Apell Process

Many communities are vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters or accidents of nearby industrial facilities. APELL (Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level) is a process that helps local communities to strengthen their emergency response capabilities by working together to inform them on potential risks and help to reduce them. APELL calls local leaders of the industry, government and communities to create a Coordination Group. This constant dialogue and coordination also ensures that the appropriate measures are taken to reduce risks and a constant monitoring of potential hazards is carried out. The APELL process was developed by the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) in cooperation with the Chemical Industry of the United States and CEFIC (European Chemical Industry Council, for its acronym in French).

In the Bío Bío region, after the fire accident in San Vicente Bay of the city of Talcahuano in 1993, regional organizations and the authorities start an APELL Process, in which experts from UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), UNEP and the UN Programme of Sustainable Cities participated. In 1994, a number of experts met in Concepcion and began to create an Technological Emergency Committee for the 8th Region, with the help of the local head office of the Industrial Chemical Association and the Universidad de Concepcion, which finally took place on March 11th, 1996 with the creation of the Regional Technological Emergency Committee, through Exempt Resolution No. 138 signed by the Regional Governor of the time, and the formulation of the first Technological Emergency Plan of the country in 1998. Unfortunately, due to changes in the government of the time, the process was not successful.

As from 2008, and in particular with the publication of the Chemical Safety National Policy, whose main objectives are related to the strengthening and integration of the regulatory framework and institutions related to chemicals management, through control improvement and monitoring throughout the life cycle of these substances, as well as safety in workplaces and the incentive to the generation and application of voluntary instruments of environmental management, has restarted the interest in this subject, the Universidad de Concepción through the professionals of the Environment Area of the Technological Development Unit (UDT) have participated in projects of great national impact driven by the current Ministry of Environment, in particular those relating to the "Updating of the national chemical profile and capacity assessment for the implementation of SAICM" (strategic approach for the rational management of chemicals) and the "National registry of facilities that handle chemicals and hazard maps" in their I and II stages. These projects have enabled the collection of national information associated to the management of chemicals, either in government and industrial agencies, development of hazard mapping methodologies, collection of information on the location and characterization of facilities handling hazardous chemicals, the presence of substances in various stages of their life cycle (mainly production and storage). The information generated from these studies is used by the State to know the type of industrial facility that handles chemicals, vulnerable areas before an emergency situation, under more hazardous substances and shortcoming of resources, control, preparation and response to potential emergencies. This has also allowed different organizations to express their interest in developing such processes in their localities, as was the case of the Antofagasta and the Bio Bio region.

In September 2009, a group of professionals from UDT/UdeC visited the town of Bahía Blanca (Argentina), where one of the most successful APELL processes in Latin America has been developed for 14 years, opportunity that serve to strengthen links and know at first hand the story behind the implementation of the process. Then, in December 2009, UDT organized a two-day successful international seminar on "Emergency Management and Risk Maps", in which the APELL experts Fernando Márquez from Chile, Roberto Villas Boas from Brazil and Nestor Spósito from Argentina gave lectures.

The year 2010, and as a way to support the management of chemicals, as well as before shortcomings identified in our country, and particularly in our region, some of which could be observed as a result of the earthquake of 27/F, UDT presented to CORFO contest the project called "Comprehensive center for the rational management of hazardous chemicals and prevention of technological emergencies - CISQUIM" whose objectives were to build capacities to support public institutions, municipalities, communities, business entities and NGOs through the formation of a center that collects, centralizes, assesses and transfers the necessary information for making coordinated decisions between the different agents that form preventive, spatial planning and dissemination chains organized to encourage a proper management of hazardous chemicals in order to reduce risks, to which the general population confronts, prevent emergencies and, if they occur, be prepared. The interest of those involved in this area can be seen in the project support from the following institutions: 18th Prefecture of Carabineros of Concepción, CONAMA of the Bío Bío Region, Fire Department of Concepción, Technological Service Company Ltda., Municipality of Concepcion, Municipality of Coronel, Municipality of Hualpén, Municipality of San Pedro de la Paz, Municipality of Talcahuano, Health SEREMI of the Bío Bío Region, Housing and Urban Development SEREMI of the Bío Bío Region, i.e. it had the support of the industry, community, government and emergency response agencies, who are all the members that are important for the development of an APELL project, however this project was not approved.

Currently, UDT/UdeC is developing a study called "Identification of the existing experience in Latin America and the Caribbean in implementing the APELL methodology in the chemical and mining sectors, as well as in dissemination prospects of the implementation in the region", for the UNEP, through which the contact with representatives of the APELL process in the region has increased with the attendance of Dr. Fernando Marquez, the Engineer Juan Carlos Carrasco and the Engineer Carla Perez to the regional meeting of experts carried out in Buenos Aires, Argentina on November 29th and 30th and the subsequent visit to the town of Bahia Blanca on December 2nd and 3rd. With the information collected through interviews conducted in that seminar, as well as presentations from other regional experts, UDT has prepared a preliminary report on the current status of the different APELL processes Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru), being also able to collect important information about the gaps that each process has had to overcome to develop their action plans, but also recommendations to develop successful processes. In addition to the report, UDT is developing with experts from Argentina and Brazil, the website of the regional network of experts, which should be operational in the middle of this year. As a final activity of the study, a seminar will be held at the end of March in Concepción, to which representatives of UNEP and APELL experts from other countries, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Environment will attend, and where representatives of the local government, industries and the community will be invited to present the report, disseminate the APELL methodology and strengthen or develop links between localities and industries interested in starting APELL processes in Chile, UNEP and UDT/UdeC as an expert and consultant in the subject.