Business Continuity and Disaster Management: Mitigating the Socioeconomic Impacts of Facility Downtime After a Disaster

Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8) was signed by U.S. President Barack Obama on 30 March 2011. This directive deals with the subject of developing a national preparedness system for security and resiliency for businesses to endure a disaster or catastrophe, which can be caused by anything from natural disasters to terrorism. The overall purpose of the directive is for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to help administer a program within the United States to analyze, mitigate, and recover from a disaster. Any downtime at a major petrochemical plant or refinery can have an enormous impact on the national economy. This article provides recommendations on how to perform risk assessments in general, how to perform a risk assessment of a petrochemical industry power system, how to develop an effective preventative program, and how to recover quickly from a disaster. The benefits of being well prepared are also addressed.