1. Objective and Scope

1.1

The objective of this Standard is to establish minimum criteria for emergency planning and provide guidance to owners and operators of private and public facilities in the development of a plan for effective emergency preparedness and response.

1.2

This Standard applies to all organizations that manufacture, use, store, distribute, transport (by pipeline, road, rail, marine, or air), or dispose of dangerous substances.

1.3

This Standard applies to all manmade emergencies (eg, fire, explosion, threats).

1.4

This Standard applies to all emergencies involving nature (eg, earthquake, severe storms, flooding).

1.5

This Standard acknowledges that owners and operators of private or public facilities, regardless of size or location, lacking resources for emergency response shall identify external re sponders in their plan, ie, fire, police, ambulance, contractors, or mutual aid.

1.6

Creation of an emergency plan by itself is not enough to reduce the risk of an accident. This Standard contains instructions on plan implementation, testing, periodic revision, and update.

1.7

In this Standard, the word ""shall"" is boldfaced and indicates a mandatory requirement; the word ""should"" indicates a recommendation but is not mandatory.