Emergency Management

The Emergency Management Program provides the Laboratory with planning and coordination functions necessary for responding to, mitigating, and recovering from emergencies while protecting the health and safety of workers and the public and preventing damage to the environment.

In case of an emergency, the Lab will activate its Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Members from different areas of the Lab come together to exchange information and make decisions on how to handle the disaster and how to return the Lab to normal operations. 

The EOC works with local law enforcement and fire agencies to ensure the Lab's people, its property, and other assets, receive the best protection during an emergency.

Food, water, and first aid are the basic life safety supplies that will be needed after an emergency, such as an earthquake. The Lab’s Emergency Management group has strategically placed six white disaster containers, one per each zone, that contain these supplies, along with other items such as tarps, tents, potties, and blankets. 

Canned water with a 50-year shelf life and Meals Ready to Eat or MREs are staged in the containers. These offer protein and high-calories to provide energy to sustain body functions. Other supplies include emergency medical supplies, along with tarps, tents, potties, and blankets. 

Emergency assembly areas are evacuation areas external to the Lab's buildings where people should gather following an emergency such as a building fire or an earthquake. The areas are marked with bright yellow signs. 

Your Building Emergency Team member will be there to take roll. They have two-way radios to communicate information to and from the Emergency Operations Center. You will remain in that area until you are released or relocated to another location.