- Department:Hazard Control Division
In order to establish a training system for emergency responders for toxic and concerned chemical substances, the Environmental Protection Administration announced in January 2021 that it was seeking training organizations to conduct training, and after document review and inviting experts from industry, government and academia to conduct onsite assessments, there were four qualified organizations located in the Northern, Central and Southern regions. Today (20th) the designated training organizations are announced, and they will conduct professional training courses, testing, certificate issuance and other matters from July 2021. The related training and course information will be posted on the website of the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau.
Considering the regions of and the convenience for the operators of toxic concerned chemical substances, the training conducted by the organizations is divided into three regions: Northern, Central and Southern. The Industrial Technology Research Institute and National United University are the designated organizations in the Northern region (Yilan County, Keelung City, Taipei City, New Taipei City, Taoyuan City, Hsinchu County, Hsinchu City, and Miaoli County); the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology is the designated organizations in the Central region (Taichung City, Changhua County, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Chiayi County, and Chiayi City); the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology is the designated organizations in the Southern region (Tainan City, Kaohsiung City, and Pingtung County). The training organizations may offer courses at various levels, which may be coordinated and deployed by the Environmental Protection Administration in accordance with policy needs. The Environmental Protection Administration will coordinate with the training organizations in other regions to conduct training in the Eastern region (Hualien County and Taitung County) and the offshore islands (Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu).
The Environmental Protection Administration entrusts training organizations to conduct the training, including the start-up operation, enrollment of trainees, qualification review, recruitment of teachers, training courses, attendance assessment, teaching evaluation, testing operations cooperated with the Environmental Protection Administration, certificate issuance, annual results report submission, training materials revision, etc. The recognition of equivalent qualifications and the issuance of equivalent certificates is conducted by the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology.
The content of each level of training courses for emergency responders of the toxic and concerned chemical substances is based on the U.S. federal regulations and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards, and a five-level training program has been established, including awareness, operations, technician, incident commander, and specialist levels, in order to be in line with international standards in the future. Except for the awareness level, all other levels of the courses include both indoor courses and practical courses. The indoor courses are subject to academic tests, and the practical courses have practical tests with practical score sheets (e.g., practical work on initial response actions, practical work on personal protective equipment and decontamination procedures, practical work on toxic disaster response detection equipment, practical work on toxic disaster control techniques and leak stopping operations, practical work on a sand table of accident scenarios, practical work on toxic gas cylinder/barrel incident response, practical work on advanced response to toxic chemical transportation incidents, etc.), to ensure that trainees have the courage to carry out emergency response work. Through the simulation training, it can effectively convey the knowledge of emergency response, enhance the capability of emergency responders, strengthen the independent response capacity of the industry, ensure the safety of people's lives and properties, and reduce the risk of incidents.
According to the Environmental Protection Administration, information related to the training of emergency responders for toxic and concerned chemical substances will be posted on the website of the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau, including training-related laws and regulations, introduction, contact information of training organizations, registration website, class information, and application information, etc. Operators of toxic and concerned chemical substances shall pay attention to the latest information posted on the website.
