NPRA Publishes Hurricane Security Operations White Paper

June 2, 2006
The National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) has published a planning and crisis response guide for operators of U.S. refineries and petrochemical plants in the event of a major hurricane.

"NPRA White Paper: Hurricane Security Operations " addresses pre-hurricane planning and recovery operations. The outline suggests that facilities take a number of specific steps to best prepare for an impending threat, including:

  • Establishing an emergency management team;
  • Assessing facility security; enhancing logistics;
  • Establishing multi-modal communications options;
  • Coordinating with key personnel; and
  • Verifying that links are established to community and governmental agencies.

An addendum provides a sample list of logistical materials that facilities may want to stock on-site. Post-hurricane damage assessment and repairs and facility and personnel security are addressed in the recovery operations section of the paper.

"Last year, NPRA's members dealt with back-to-back hurricanes, a devastating double-punch to a major area of the Gulf Coast where many refined products and chemicals are produced, "NPRA President Bob Slaughter said. "Our industries came back and really demonstrated what they can do even in the face of not one, but two major disasters in a relatively short period of time. If you look at both industries' heroic efforts and what they accomplished, the Katrina and Rita recovery efforts are an amazing success story. They demonstrate the strong commitment of both industries to the national interest and to consumers.

"The NPRA white paper is a compilation of the lessons learned from last year's hurricanes. This publication is one part of our industries' efforts to be even better prepared as we enter this year's hurricane season."

The white paper, according to N PRA, is a "living document" that can be updated periodically as industry continues to learn about hurricane operations and raise the industry's disaster readiness.

The white paper is available in PDF format at http://www.npra.org.

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