while
documented violations were occurring. Exide
Technologies, owner of the lead-acid battery
smelter located in Vernon, agreed in 2015 to close
the facility while the massive cleanup of the
contaminated soil will take years and cost
hundreds of millions of dollars.
Location Guimaras Strait, Philippines
Coordinates
10°13′N 122°30′ECoordinates: 10°13′N 122°30′E

Date 11 August 2006

Cause Sinking of M/T Solar 1 during

storm

Casualties 1 dead, 2 missing

Operator Sunshine Maritime Development

Corporation, Petron Corporation

Spill characteristics
Volume 500,000 litres
(110,000 imp gal; 130,000 US gal)
The Taklong Island National Marine Reserve
was severely damaged. This bird was rescued
in one of the mangroves being cleaned up.
 House Technology Industries (HTI) at the
Cavite Export Processing Zone in General
Trias.

104 people were hurt and 84

hospitalized, mostly for
suffocation, in a fire that hit the
factory of House Technology
Industries (HTI) at the Cavite
Export Processing Zone in General
Trias.

Smoke from HTI factory fire can be seen Read more:

from kilometers afar.
which manufactures combustible materials,
such as wood, Styrofoam and household
products
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/8673
58/100-injured-in-cavite-factory-
fire#ixzz4hT4AqsPk
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on
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Nov 23, 2015 - MANILA, Philippines – Chemicals spilled from a factory making
plastic products in Quezon City, causing a foul smell. Pasig City Official
Information Center, the chemical that leaked was monomer, used for making
plastic products. They also identified the company name of the factory as
Hemress Inc.
Incident/Accident Causes

What are the causes of an incident or

accident? There are two basic causes:

• Unsafe Acts, and

• Unsafe Conditions
Unsafe Acts vs. Unsafe Conditions

80-90 percent of all

accidents are caused by
unsafe acts of people, as
opposed to unsafe
mechanical or physical
conditions.

Human failure is the

primary cause of accidents
and incidents!
 Unsafe Acts vs. Unsafe Conditions

Unsafe Acts Unsafe Conditions

Using unsafe equipment Congested area
Improper lifting Noise exposure

Horseplay Wet floor

Influence of drugs or alcohol Inadequate machine guards

Operating without authority Inadequate warning system

Left file drawer open Defective/damaged tools

 Who should investigate
environmental accidents?
• Plant Manager

• Immediate supervisor

• Department manager

• PCO and Safety Officer

• MMT members

• DENR-EMB, DOLE, etc

 Accident Investigation

Suppose an accident occurs in your facility and you are

the one who has to investigate it, what do you do?
 Keep in mind that all accidents should be investigated
as soon as possible.

 A good, thorough investigation needs to be conducted

so that future occurrences can be prevented.
The aim of the investigation
Is Not To:

• Exonerate individuals or management

• Satisfy insurance requirements

• Defend a position for legal argument

• Assign blame

Remember, fact finding – not fault finding

Incident/Accident Investigation – Steps Involved
• First and foremost, provide first aid/medical care to
the injured party.

• Use emergency environmental response kits to

immediately contain the area

• Get samples for laboratory analysis.

• Identify the cause of the accident.

• Report the findings (using the appropriate accident

report).
 Develop a plan for corrective action.

 Implement the corrective action plan.

 Evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken.

 Make changes for continuous improvement.

Remember – Time is of the essence!

 As little time as possible should pass between

the moment of the accident and the start of the
investigation!
 Starting the investigation a.s.a.p. after the
accident occurs enables a supervisor or
manager to:
 Observe conditions as they were at the time of the
accident.
 Prevent disturbance of evidence.

 Identify witnesses.
Remember this? Incident/Accident Causes
Causes of any accident
can be grouped into five
(5) basic categories:
Task

Material

Environment

Personnel

Management
Task
In this category, the actual work
procedure being performed at the time
of the accident is looked at.

Was a safe work procedure used?

Did conditions change to make the

normal procedure unsafe?

Were the appropriate tools and

materials available and used?

Were safety devices (example: machine

guards) in place and working
properly?
 Material
In this area, look for possible
causes resulting from the
equipment and materials used.

Equipment failure? If so, what

caused the failure?

Was the machinery poorly

designed?

Were hazardous substances

involved? If yes, were they
clearly identified and properly
labeled?
Material (cont.)

Was a less-hazardous alternative substance

available?

Was the raw material substandard in some way?

Was PPE used? If yes, was it appropriate for the

task being performed and was it in
“serviceable condition?”
Environment
The physical environment, including
sudden changes to it, are factors that
need to be identified.

What were the conditions in the work

area (example: cold, hot, damp, etc.)?

Was poor housekeeping a problem?

Was noise a problem?

Was there adequate light?

Were toxic or hazardous gases, dusts or

fumes present?
 Personnel
The physical and mental conditions
of those individuals directly
involved in the accident must be
explored.

Was the employee experienced in

the work he/she was doing?

Was the employee adequately

trained for the task being
completed?

Can the employee physically

perform the work?
Personnel (cont.)

What was the status of the employee’s health

at the time of the accident?

Was the employee tired at the time of the

accident?

Was the employee under work or personal

stress at the time of the accident?
Management
Management holds the legal responsibility
for safety in the workplace!

Were safety rules communicated to and

understood by all employees?

Were written procedures available?

Were the procedures/rules being

enforced?

Was there adequate supervision?

Management (cont.)

Were workers trained to do the work being

performed?

Were hazards previously identified?

Had procedures been developed to overcome the

hazards identified?

Were unsafe conditions corrected?

Was regular maintenance of equipment done?

Were safety inspections completed?

Pictures

If possible, take a picture

of the accident scene
noting the date, time
and your location on
the back of the picture.

Pictures can be very

helpful if further
investigation is
necessary or a dispute
occurs.
Accident Witnesses

Every effort should be made to

interview any witnesses.

Witnesses can be a very good

source of information
regarding the cause of an
accident and the conditions
associated with it.
Eyewitness Accounts

•Witnesses should be interviewed as soon as

possible after the accident.

Witnesses should be interviewed alone, rather

than in a group.

Have witnesses document their statements and

ask them to date and sign.
 Interviewing Witnesses

When interviewing a witness do not:

Attempt to intimidate

Interrupt

Prompt

Ask leading questions

Show your emotions

Make lengthy notes while the witness is

talking
Do:

Ask open-ended questions

(“yes” or “no” answers).

Use probing questions to get

more information.

Repeat witness’s answer back to

them.

Have the witness write their

statement and then sign,
date, time (you also sign,
date, time).
Incident/Accident Prevention

Incidents and
accidents can be
prevented by
early detection,
reporting and
abating!
Hazard Recognition
Detection/identification of hazards before they cause injuries
or damages is important. To accomplish this, conduct
periodic “walk around” inspections looking for items such as:

 Slip, trip and fall hazards (e.g., wires across a walk way)

 Broken/damaged equipment (e.g., stool with a broken leg)

 Improper storage or labelling of chemicals

 Exposed electrical wiring (e.g., frayed electrical cord)

 Machinery with missing guards (e.g., cutting machine with missing

blade guard.)

 Damaged PPE (e.g., gloves with rips/tears)

 Report Hazards
Once hazards have been identified, they need to be
reported to the appropriate area (e.g., broken floor tile
that could cause a trip and fall should be reported to
building maintenance for repair, a malfunction of a
pollution control device could cause uncontrolled
emissions to the environment and should be
immediately reported to the operations team for
proper action.

The Pollution Control Officer or the Safety Officer,

should keep a log of items reported and follow up to
ensure all hazards reported have been corrected.
Hazard Abatement
Hazard abatement = The
elimination or reduction of an
environmental and/or safety and
health hazard by complying with
applicable environmental, safety
and health standards or taking
equivalent protective measures.

Take the steps necessary to abate

hazards; this will provide a safer
and healthier environment for
employees, contractors and visitors
alike.
Accident Prevention
Here are some ways to prevent accidents:

Ensure work areas are not cluttered and trash is

removed regularly.

Provide necessary training/retraining for all

employees.

Ensure that necessary controls are in place

[engineering (e.g., machine guarding),
administrative (e.g., labels/signs), PPE (e.g., safety
goggles)], pollution control devices.

Have spills cleaned up immediately.

Accident Prevention (cont.)

Ensure proper lifting/carrying techniques are

being used.

Ensure mechanical handling equipment, or

MHE, is being used properly.

Ensure walking/working surfaces are free of slip,

trip and fall hazards.

Enforce safety rules, policies and procedures.

Ensure safety inspections are being conducted

regularly.
Incident Reporting
 DENR Administrative Order 2014-02 (Revised
Guidelines for Pollution Control Officers
Accreditation)
When to report?
What to report?
How to Report?
How to Report?
How to Report?
Thank You for Listening!