January 21, 2005—The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced its support for the National Response Plan just unveiled by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes a new Worker Safety and Health Annex. The Annex provides guidelines for implementing worker safety and health support functions during national incidents, including acts of terrorism, major natural disasters, or man-made emergencies.
The Annex is designed to provide a consistent high level of protection for all organizations involved in nationally significant events. Proper management of responder safety and health could be beyond any one organization’s capabilities due to the vast number of people involved in major disasters.
The Worker Safety and Health Annex provides for the coordination of federal safety and health assets for proactive consideration of all potential hazards; ensures availability and management of all safety resources needed by responders; shares responder safety-related information; and coordinates among federal agencies, state, local, and tribal governments, and private-sector organizations involved in responses to nationally significant events.
The Department of Homeland Security’s NRP establishes a unified and standardized approach within the US for protecting citizens and managing homeland security incidents.
