By: Dr. Henry P. Shotwell, Ph.D.,
CIH
Senior Vice-President
Most communities in the U.S. have some sort of plan to
deal with emergencies, such as fire, flood or severe weather.
These programs are often referred to as Disaster Planning
or Emergency Prepardness. Many of these population centers
(towns, boroughs, cities, counties, government facilities,
educational institutions) have overlooked high-speed highways
and railroad tracks as high-risk sources of accidental
chemical release. We can recall news stories about derailed
trains leaking chlorine gas, or overturned tractor-trailer
rigs hauling extremely hazardous material that spilled
its cargo, resulting in evacuations and highway closures.
There are mathematical models that can be used to predict
where a cloud of poisonous gas will move, given prevailing
winds and temperature. In pre-planning, this allows risk
assessors to identify what parts of town would be most
affected by a release of either a gas or a rapidly evaporating
liquid.
Here’s an example. The major industry in a small town
in a densely populated East Coast state is a dairy. The
community is served by a small police force and a volunteer
fire department. Refrigeration for the dairy is produced
by a 26-ton ammonia unit. On the down-wind side of the
dairy was a garden apartment complex and densely-clustered
single-family houses. Using a model that predicted the
concentration of ammonia at various distances from the
property line, give the temperature, wind speed and wind
direction, we were able to estimate the number of housing
units that would have to be evacuated and their position
should there be an ammonia release. We then contacted
the local fire and police authorities, the county Haz
Mat people and the state DEP. We integrated our information
and response plan with theirs. Finally, we held a trial
run, in which we simulated a release and invoked the response
plan. We participated in the follow-up evaluation and
suggested modifications to the plan where needed.
Emergency response goes beyond merely securing the immediate
area and cleaning up a spill. Surrounding areas and the
effects a spill would have must also be considered. Atlantic
Environmental has the ability to develop or update your
Emergency Preparedness/Disaster Planning Programs. If
you need assistance or want more information, contact
Bob Sheriff, President at 1-800-344-4414 or at info@atlenv.com.
Our primary service areas are: New Jersey (NJ), New York
City (NYC), New York (NY), Pennsylvania (PA), Connecticut
(CT), Wisconsin (WI), Maryland (MD), Michigan (MI), Virginia
(VA), Illinois (IL), Indiana (IN), Georgia (GA), Alabama
(AL) and North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), Tennessee
(TN), Florida (FL) and Dallas, Texas (TX), California
(CA), Oregon (OR), Washington (WA), Nevada (NV), Louisiana
(LA), Oklahoma (OK), Arkansas (AR), Massachusetts (MA),
Rhode Island (RI) and Arizona (AZ).
1298 Noguchi Mews
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 350-9551 or (800) 941-1188
info@atlenv.com
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