Anthrax, Managing the Workplace
Risk Assessment and Planning
By Patrick J. Moffett, CHMM, REA

Background
Since the past anthrax scares, building risk managers are being asked, "what are they doing to create an action plan, if the company or building receives a report about possible chemical, anthrax or other biohazard exposure?"

Information about anthrax and bio-terrorism in general, can be found at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. CDC also publishes guidelines to the medical community and public about anthrax, what is anthrax, how anthrax is transmitted, and what to look for when receiving possibly contaminated mail.

While it is highly unlikely many buildings will be affected by chemical or biological terrorism, building, city and district risk managers must now have in place, as part of their emergency response action plan, a written program for handling all types of terrorism disasters. Terrorism in general has become a real concern. Chemical and biological terrorism is known to result in illness and disease, to the loss of life. Again, while a terrorism act is highly unlikely to affect the majority of buildings, we know that terrorism, especially chemical and biological terrorism, is now part of our life. Every reported incident of terrorism must be taken seriously. The damage caused by false alarms to hysteria is a risk manager's nightmare. Risk managers are changing their direction in how to manage terrorism weekly, because there are no standards or guidelines for managing anthrax or other terrorism related biohazards.

This article is an attempt to use reasonable methods in managing anthrax related problems. This article aligns itself with police and fire departments and sensible methods of problem recognition and management, based in part on information published by the World Health Organization (WHO), The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Laboratory Sciences (PHLS), U. S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and the Emergency Response and Research Institute (ERRI).

Notice
In reading this article, risk managers and responsible parties, must report all incidences and indicators of an employee or workplace exposure involving terrorism or suspected terrorism, unexplained chemical incident and suspect biological agents "immediately" to proper authorities. The notice and reporting of an incident must be part of the risk management reporting procedures. Police and fire guidelines supersedes this article when the article maybe be in conflict with local, state, military, and federal authorities.

Risk-based Assessment

1. When developing a "risk assessment" and "action plan" for terrorism, the plan must include elements in dealing with all types of chemical (chemical weapons (CW)) and biological (biological weapons (BW)) also referred to as "bioterrorism (biological terrorism)."
2. The risk management team must review all currently published literature on chemical use, anthrax and bio-terrorism in general, determining particular needs of the company in dealing with chemical and biological hazards, their recognition, management and resolution.
3. To reduce employee fears and department inquiries, a company newsletter should outline the response of the company. Employees should fully understand the company action plan. Until a viable action plan can be implemented, risk managers should advise employees, a terrorism management plan is currently in the making.
4. Have 24-hour communication phone numbers for local fire and police, city and county health department, medical professionals, security, and specialty contractors.
5. Risk managers must know their buildings and each tenant, they should make sure the building's risk management and action plan is fully understood by each tenant.
6. As part of the disaster management planning stage, it requires communicating with police and fire, asking them what they expect your company to do, given certain scenarios, and incorporating their information "response plan" into your "action plan":
1. Depending on the situation and the government agencies involved, they (police, fire, military, health department, medical evaluation teams) should be capable of handling most all aspects of chemical/biological terrorism emergencies. But as more and more scares and real problems occur, the ability of some agencies to respond and supply all types of services may become limited. Fire departments may call upon outside contractors who are specially trained and certified in chemical and/or biological hazardous materials management, setting up containment and isolation controls, and assisting agencies with cleanup on an as-need-basis;

7. If a whole building is suspected or affected, there may be no reason to isolate areas (zones) within the building, except for managing disinfection and sanitization, leading to an acceptable post-verification (clearance) sampling.
1. If only part of the building is considered affected or is a concern, then engineering controls should be implemented to contain and protect the remainder of the building, with the intention of allowing portions of the building to remain occupied.
8. The risk management department must communicate with their insurance department:
1. Current company insurance policies may not provide adequate coverage for terrorism;
2. Coverage issues dealing with employee medical evaluation, business loss interruption to building cleanup, sanitizing and post clearance sampling must be clearly defined;
3. The cleanup and post-clearance sampling costs may not be covered but business loss interruption may;
4. Chemical and biological exposures may not be covered, since they are considered a pollutant (pollution exclusion):
5. In other case, the building must be get tenants back into their occupied offices. I suggest a cost assessment survey be completed, considering that all or certain parts of a building may be closed for 3 or 5 days or longer.
 
Disaster Management

9. Incorporate different scenarios for disaster roll-playing.
1. What is the first response in communicating a potential biohazard to employees?
2. Where to vacate the building room or zone to a pre-assigned observation and treatment area, usually out of the building?
3. Sealing off potentially affected areas and zones from non-effected areas?
4. Procedures for isolating a box or a letter?
5. Is the city or county is capable in providing all of the services you may likely need in a chemical or biohazard event?
10. Unlike other emergencies affecting a building, a risk management plan should involve separating and isolating rooms and ventilation systems in the mail room, shipping and receiving. If possible, these types of departments should have designated supply, exhaust, and return air systems.
11. Elevators act as a diaphragm pump. They push and suck air in and out of common hallways from the elevator shaft. In an emergency it may be important to seal-off elevator shafts from spreading chemicals and spores through the building. Many elevators have a roof exhaust. Make sure elevator shafts comply with fire department requirements and determine if the shafts can be roof ventilated and can elevator shafts dampers be opened, allowing fresh air to be pulled inside the building's shafts?
12. Implement emergency response plans incorporating in-house building engineers, outside HVAC, disaster response and recovery contractors.
1. Building engineers may need to tag-out regular entry and exits, redirecting employees and visitors out of the building to a designated holding area, evaluation and treatment area;
2. Outside HVAC contractors may need to shut down ventilation system zones to and from potentially affected area;
3. Change of stocked ventilation filters, with a minimum being pleated filters, should be completed at the time of an incident is reported;
1. All filters are to be inventoried as to their location and position in the HVAC system, double plastic bagged and stored until authorities state they can be disposed;
2. Building engineers and HVAC contractors should not remove ventilation filters without having proper training and PPE.
4. Professionally trained chemical and biological disaster response and recovery contractors can assist with:
1. Sealing off select rooms and departments into primary and secondary contamination (containment) areas;
2. Installing protective barriers and sealing-off air supply ventilation to other parts of the building;
3. Incorporate engineering controls, through using HEPA-filtered negative air pressure machines and large room HEPA-filtered air scrubbers;
4. Provide HEPA vacuuming of dusts and spores;
5. Cleaning and sanitizing of office equipment and ventilation systems.

Police and Fire Department Coordination and Services
When reporting a disaster or even a potential disaster, different agencies may provide different directions of management depending on the situation. Fire and paramedics are interested in protecting life, while police focus on identifying and solving a crime. While this sounds simplistic each agency has their own priorities in providing problem management. This is one of the reasons risk managers must meet with fire, paramedics, and police and come up with acceptable methods for managing an impending terrorism disaster.

Risk managers may find that in every case, the authorities close the building, completely, not allowing anyone to gain access. This creates a monumental business interruption. Computers are left running, phone lines are not forwarded, contracts, valuables, and personnel records are laying out, and no one can communicate with customers. Even offices have been fingerprinted and fingerprint dust is everywhere, certain files may been taken as evidence, and select employee files may be missing.

When biological or chemical substance has been identified, a decontamination team may have gone into affected areas providing specialty cleanup services. Services may require desks and files, walls, floor and ceilings to be decontaminated, using solvents, cleaners, and disinfectants. Some records, such as paper products are inexpensive and porous, and they cannot be disinfected reasonably. If the information on effected paper is to be saved, it usually is scanned or photocopied.

Working With Specialty Contractors
If you have the ability to coordinate emergency response to cleanup services that are accepted by government agencies, your action plan should include those contractors who are trained and reliable in providing specific services. For example, HVAC contractors, security, disease management and recovery contractors must be trained adequately so that their technicians remain safe. As a point of interest, government agencies will not allow contractors at a terrorism site because they are not qualified. Pre-qualify specialty contractors who have HazMat certification and experience in a particular area.

In Closing
The issues surrounding chemical and biological terrorism is new and more has to be learned from the past years breakout of anthrax before risk managers have a grasp of how to deal with real and perceived breakouts. This article touches only the surface of what risk managers must become familiar with.

About the Author: Patrick Moffett has over 20 years of experience in managing hazardous materials, including chemical and biological waste across the United States and the UK. Moffett is a HazMat supervisor, a certified hazardous materials manager and a California registered EPA environmental assessor. Moffett is employed by Environmental Management & Engineering, Inc. (EME) in Huntington Beach, California USA. E-mail contact: pmoffett@emeiaq.com "Reprint permission granted by written request only. Moffett is an affiliate and consultant for Asepsis Technology.

Last Words

Since 911, the news media have concentrated it's coverage of terrorism in the United States on biological attacks for which precautions, response and remediation have been covered in the preceding article. Asepsis Technology, on the other hand, feels that government agencies and the private sector should take off their blinders and prepare itself for any terrorist attack. Those attacks currently witnessed in the Middle East involving suicide bombers, and the widespread pathological waste that can be created by such explosions in public settings, would have a greater impact on the resources of public service agencies and the private sector. Asepsis Technology clings stubbornly to it's record of expeditious response, technical competence and professional sensitivity.

One never hopes we will see another terrorist attack, but if one does occur, Asepsis Technology will be, "the Help you Need ... when you Need it Most!"