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2.6 Local - Tactical Level

(i) STAC - Public Health, Environment, Science and Technical Advice Cell
Participating organisations/agencies:

Figure 6

In the event of a CBRN incident, a Science & Technical Advice Cell ⁹ ( STAC), will require to be convened (at tactical level), to give public health, environmental, scientific, technical and operational advice to the Strategic Co-ordinating Groups and to the other multi-agency Tactical groups. The involvement of the STAC in this process is unlikely to be short-term and issues such as effective resource management, staff rotation, logistics and accommodation, etc. will have to be addressed by all organisations involved.

The STAC will normally be chaired by the local Health Board Director of Public Health ( DPH) or Consultant in Public Health Medicine ( CPHM) who will be supported by senior representatives from Health Protection Scotland ( HPS), the local authority and other specialists appropriate to the incident. The Cell will also have links, if required, to the NHS Strategic Command arrangements and the UK Department of Health Emergency Coordination Centre. The STAC may be located at the SCC and will co-ordinate all necessary public health, health protection and other related scientific advice to both Strategic Co-ordinating Groups and the multi-agency Tactical groups, including:

• timely and coordinated expert scientific and technical information;
• public health protection objectives and priorities;
• identification of gaps in the availability of specialist expertise;
• emergency mortuary support services - pathology/forensics;
• chemical, biological and radiation health countermeasures;
• decontamination of people requirements and priorities;
• targeting areas of high contaminant concentrations;
• food contamination;
• water supply hazards - public and private;
• public health warning and advisory information; and
• long term health monitoring needs.

(ii) Consequence Management - Site Clearance Group
Participating organisations/agencies:

Figure 7

The Site Clearance Group ¹⁰ shall co-ordinate multi-agency site clearance activity in support of the overall response. The Group will liaise with the main Tactical co-ordination group to ensure that decisions and actions are taken with regard to ensuring the speediest return to normality.

Membership of the Site Clearance Group ¹¹ will be influenced by the nature of the incident and the type of expertise required and should always be kept under review. As work progresses it is likely that the number of organisations participating in the Site Clearance Group will reduce.

Few aspects of site clearance planning and implementation are capable of being delivered effectively by a single agency or authority and the Group will require a co-ordinated effort on the part of:

• Local Authority and its service specialists;
• Scottish Government;
• site owners and insurers;
• health and safety advisors;
• scientific specialists including GDS;
• regulators;
• food and water supply specialists;
• public utilities; and
• community representatives.

The aim of the Group in recovery mode is to aid and inform the strategic decision making process and then to deliver outputs to achieve the agreed strategic outcomes. In doing so, the key responsibilities of the Group are:

• identifying and prioritising work areas and recommending a clean-up implementation plan to the Strategic Co-ordinating Groups;
• contributing technical and scientific advice on the extent and nature of site stabilisation and site clearance activities to be undertaken;
• identifying options, technologies and strategies taking into account site specific needs including geographic plume and deposition monitoring, restoration, regeneration, sustainability, legislative and regulatory requirements, ¹² technical feasibility, environmental impact, waste disposal, acceptability to stakeholders, and timescale of operation;
• developing a Health and Safety Plan ( HASP) to protect the health and safety of those involved in site stabilisation and clearance operations;
• preparing a monitoring, sampling, analysis and reporting strategy;
• developing a decontamination strategy which addresses out-door and in-door cleaning and decontamination needs taking heed of information from the STAC and other interested parties. This consultation process must achieve agreement on target contaminant concentrations to be achieved and a methodology to monitor and demonstrate attainment. If satisfactory decontamination is considered not practicable, the options to seal off the incident site, contain the hazard, prevent access and take no further action or do nothing at all need to be considered;
• preparing a Site Clearance Plan for approval by the CMSCG and managing its subsequent implementation;
• providing support to those involved at operational level;
• providing information to inform a communication strategy which supports the provision of public information, advice and education in strict concert with the strategic media and information management strategies; and
• maintaining records of decisions, recovery actions and costs.

Bearing in mind the likely duration of site clearance operations local responders should consider novel ways of working, e.g. virtual accommodation, with participants being connected remotely using (secure) email, video conferencing and telephone conferencing.

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