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§ 77 Handling hazard and accident situations

The responsible party shall ensure that necessary measures are taken as soon as possible during hazard and accident situations so that
  1. the right notification is given immediately,
  2. hazardous situations do not develop into accident situations. In the event of accident situations, response measures shall be implemented. Response measures to limit acute pollution shall be implemented as close to the emission source as possible,
  3. personnel can be rescued during accident situations,
  4. the personnel on the facility can be evacuated quickly and efficiently at all times,
  5. the condition can be normalised when the development of a hazard and accident situation has been stopped, e.g. through monitoring and clean-up of the pollution and restoring the environment, thereby restoring the condition to its state before the hazard and accident situation. Criteria shall be set for normalisation of the external environment.
Section last changed: 01 January 2018

Giving the right notification as mentioned in litera a, means notifying, inter alia,
  1. the facility's central control room or other central function,
  2. the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre
  3. one or more parts of the operator's emergency preparedness organisation,
  4. the contractors' emergency preparedness organisations,
  5. other licensees and partners in the event of an agreement relating to coordinated emergency preparedness resources, or in the event of joint use of production and/or transport systems.
The scope of the notification will depend on the situation at hand. The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre as mentioned in litera b of these guidelines, handles further notification of bodies that have national emergency resources. This includes notification of the Norwegian Coastal Administration, which is responsible for the public emergency preparedness in relation to acute pollution. For information, see also Section 18 of the Facilities Regulations.
To fulfil the requirement for notification of well control incidents, the Offshore Norge Guideline No. 135 should be used.
The requirement relating to rescue as mentioned in litera c, entails that the responsible party shall be able to
  1. locate missing personnel using personnel control systems,
  2. bring personnel to safe areas on vessels, facilities or land,
  3. give injured personnel lifesaving first aid and medical treatment on their own facilities, the standby vessel or other facilities.
The requirement relating to rescue also entails that MOB boat systems have their own crews. For information, see Section 41 of the Facilities Regulations.
The requirement relating to evacuation as mentioned in litera d, entails that the evacuation measures shall be of a nature that provides the highest possible likelihood that personnel can be evacuated from an exposed area to a safe area on the facility and, if applicable, to safe areas on vessels, other facilities or on land. As regards sick and injured personnel, the requirement implies that transport to the land-based health service takes place in a safe and prudent manner. For information, see also Section 44 of the Facilities Regulations.
In order to fulfil the evacuation requirement as mentioned in litera d, the NORSOK U-100N standard, Chapter 9.5, should be used for divers under pressure.
The requirement relating to normalisation as mentioned in litera e, also implies that
  1. injured or sick personnel are given the necessary treatment and care, such as medical treatment on land and follow-up of physical and psychological delayed injuries, and that the next of kin are provided with the necessary information, care and follow-up after major accidents,
  2. damage to the facility and reservoir is stabilised and corrected,
  3. the operation of the facility is resumed.