Environmental risk reduction firm Adler and Allan has teamed up with the UK’s National Chemical Emergency Centre (NCEC) to offer training to its employees in handling hazardous material incidents.
NCEC will provide training equal to that given to fire and rescue service personnel for selected Adler and Allan employees. They will follow NCEC’s hazardous materials first responder and hazardous materials tactical advisor training, with some completing an incident site controller course. This will allow Adler and Allan to provide nationwide 24/7 control of a hazardous materials incident safely and compliantly all year round.
Adler and Allan has invested £100,000 (€116,000) in the training. The course lasts for three weeks and includes sessions on chemistry, incident scene management and an understanding of the United Nation’s Classification of Hazardous Materials, as well as practical training at NCEC’s world class training facilities. The main course will support those involved in an incident to provide rapid and appropriate information to the emergency services, while the additional site controller qualification trains attendees to manage operations in coordination with the emergency services in category one- and two-level hazardous materials incidents.
The training is delivered as part of NCEC’s new Hazmat Academy. Courses were developed in collaboration with Responsible Care experts from the Chemical Industries Association, the Chemical Business Association, and leading hazardous materials specialists from the police, and fire and rescue services. It is accredited by The International Organisation for Industrial Emergency Services Management (JOIFF).
Adler and Allan says that the training has already been put into use, with its employees leading the environmental response at an incident in Llangennech, Wales, in which a 25-wagon freight train derailed and caught fire, releasing 330,000 litres of diesel into the surrounding area.
‘The training supplements our already extensive experience from DGSA, ADR, COTC and qualified chemists. We are trusted response partners for local government, the fire brigade, and the police. This investment ensures our responders will be best placed in the industry to provide a confident, competent and professional response to hazardous materials incidents,’ says Henrik Pedersen, group managing director, Adler and Allan.
