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The Department of Environmental Safety (DES) is responsible for responding to assist the agencies legally responsible for, or to directly provide, emergency management and appropriate incident investigation on the University of Maryland campus. The DES's primary function at a campus emergency is to assist the legally responsible agency when requested, and to provide information and advice regarding campus processes, chemicals, special hazards, structures, utilities, etc. DES has legal enforcement authority for certain radiation emergencies and fire investigations.
Federal and State regulations require that the University of Maryland have a Contingency and Emergency Plan for the Nuclear Reactor located in the Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building, and for the Environmental Services Facility and Auxiliary Storage Facility located on the north end of campus. Additionally, OSHA and the State Fire Prevention Code require the development of emergency procedures.
DES functions at emergencies according to an established emergency chain of command. The emergency chain of command should in no way inhibit any DES employee from acting as a reasonable and prudent person when an emergency is reported to, or discovered by, that employee. All emergency reporting and action procedures which apply to other University employees, also apply to DES employees. The Prince George's County Fire Department is legally in charge of all fires, hazardous materials incidents, and emergency medical incidents to which they have been dispatched. The University of Maryland Police Department is legally in charge at all crime scenes. DES Fire Marshals are legally authorized and responsible for performing fire investigations. Primarily, DES assists the legally responsible agency by providing information and advice. DES has administrative authority to mitigate imminent hazards. After a campus emergency has been determined by the legal authority to be over, it is the responsibility of DES to conduct an investigation of the incident to determine the cause, evaluate the response to enable the University to prevent similar situations, and to provide mitigation, decontamination, and supervision of clean up operations after hazardous materials incidents. Emergency Response may require the mobilization of one or more DES units and/or one or more representatives from other departments, depending on the type of emergency and information required.
Cross-functional drills are reviewed and practiced by all pertinent DES units to respond to all emergencies in the event that personnel from a specialized DES unit are not immediately available.
Reports of emergencies received by DES will be processed to 911 (UMPD) to initiate emergency response personnel and to the appropriate DES unit for assistance. As soon as possible during or after an incident, the Director, Assistant Vice President - Administrative Affairs, the Director of Public Information, and the appropriate Dean, Director or Department Chair responsible for effected facilities will be notified by an electronic mail incident summary report or by telephone depending on the magnitude of the incident.
For incidents involving injury, death, environmental release or property damage, notification must be made to the appropriate regulating agency as soon as possible.
An incident report will be completed by DES response personnel following all incidents. An E-mail summary report of the incident will be forwarded to the Director, Associate Vice President-Administrative Affairs, Director of Public Information, and the Dean, Director, or Department Chair of the affected facility.
Written procedures exist for the following emergencies:
Written 5/98
Revised 4/05
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