Worker Safety and Health Support Annex
January 2008
Worker Safety and Health Support Annex
WSH-1
Coordinating Agency:
Department of Labor/Occupational Safety
and Health Administration
Cooperating Agencies:
Department of Defense
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Environmental Protection Agency
INTRODUCTION
Purpose
The Worker Safety and Health Support Annex provides Federal support to Federal, State, tribal,
and local response and recovery organizations in assuring response and recovery worker safety
and health during incidents requiring a coordinated Federal response.
Scope
This annex provides supplemental assistance to Federal departments and agencies, and State,
tribal, and local governments, to support and facilitate the protection of response and recovery
worker safety and health during an incident requiring a coordinated Federal response. This
annex describes the technical assistance resources, capabilities, and other support to ensure
that response and recovery worker safety and health risks are anticipated, recognized,
evaluated, communicated, and consistently controlled. This annex addresses the coordination
and provision of technical assistance for worker safety and health management activities; it
does not address public health and safety.
y This annex describes coordination mechanisms, policies, and processes to provide technical
assistance for response and recovery worker safety and health management activities that
include anticipation, identification, and mitigation of response and recovery risks and
hazards. These mechanisms also include the assessment and analyses of health risks from
occupational exposures, to facilitate incident risk management for response and recovery
workers.
y This annex is structured to provide technical assistance and support for response and
recovery worker safety and health in the changing requirements of domestic incident
management to include prepar