Rapid Response is a system that mitigates and
prevents the escalation of adverse consequences in the event that existing risk
management controls fail, particularly in the event of an incident that may
have the potential to seriously impact the safety of employees, the community
or the environment.
A Rapid Response incident or
issue is defined as an event that has seriously threatened, or has the
potential to seriously threaten, Newmont's operations and/or the
safety and well-being of its employees. Rapid Response is designed to
minimize the effects, prevent escalation of the event and allow resumption of
normal operations as quickly as possible.
The Rapid Response process:
Provides appropriate support to an affected site
and/or region to complement their technical response to an incident.
Minimizes the impact on the company by considering
the environmental, strategic, legal, financial and public image aspects of the
incident.
Ensures communications are being carried out in
accordance with legal and ethical requirements.
Identifies actions that need to be taken on a
broader scale than can be predicted by those involved in overcoming the immediate
hazards.
Regular training exercises in Rapid Response are conducted to ensure the company's
readiness to respond to serious events.
Many Newmont operations already have
emergency or risk management procedures in place, and the need to implement
evacuation procedures has been previously tested. Rapid Response
provides a corporate-wide, common and tested procedure that will allow an
appropriate response to any circumstance, in any geographic location, in a
predictable and measurable manner.
