Evonik’s Greensboro Facility To Conduct Emergency Exercise September 15

Evonik Stockhausen, one of the city’s major employers, will test its emergency response plan on September 15 in a mock emergency exercise along with the participation of the Greensboro Fire Department, Guilford County EMS and Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital.

“The drill will test our response planning under emergency conditions,” said Dieter Bettinger, site manager at the Evonik facility on Doyle Street. “We hope we will never have such an emergency, though we want to be ready. The exercise will reinforce the roles each employee plays in an emergency and makes sure our coordination with the Fire Department, EMTs and Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital is seamless. Teamwork in such situations is critical.”

Captain Mark Schmitt of the Greensboro Fire Department said the September 15 drill will be a test of the Department’s readiness. “Getting individuals together from different venues and training together helps to prepare for a possible emergency,” he said. “There are times where we will all need to work together so this training is very important. It’s not really something you do all the time on the job but you need to know how.”

Added Lewis Cantu of Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital: “We want to make sure we can coordinate our efforts among the participating agencies. We want to be able to communicate information quickly and effectively between all parties.”

The mock emergency drill is scheduled to begin at10 a.m. on Thursday, September 15. “The scenario involves a hose break while an employee is unloading an organic acid from a railcar,” said Bettinger. “Although the Evonik employee is protected from acid burns by his safety gear, he falls and suffers arm and head injuries. Simultaneously, two contractors working at an adjacent work area are sprayed with acid.”

The Greensboro Fire Department and EMS are contacted using the 911 emergency system. Prior to their arrival, the injured personnel are examined and stabilized at the scene by Evonik’s Site First Responders, according to the scenario. The Emergency Medical Technicians arrive and take over treatment of the three individuals on-site.
The three are then transported by ambulance to Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, where they are treated by the Hospital’s Emergency Room personnel and eventually released.

Said Bettinger: "We don’t know when or where a disaster may occur but the more we practice, the more prepared we are for the unexpected both on-site and in the community. Not only do we work in this community, we live in the community. By engaging the Greensboro emergency services in our mock emergency, it tests not just our ability to deal with an incident but creates the team that can respond to safeguard our neighbors and community.”

For additional information about Evonik in North America, please visit our website: www.evonik.com/north-america.