|
Prevention involves activities that minimize
the chance or occurrence of an emergency and are generally
applied to situations involving technological hazards,
such as hazardous materials or Y2K. When successful,
prevention is the most important phase in the emergency
management continuum.
ICF International recognizes that a critical component
of any successful prevention program is effectively
communicating its goals and efforts. As such, ICF International
has developed multiple guidance documents, outreach
materials, and training programs that are designed to
heighten awareness and increase understanding of the
importance of prevention as the cornerstone of emergency
management.
|
|
Our Services
ICF International has worked hard to develop effective and efficient
processes and strategies that help our public and private
sector clients design and implement prevention initiatives
that minimize accidents. Our services in prevention include:
Risk Management and Vulnerability Assessment
 Decision
makers and emergency planners need a framework to determine
what emergencies to prepare for and how to allocate precious
resources. Focus is on the impact of incidents on human health,
the community, the environment, and government/business continuity
of operations. Underlying all emergency plans, training, exercises,
and prevention efforts is the assessment of the organization's
risk and ways to manage the risk.
Since the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, the commitment
to assessing vulnerabilities and managing risk is even more
critical. ICF International has long been at the forefront of
assisting government and other organizations in managing the
risk associated with natural disasters, technological disasters
(e.g., hazardous materials accidents, computer system failures),
and terrorism. For more than 20 years, our focus has been
on events that are sudden, unexpected, and catastrophic.
Our approach to risk management is based on applying established
and tested risk management principles for the specific government
and industry sectors in which we have intimate and extensive
knowledge. These principles include the following:
- Establishing the scope of the operations or responsibilities
- Collecting detailed information on existing operations
or responsibilities
- Identifying hazards/vulnerabilities and accident/terrorist
consequences
- Assessing the probability, nature, and magnitude of the
risk
- Developing a strategy to reduce the risk
- Devising an action plan to implement the strategy
- Providing a plan for verifying and evaluating the management
of the risk
We carry out this principled approach on projects that focus
on risks of natural disaster, technological disaster, or terrorism.
As a respected authority in this area, we have codified many
of these principles in guidance and risk models for government
and associations. We have authored and supported guidance
for:
- U.S. National Fire Protection Agency's NFPA 1600 Disaster/Emergency
Management and Business Continuity Program
- American Institute of Chemical Engineer's Guidelines
for Chemical Transportation Risk Analysis
- U.S. Department of Transportation's Risk Management
Self-Evaluation Framework
To support risk analyses, we also have special tools including
those that conduct chemical dispersion modeling or graphically
develop "fault trees."
ICF International's experts are widely renowned in:
Learn more about our Vulnerability
Assessment services for homeland security.
Regulatory and Program Development
 Government
agencies across the globe are increasingly adding a stronger
emphasis on emergency management to their missions. This approach
may involve developing new programs or implementing new statutory
requirements.
ICF International has vast institutional knowledge and a sophisticated
understanding of regulatory and program development issues
facing our clients. Those clients may be U.S. federal agencies
required by Congress to establish an emergency management
program, state governments charged with implementing a new
state law, local agencies addressing a local emergency management
problem, or other nations who wish to model their programs
on successful efforts in the United States or abroad.
ICF International is exceptionally well-qualified to help government
agencies in developing programs for emergency planning and
response,
detection of hazards, incident
prevention, and interagency coordination. We provide assistance
in the following areas:
- Reviewing incident data to justify risk analysis for a
diverse universe of affected facilities
- Establishing regulatory terminology used to define hazardous
materials and reportable events for accident-related purposes
- Building databases to provide release information for
the development of future regulatory policies
ICF International is committed to delivering the analysis, products,
and timely performance expected by our government clients.
ICF International will provide an unparalleled level of quality
and responsiveness in meeting your needs for support in regulatory
and program development.
Learn more about our Regulatory
Support services for homeland security.
Oil Spill Programs
 Preventing
and responding to oil spills is an ongoing concern of both
government and industry. With the implementation of the Clean
Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act in the United States,
coupled with the threat of terrorism, there is an enhanced
need to develop programs to respond to potential oil releases
and disruptions in oil distribution.
ICF International has extensive qualifications in oil programs
including regulatory policy, technical and analytical research,
emergency exercises, safety and health studies, port security,
accident investigation, spill contingency plans, and response
capability assessments. Through hundreds of projects for government
and private industry, ICF International has acquired keen insights
and unmatched expertise in emergency
preparedness, prevention, and response
for oil spills and oil spill regulatory policy.
ICF International has extensive capabilities in performing assessments
of ecological and safety operation risks involving flammable
chemicals. Our staff includes policy and regulatory analysts,
safety and health managers, oil spill response and preparedness
experts, and emergency managers.
 |
SELECTED PROJECTS |
|
|
Regulatory and Program Development
Risk Management and Vulnerability Assessment
Oil Spill Programs
|
|
|
SELECTED PROJECTS |
|
|
White House Office of Homeland
Security (OHS) Support
ICF International is providing technical and administrative
support to several White House Office of Homeland
Security (OHS) workgroups and committees.
Topics include:
- building air protection
- radiological dispersal devices
- water security
- chemical facility security
- hazardous materials transportation decontamination
Support activities include developing and providing
briefing and presentation materials; preparing
draft analytical documents; preparing draft guidelines,
checklists, pamphlets, Web site content, and more
related to the OHS message; and supporting workgroup
meetings.
U.S. Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) Support
ICF International provides support to the the U.S.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Policy
Executive Steering Committee (PESC). The PESC
is a senior-level, decision-making forum established
to guide TSA efforts to develop transportation
security regulations and other policy actions,
and ensure that key management decisions on crucial
matters are made in a timely manner. ICF International's
support includes preparation for the weekly PESC
meetings, as well as the development and maintenance
of a system for tracking the progress of key projects.
Regulatory Support, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
ICF International has conducted more than a hundred
economic analyses for the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and assisted in all phases of EPA
rulemakings. For example, ICF International supported
initial options development, focus groups, rule
drafting, economic analyses, comment response,
and guidance development for EPA's risk management
plan rule. The EPA adopted an integrated performance-based
management approach for identifying hazards, assessing
risks, and managing the use of highly hazardous
chemicals to reduce the risk of chemical accidents.
Under EPA contracts, ICF International has worked
closely with the U.S. Coast Guard for many years
to draft revisions to the National Oil and Hazardous
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), Spill
Prevention Control and Counter-measures (SPCC),
and Facility Response Plans (FRP) regulations.
National Oil and Hazardous
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP)
Support, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)
For more than 15 years, ICF International supported
EPA in revising the National Oil and Hazardous
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP)—first
under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), followed
by amendments as a result of the Emergency Planning
and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), and then
to incorporate Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA
90) revisions. Learn more about EPA
Oil Program Regulatory Support.
United States/Mexico Joint
Inland Pollution Contingency Plan Support
ICF International assisted in preparing the initial
and final drafts of the Joint United States/Mexico
Contingency Plan for Accidental Releases of Hazardous
Substances Along the Border.
Risk Management of Hazardous
Materials Transportation
For several railroads, ICF International conducted
numerous risk analyses to manage the risk of hazardous
materials shipments. For the U.S. Department of
Transportation, we developed a methodology and
strategy for risk management of hazardous materials
transportation by highway, rail, vessel, and aircraft.
After the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001,
the method was customized to enhance the security
of hazardous materials during transport.
Vulnerability Assessment of
Disruptions to Financial Institutions
ICF International conducted risk and vulnerability
assessments for a range of financial institutions,
including stock exchanges and banking organizations.
We determined the consequences and mitigation
steps for a variety of disruptions including failures
of computer systems and water damage to physical
facilities.
|
Vulnerability Assessment of
Disruptions to Energy Sector
For a Midwestern state, ICF International conducted
a vulnerability assessment to determine the susceptibility
of the state's energy infrastructure to a terrorism
attack that could result in power grid disruptions.
This assessment laid the foundation for an exercise
requiring a unique public/private-sector approach
to education and partnered problem-solving.
Vulnerability and Security
Assessments for Transportation
For the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration,
ICF International is reviewing the rail security
analyses and plans completed by the Association
of American Railroads, particularly with regard
to hazardous materials transportation. For Amtrak,
we conducted risk assessments to evaluate the
safety of railcar passenger design, and are reviewing
and further developing Amtrak's security plans.
Oil Program Regulatory Support,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Since the 1980s, ICF International has provided regulatory
support, technical analysis, research, and outreach
for EPA's Oil Program on all major oil spill rules
including the:
We prepared technical background documents and
issue papers outlining various regulatory strategies,
environmental effects of oil spills, and economic
impact analyses of regulatory provisions. In addition,
ICF International has been involved in numerous studies
of trends in oil spill risks in U.S. waters.
Oil Spill Training and Plans,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
For the EPA, ICF International is developing and
updating a weeklong course to train EPA personnel
to conduct oil storage facility inspections to
determine compliance with oil spill prevention
and response regulatory requirements. In addition,
for the National Response Team, we assisted in
developing guidance for facilities to prepare
the single, integrated contingency plan (for oil
and hazardous substance spills) to meet multiple
federal response plan requirements.
Economic Analysis on Spills
For the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office
of Pipeline Safety, ICF International developed a
model for estimating the costs for cleanup and
restoration and the damages to natural resources
as a result of pipeline spills that affect soil,
surface water, and ground water. For the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, ICF International
compared the environmental hazards and cleanup
costs of methanol and gasoline spills.
Oil Spill Response and Exercises
For the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
Oil Program Center, ICF International developed guidance
for exercises under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
For the U.S. Coast Guard, ICF International staff
has directed and implemented the National Preparedness
for Response Exercise Program, designed to test
various components of a response plan to ensure
the plan is adequate for the responsible organization
to respond to an oil discharge.
Safety and Environmental
Assessments
For the Boston, Massachusetts, Fire Department—in
the wake of the terrorist acts of September 11,
2001—ICF International evaluated the risks of
transporting liquefied natural gas in Boston Harbor.
For the U.S. Department of Energy, ICF International
conducted a health and safety assessment of several
proposed actions at Strategic Petroleum Reserve
sites.
International Emergency Management
Projects for Ports, Oil Storage, and Pipeline
Facilities
For the Peruvian National Oil Company, ICF International
conducted a series of oil spill prevention and
response inspections to determine whether proper
operational and emergency planning procedures
were in place. For the Bahamas government, ICF International evaluated oil spill contingency plans
for port operations.
|
|
|
