Rapid Risk Assessment Tool Enhances Emergency Response

During emergencies, responders must rapidly assess risks and decide on the best course of action—all within seconds. Researchers at the Battelle-operated Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are blending existing modeling and decision support technology to develop new methods for transitioning science-based threat assessment to protective action recommendations. The rapid risk assessment tool will be both understandable and applicable to the emergency management community and would be a valuable tool during any water security-related incident.

The rapid risk assessment tool will help responders quickly view non-contiguous regions impacted by water process and pathways, which are often based on economic and community needs and rights rather than natural environmental patterns.

PNNL is combining its FRAMES multi-thematic modeling capability with its EMAdvantage emergency planning and response tools to produce the rapid risk assessment tool. The new tool will provide a real-time, two-way information-sharing link between the science of threat assessment and emergency responders who need the most accurate, immediate information in order to take effective action. In terms of water systems, it can address the often non-contiguous environment of water pathways and processes.

FRAMES is a software platform that provides seamless and transparent communication between components. For the emergency responder applications, FRAMES uses a multi-thematic approach to provide a flexible and holistic understanding of how environmental releases potentially affect humans and the environment. It incorporates models that integrate across scientific disciplines, allowing for tailored solutions to specific activities. Combined with EMAdvantage, FRAMES provides meaningful, risk-based guidance to emergency response and technical managers.

EMAdvantage is an automated decision-support system that expands the operational awareness of emergency response managers during planning, daily operations, and response. During planning, EMAdvantage helps managers pre-establish protective action recommendations and prepare emergency response plans. During daily operations, EMAdvantage provides information about community conditions and current activities that may affect a site’s ability to respond to a potential event. During an incident, EMAdvantage combines incident characterization and protective action recommendations with information about community conditions so that managers can select and execute the best response plan.

Because FRAMES supports multi-thematic modeling, it provides recommendations that are more holistic, identifying potential zones or facilities that are usually not considered. This feature is useful in a water-related emergency where water processes and pathways are non-contiguous. EMAdvantage uses FRAMES’ recommendations to help select and execute “best-fit” responses to meet the active guidance recommendations. Through map displays, status boards, checklists, and other user-oriented displays, EMAdvantage increases situational awareness for responders.

The rapid response analysis tool will provide a new and innovative prediction capability for emergency responders. It links command and control decision, action plan, and consequence characterization to state-of-the-art models for fate, transport, and effects assessment. The rapid nature of this approach and the availability of the feedback provide greater accountability for decisions made in the field—something emergency managers are constantly driving to achieve.

For further information, contact Dr. Gene Whelan at (509) 372-6098, gene.whelan@pnl.gov or Ms. Gariann Gelston at (509) 372-4480, gariann.gelston@pnl.gov.