Multi-Modal Transportation Demonstrated Successes

Hazardous Material Study Helps Locals Plan and Exercise Better

North Carolina Emergency Management’s Information and Plans section just completed the third of a five-year hazardous material study for the state’s nine Domestic Preparedness Regions. The study provides an assessment of the hazardous material risks near critical facilities such as schools, public buildings, congested transportation routes and areas with large population density.

Such locations can be particularly vulnerable to hazardous material releases such as the 2006 EQ chemical fire in Wake County that resulted in a the evacuation order of 17,000 residents or the 2010 tanker truck accident that spilled 6,000 gallons of methanol in Bladen County earlier. Before the EQ fire, many Apex residents and city officials were unaware of the volume or nature of chemicals stored on site and their potential disastrous effects on the community.

“With the increasing amount of hazardous materials produced, transported, and stored in our state, the possibility of a chemical release is greater than it was a decade ago,” said Ed Jenkins, Deputy Chief, Information and Planning Section. “Many facilities and transportation companies comply with regulations, but others can operate under the radar of governmental oversight without having to fully disclose the types and quantities of hazardous material stored.”

The regional hazardous material studies will identify facilities and transportation routes not previously known. By the end of the fifth year, each of the nine DPR sites will have undergone a thorough analysis, and they will have a detail description of hazardous material facilities in their area. Counties will know the hazardous materials produced, transported, and stored in and through its jurisdiction and their proximity to locations frequented by the public.

“Our contractor, Innovative Emergency Management [IEM], produces these profiles, and once completed, local emergency offices can use the study’s findings to update their hazardous material response plans and to develop realistic exercises to test their plans,” said Ed Jenkins, Deputy Chief, Information and Planning Section.

So far, hazardous materials studies have been completed for Domestic Preparedness Regions one, two, and three which include: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Gates, Greene, Herford, Hoke, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Tyrrell, Washington, and Wayne counties.

Studies will be completed for two DPRs during each of the next three federal fiscal years. Each study takes approximately nine to 12 months to complete.

Reprinted from North Carolina Division of Emergency Management newsletter: http://www.nccrimecontrol.org/div/em/newsletters/December2010.pdf