The Emergency Response Division of the Delaware General Health District works in conjunction with many area agencies to protect the public’s health in the event of a chemical release. Agencies include The Local Emergency Planning Commission (LEPC), Delaware Area Response Team (DART), North Alliance Strike Team (NAS-T), all area Fire Departments, all area Law Enforcement, The Delaware County Emergency Management Agency and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The Delaware General Health District staff responds to the scene of a release and consults with the Incident Commander (IC) at the scene (usually the Fire Chief) to provide information and resources to adequately protect the public from any harmful effects of the chemical. We also consult with the IC to protect the environment from further damage, if possible. Once the release has been contained, an environmental clean-up contractor is contacted to remediate the site. The health department staff is present during the remediation action to assure the clean-up is performed properly and completely.

To assure that personnel are properly trained the health department participates in exercises throughout the year with other agencies to simulate an actual event. These exercises may be a tabletop exercise where all participants discuss what and how they would do, or it may be a functional exercise where the participants actually respond to a “scene”.

For further information about the Emergency Response Division please contact Douglas B. Sams R.S. at 740.203.2064 or email.