Gatekeeper Newsletter November 1, 2006 Volume …provides emergency responders with vital...

November 1, 2006

Volume VI, Edition 11

Lou Trammell, Chair http://www.dem.state.az.us/

Janet Napolitano, Governor

Daniel Roe, Executive Director http://www.dem.state.az.us/azserc/

Gatekeeper Newsletter

Inside this issue: ACE EXHIBITOR LOGOS 2

SOFTWARE SHOOTOUT: ABOUT COBRA 4

SCHOOL SAFETY-EVERYONE’S JOB 5

UPCOMING EVENTS 6

PRACTICE BIG MEDICINE 8

ONLINE TRAINING 9

SHORTS 10

IS IT PRUDENT TO ELIMI-NATE EMERGENCY MANAGE-

MENT?

11

FROM THE RIGHT TO KNOW NETWORK

12

TRIBAL CORNER 14

A R I ZO N A E M E R G E N C Y R E S P O NS E C O M M I S S I ON 5636 E AST M CD OWELL R OAD

P HOENIX, A RIZONA 85008-3495

communities, regardless of the size of the event. We need to keep our Tribal and Local Emergency Planning Committees and our Tribal and State Emergency Response Commissions strong and active. I know we can and I know we will. Put Gatekeeper Regulatory Roundup on your calendar - They’ll be held in Tucson and Scottsdale. Check AZSERC’s web for information. Again, from all of us at AZSERC, our sincere thanks for making the 20th Anniversary of EPCRA Com-memoration, a success.

"ACE" A SUCCESS!

This is just a brief thank you note to all who helped make "ACE" (Arizona Commemorates EPCRA*) a success. The presenters were great, superb information was shared, and it sure ap-peared that a fine time was had by all who attended, spon-sored, exhibited and presented. *The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 left its teenage years on the 17th of October, 2006, the first day of the con-ference. We still have work to do to help EPCRA transition from adolescence to adult-hood and I know that each of us will strive to do that. Some regulations need refining;

some clarification of policies is needed; some expansion of LEPC realms of interest needs to take place; and continued gratitude to those who volunteer their services needs to be expressed. Don't let the momentum fade. Visit www.nasttpo.org (http://www.nasttpo.org) and get engaged. Make the Na-tional Association of SARA Title III Program Officials (NASTTPO) a stronger organi-zation and have your views expressed to our regulatory agencies and to our legislative bodies. Keep reminding those around you that after it's all said and done, responsibilities fall right back on the local


Alluviam, LLC

Hill Brothers Chemical

KBKI, Inc.

Ephibian

AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc.

Exhibitors at the “ACE” Conference

Desert Shield International


Sponsors for “ACE”

Metal Management of Arizona

Timothy R. Gablehouse &

Steve Rottas

Firebelle Productions


tives. All Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada rail-cars and loco-motives are contained in OREIS, as well as many commuter, transit, light rail and metro systems and ferry boats oper-ated by the State of Alaska.

To learn more about OREIS, please visit www.oreis.org and mention CoBRA.

To learn more about CoBRA, or to attend one of their free, weekly online demon-strations every Thursday at 11:00 AM EST. Register at www.defensegroupinc.com/cobra

(For additional information, contact Neil Cohen, Defense Group Inc. / CoBRA Software at 703-706-4141;

877-233-5789 x141; Fax 703-519-8511; [email protected] ; www.defensegroupinc.com/cobra )

--Ed. note: We'll publish relatively short articles in Gatekeeper about the software if we're at least familiar with the product.

·CoBRA software has been deployed to over 100 military base readiness units to support response to hazmat, IED and WMD and is currently being deployed to additional bases worldwide.

·CoBRA software has been deployed to all National Guard WMD CST teams nationwide.

·CoBRA software has been deployed to all USMC Base Fire Departments world-wide

·CoBRA software has been deployed to all state and local FBI accredited bomb squads nationwide.

·CoBRA software has been deployed this summer to U.S Forces in Iraq for vehicle bomb and Improvised Explosives Device (IED) response and forensics.

·CoBRA software has long been used as a Decision Support Tool for the full spec-trum of incident management; including pre-planning, training, exercises and re-sponse.

Now CoBRA is teaming up with Opera-tion Respond Emergency Information System (OREIS), a software tool that provides emergency responders with vital information for dealing with rescue, re-sponse and counter-terrorism operations on or around railroads and highways, in-cluding those involving hazardous materi-als. OREIS provides responders with real-

time information about the chemical con-tents of railcars that have been involved in an incident, schematics for passenger railroads and a host of other life and time-saving features for emergency responders.

Freight Railcar / Motor Carrier Hazmat Verification

OREIS identifies the presence of hazard-ous materials in freight railcars and motor carriers that have been involved in an incident. OREIS connects first responders to the databases of participating railroads to provide hazmat content information for tank cars. OREIS provides real-time emergency information, hazmat verifica-tion and chemical-specific response guid-ance for first responders. All North American Class One and a growing num-ber of short line and regional railroad carriers participate in connecting with responders through OREIS.

Passenger Railcar Schematics

OREIS provides responders with detailed schematics for passenger train equipment, highlighting emergency exits, fuel sources, electrical systems and hot spots. The schematics contain information about opening doors and windows and other useful data for dealing with an incident involving passenger railcars or locomo-

SOFTWARE SHOOTOUT: ABOUT COBRA

CEPIN PROJECT: (Thanks to Lloyd Colston Mayes County Emergency Management, Pryor, OK http://mayescem.us )

Check out: http://www.cepintdi.org/octobertextversion.html

The ARE YOU READY? newsletter pro-vides information about current events

and resources in each of the four Com-munity Emergency Preparedness Infor-mation Network (CEPIN) regions: New England & Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic & Southeast, Midwest & Southwest and West & Hawaii.

LEPC LEPC LEPC &&&

IIINDUSTRYNDUSTRYNDUSTRY CCCORNERSORNERSORNERS


School Safety - Everyone's Job! How can parents and our schools be pro-active when it comes to our children's safety? Identify the hazards in/around schools! The following are some precautions that school administrators and concerned parents should consider:

* Review your school's emergency operations plan.

* Train your personnel on the plan and conduct drills to test the plan.

* Review your employment screening policy & procedures.

* Review the physical security of school bus yards and garages; review transportation security in general.

* Review the adequacy of physical security in and around campus buildings.

* Review access control procedures and heighten employee awareness.

* Train staff to report suspicious activity on or about school property.

* Implement a tip-line program that allows users to report concerns anonymously, if they choose.

* Work closely with the local law enforcement. Set up 'terrorism drills' together.

* Train mailroom, janitors, bus drivers and other key personnel to recognize suspicious packages or people.

For more on school safety plans, information and resources for parents and safety training opportunities please see the Arizona Dept of Education website: http://www.ade.az.gov/schooleffectiveness/health/schoolsafety/plansresources.asp

Also found through:

http://www.az211.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=576 and is available on: www.az211.gov

USFA- Change in Student Selection Criteria:

The current student selection and prereq-uisite criteria for R203 and all NFA courses is available online through the NFA Course Schedule Database. Applica-tion information is also available on that site. The next open application period is November 1 - December 31, 2006 for classes running from April 1 - September 30, 2007.

(Thanks for sharing to: Lloyd Colston, Mayes County Emergency Management,

Pryor, OK ; http://mayescem.us )

See: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/about/media/2006releases/101206.shtm;

The U.S. Fire Administration’s (USFA) National Fire Academy (NFA) announced a change in the student selection criteria and prerequisite requirements for the R203: Fire Dynamics - Fire Modeling course.

The change now qualifies those who have full-time code enforcement responsibility

and expands the prerequisite requirements to include completion of the NFA’s Evaluating Performance-Based Designs course (or have earned a four-year Fire Protection Engineering Degree.)

"It is our intention that these changes will present more opportunities for training for code enforcement officers and others in the code enforcement field," said NFA Superintendent Dr. Denis Onieal. "If you meet these new criteria, I encourage you to apply during our next open application period."


UPCOMING EVENTS November Events: • November 1 - 3, 2006 14th Annual Region 9

Tribal EPA Conference. Holiday Inn Golden Gateway in San Francisco. For additional in-formation contact Lela Christensen, Events Coordinator, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, (775) 574-1000 ext. 245, or e-mail at [email protected].

• November 9 & 10 Native American Women’s Conference. Native American Women should sign up now for the second Native American Women’s conference to be held at the Radisson Ft. McDowell Resort and Casino in Scottsdale, AZ. The website with information and for registration is: http://www.arizonaiwia.org/IWIA_06.html (Thanks to Bob McNichols, RezBuilders, LLC; [email protected] )

• November 20-21-22, 2006 Site Incident Com-mander (SIC) 24 hour Training. Held at Kai-bab-Paiute Tribe Community Center, Kaibab, Arizona. The training will be held from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on the above dates.

• November 27-28-29, 2006 First Responder Operations (FRO) 24 Hour Training. Held at the Navajo Nation, BIA Building 136-C, Edu-cation Conference Room, Chinle, Arizona from 8:00am to 5:00pm.

November 2006 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

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• December 4-5-6, 2006 Site Incident Commander (SIC) 24 Hour Training. Held at the Navajo Nation, BIA Building 136-C, Education Confer-ence Room, Chinle, Arizona from 8:00am to 5:00pm.

14th Annual Region 9 Tribal EPA Conference

Native American Women’s Conference

December 2006 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

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December Events:

First Responder Operations (FRO) 24hr training

Site Incident Commander (SIC) 24hr Training

Sit Incident Commander (SIC) 24hr Training

The EMR-ISAC views Google alerts as a potentially rewarding and user-friendly research tool for ESS organizations. For additional information and to set up free alert searches, visit http://www.google.com/alerts.

Thanks to the Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) for shar-ing!

Have you checked out an auxiliary ser-vice at Google.com ? The service consists of no-cost "Google Alerts" that generate research and updates based on the type of search alert you specify. You receive e-mails at user specified time intervals.

For example, you can set up an account to receive Google alerts regarding changes to, or emerging trends in equipment, ap-paratus, cyber issues, grants and funding, training, product recalls, and/or personnel safety. Currently, four types of alerts are

available: news, web, news and web, and groups (a given Google Group search).

Up to ten alerts per individual electronic address can be created at a time. The alert service includes mechanisms to manage a user’s alerts, as well as an advanced search page that allows an individual to refine his/her desired information if too many "off-topic" results are received. No user electronic addresses are shared, sold, traded, revealed, publicized, or marketed.

CYBER UPDATE TOOL:


MONITORING WATER SYSTEMS: Cincinnati and Argonne National Laboratory. (Thanks to Hal New-man, Big Medicine, for sharing)

See: http://www.bigmedicine.ca/bioscitech.htm

Sandia researchers are developing a con-

taminant warning program for EPA to monitor water systems in real time. The Sandia National Laboratories researchers are working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), University of

PROTECT THE NATION'S DRINKING WATER: (Thanks to Hal Newman, Managing Edi-tor, Big Medicine. Managing Partner, Team EMS Inc. T- 514.697.1470; E: [email protected]; W: http://www.tems.ca & www.bigmedicine.ca & www.apocalypsenoun.net )

See: http://www.bigmedicine.ca/bioscitech.htm# This software tool is now available in all 50 states. It can be used by incident commanders, water utility managers, and others to protect community drinking water sources from contamination during

emergencies.

Preliminary versions of the tool, called ICWater, have already been used by water utilities and State HAZMAT (hazardous materials) response teams in Oregon and Washington. http://tinyurl.com/gldwd

be allowed to transport the load until it has been properly placarded. In this sce-nario, that is the responsibility of the car-rier. The shipper could provide placards to the carrier as a courtesy, but it is the carrier’s responsibility to obtain them.

(Thanks to Environmental Resource Cen-ter. Visit: http://www.ercweb.com/ )

Shippers of hazardous materials are re-sponsible for providing required placards for the hazardous materials that they offer for shipment, according to 49 CFR 172.506. A shipper is not responsible for placarding what the carrier picks up be-fore arriving at or after leaving from the shipper’s facility.

Consider the following scenario: A ship-per offers 400 pounds of corrosive liquids

in non-bulk packages for ground transpor-tation. The carrier has 800 pounds of cor-rosive liquids in non-bulk packages on the truck when he arrives at the shipper’s facility. Is the shipper of the 400 pounds required to offer a placard?

The answer is “No.” The shipper is re-sponsible only for offering the carrier a placard for the shipper’s own hazardous materials. However, the carrier would not

HAZARDOUS MATERIAL PLACARDING RESPONSIBILITIES [49 CFR 172.506]


Team EMS Inc.; 1 514.697.1470; [email protected] ; http://www.tems.ca & www.bigmedicine.ca & www.apocalypsenoun.net )

Thinking the Unthinkable: Visit: http://www.bigmedicine.ca/specialfeature.htm#Thinking_the_Unthinkable:_Expo

Conference Report on "Working Confer-ence on Emergency Management and

Individuals with Disabilities and the Eld-erly." Visit: http://www.add-em-conf.com/

(Thanks to: Hal Newman, Managing Edi-tor, Big Medicine; Managing Partner,

PRACTICE BIG MEDICINE:

Management team/process well before the event.

An example of this ... the tip of the ice-berg so to speak ... http://tinyurl.com/ydncey ... while driven by North Korea's test ... this bomb shelter manufacturer is getting calls from Citi-zens ... not his normal customers about "what kind of shelter they need to handle things like radioactive fallout". And there's just as much news about Dirty Bombs as there is conventional thermonu-clear devices in the conventional media.

(Thanks to Lloyd Colston, Pryor, OK; http://mayescem.us ;

http://lloyd.colston.com )

Vist the following sites for information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_bomb offers and interesting compilation of in-formation AND links of interest to RDD. This is a volunteer effort. Therefore, with-out knowing who the volunteers are, it could be (but rarely is, in Lloyd's experi-ence) nonsense.

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/dirty-bombs.html

dirty bomb fact sheet ... however, this collection fails to mention the psychologi-cal impacts of an RDD on the Citizen.

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/radiation/dirtybombs.asp good summary from CDC but

again fails to mention the psychological impact of RDD.

http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_275212514.html Utah has a grant to study RDD. If someone is in UT, perhaps they could contact the grantee for additional information?

If an RDD were to go, IMO, the worried well would overwhelm medical re-

sources. This would be cause for the local population to engage the mental health practitioners (before the event) and per-haps establish a Critical Incident Stress

RADIOLOGICAL DISPERSAL DEVICES (RDD):

RDD TRAINING: key-word=Radiological+Terrorism&x=56&y=6 is the link to the UCTV program.

(Thanks to Lloyd Colston, Mayes County Emergency Management, Pryor, OK http://mayescem.us)

The University of California Televi-sion has a good 30-minute AWARENESS level program on Radiological Dispersion Device (RDD) training.

This lecture by Tareg Bey, M.D., Assoc. Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine, UCI, presents the risks posed by radiological terrorism or dirty bombs

and the immediate response to such events.

It is available online at:

http://www.uctv.tv/library-popup.asp?showID=11379 where UCTV allows one to watch it using Real Player.

NOTE:http://www.uctv.tv/schedule3.asp?

OK., http://mayescem.us ; http://lloyd.colston.com )

Check out: http://www.ok.train.org . There is a searchable database that lists the training according to your needs. While all sorts of training is listed, much

is for medical types; however, the train-ing runs the full spectrum of disciplines. (Thanks to Lloyd Colston, Mayes County Emergency Management, Pryor,

ONLINE TRAINING:


EMERGENCY READINESS & NATIONAL SECURITY WHEEL alarmist way and to elevate public under-standing.

For further information, contact: Mary Sims, EHS Publishing, LLC, 1-800-558-3464 or [email protected] )

See: www.ehmi.org and www.ehspublishing.com . Fast, reliable, and uncomplicated "wheel" tool for use during an emergency. The folks here have collaborated with FEMA, Homeland Se-

curity, the CDC, NIH and CERT pro-grams to develop concise, accurate infor-mation that prepares the general public for natural disasters and terrorism. It has been designed to be informative in a non-

ISOLATION AND QUARANTINE TOOLKIT:

The Toolkit is available online at: http://www.isolationandquarantine.com (Thanks to Gregory T. Banner, M.S., C.E.M., Regional Emergency Coordinator Region I - New England, US Dept of Health and Human Services)

The Isolation and Quarantine Toolkit is now available online from the Seat-tle/King County Advanced Practice Cen-ter. They have established the Planning & Managing for Isolation & Quarantine to support local public health jurisdictions in their efforts to plan for and manage a large-scale isolation and quarantine re-sponse. The Toolkit is designed for all

types of users and is separated by topic for the ease of use and navigation. You can navigate through the Toolkit based on your topical learning needs. Areas cov-ered include legal issues, working with community partners, planning, and man-aging an isolation and quarantine re-sponse center.

LOW-PROFILE HAZMAT SITES:

problems caused when hazardous materi-als sites disappear from the radar of a community and its emergency organiza-tions. Land in proximity to the site under-goes residential and commercial develop-ment seemingly oblivious to the existence of the peril. Some hazardous waste com-panies consciously maintain a low-profile presence in a community, perhaps to pave the way for easy permit renewal or addi-tional growth. By never approaching local responder organizations, they avoid inclu-sion in pre-planning and participation in drills or exercises. Know thy neighbor!! (Thanks to EMR-ISAC)

"Make yourself at home" is a friendly expression, unless it refers to a hazardous materials (hazmat) site that is largely ig-nored by nearby residents. The Emer-gency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) noted a recent example of a hazmat site that received no attention until nearly 17,000 local citizens were asked to evacuate following explosions and a massive fire there. As many as 2,700 containers of burning toxic heavy metals, carcinogenic additives, pesticides, and preservatives, kept Emergency Ser-vices Sector (ESS) personnel sidelined (but also protected) for hours. As the frontline in emergencies, responders con-

front immediate danger in response to incidents that involve unknown types and quantities of stored hazmat. For this rea-son, the EMR-ISAC supports the critical infrastructure protection (CIP) informa-tion sharing that enhances responder pro-tection and survivability.

This example highlights some of the


Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admini-stration:

Visit: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/hazmat/hm.htm . Important links...great information!

LLIS- A Wealth of Information:

If you're not registered to receive the Les-sons Learned Information Sharing News-letter from www.llis.gov you're missing out on some excellent information. Take a look...get registered.

National Institute for Chemical Studies (NICS):

Worthwhile visiting: http://www.nicsinfo.org/

NICS has been helping communities manage hazardous chemicals for genera-tions and has excellent information on their website.

Sneezing and Coughing?

Take the time to look at this informa-tive and humorous video (electronic for-mat and DVD for ordering) on Coughing and Sneezing etiquette. The message is excellent, and if practiced, will truly have an impact in our public health efforts to reduce the spread of flu.

Please consider forwarding to your contacts who can use this in most any employee health and human resources program to encourage cough etiquette. Cough Etiquette video. http://www.coughsafe.com/ An alter-nate site:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8574515984097771637

(Thanks to Libby Vianu, ATSDR Region IX 415-947-4319; [email protected] )

Tools of the Trade:

Check out: http://www.ehsfreeware.com/epcomp.htm ; lots of useful information

Looking to convert?

See http://onlineconversion.com/ . A pretty powerful online tool!

Nitrogen Oxide and Nitrogen Dioxide Exemptions:

On October 4, EPA issued a final rule that addresses the frequency and level of re-porting associated with releases of nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ( CER-CLA) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA). The rule may be found at:

http://yosemite.epa.gov/oswer/ceppoweb.nsf/content/epcra_law.htm#FRNotices.

Incident Command System - Forms & Documents:

Visit: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/ics/ics_forms.html

SHORTS

WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKYARD? tionary evacuation lasted for approxi-mately 1.5 hours.

Thanks, as always to "Big Medicine." Residents in the Peel Region, Ontario, Canada were recently reminded to prop-erly dispose of chemical refuse following the discovery of Chlorine in a school playground. Two 10 year-old students suffered irri-

tated eyes when a quantity of white pow-der, stored in a plastic cola bottle, was discovered in a school playground. The students had discovered the material and brought it into the school office. When their symptoms began to appear emer-gency services were called. A precau-


tion of the appropriate resources. In all of these discussions of emergency management, homeland security, disas-ter management, or whatever label is chosen to apply, it must be remembered that the state and local governments are the basic foundation of the emergency management services (with over 15,000 identified emergency management titled state and local officials nationally) which are needed in a disaster. There is no margin of error in which politics should be allowed to interfere. If politi-cal interference is allowed to come in and disrupt or delay the emergency or-ganizational response, the result will be a repeat of the Hurricane Katrina fiasco. That will be translated into a tremen-dous loss of life, increased pain and suffering, coupled with the dramatic damage to property and governmental infrastructure. This result may not be 100 percent avoidable, but the impact could be significantly reduced with the proper application of the emergency management functions through the use and application of qualified, experi-enced, well-trained emergency manage-ment personnel who are given the sup-port of their political leadership. Let's get over the fear of what might violate acceptable political correctness and im-plement what is needed to save lives on a daily basis. Bob Berry, CEM, is a Certified Emer-gency Manager, Associate Professor of Emergency Management in the Depart-ment of Applied Criminology at West-ern Carolina University, with over 18 years of experience as an emergency management professional with the Ne-vada State Division of Emergency Man-agement.

In the front-page article, "N.C. now bet-ter prepared for worst," (AC-T, Sept. 10, 2006), by Kerra L. Bolton, Daniel Os-tergaard, Senior Policy Fellow at West-ern Carolina University and former Ex-ecutive Director of the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory Council, was quoted as saying, "The states really have 50 separate and distinct ways of looking at Homeland Security. Some states view it as a law enforcement function while others look at it from an Emergency Management function. I don't know if there's a definite right way to do it yet." I submit the view that it is not a matter of identifying a "definite right way;" however, there is a mistaken way, which is emphasizing the law enforcement function at the expense of reducing a more effective way, which is the emer-gency management components. The same article identified four states (Indiana, Louisiana, New Hampshire and Wyoming) that have decided to "repeal their entire existing emergency management stat-utes and replace them with new agen-cies." This could well be a major mis-take. If it is the intent of these four states to obtain large Homeland Security grants by changing the name, emphasis and priorities of their emergency man-agement mandate, it is a travesty. Reinventing the wheel for political pur-poses is not going to address the prob-lem. The problem is the need for im-proved communications, more effective mitigation and preparedness through better planning, training and exercising in order to provide effective coordina-tion of resources at the state and local level. If the public is to be expected to, and be able to, protect themselves, they must be shown how and why. The emer-gency management organizations have been doing this for decades, but they have not been given the full sup-port and recognition in these efforts for many political reasons.

It is long past time to put the political issues aside, put the disaster symptoms aside, and to address the real problem, which is the shortage of support and re-sources dedicated to build an effective emergency management structural sys-tem or mechanism in the United States. This can and should be done by listening to the input of suggestions, recommenda-tions, etc. of professional emergency management practitioners and academi-cians. These recommendations should be made into policy and implemented into action that is practical and effective in addressing the multi-hazard or all-hazard approach to emergency management which addresses all of the hazards that every state and local community must face on a daily basis, not merely terror-ism alone. Relegating the entire emergency manage-ment function to a law enforcement or-ganization tends to eliminate the access to, consideration of and application of a vast number of other disciplines which are just as vital if not critical. The emer-gency management umbrella of disaster resource coordination includes all disci-plines which can be of need and use be-fore, during and after a disaster occurs. The purpose of emergency management, according the statutory mandate identi-fied by the Robert T. Stafford Act, is to protect lives, reduce pain and injury, and prevent damage to property, in that order. The political entities should constantly encourage and support this lofty goal without making it a political football, bouncing from one election issue to an-other, depending upon who is running for office. FEMA can perform effectively with the right support, funding, and trained, experienced professional staff as long as its director can operate independ-ently and report directly to the president who, hopefully, will be knowledgeable, experienced and informed enough to make the necessary effective decisions as to when and how to approve the activa-

Is it prudent to eliminate emergency management? - by Bob Berry ([email protected])


The resolution adds to opposition already registered by 122,000 individuals, a dozen Attorneys General and nearly 200 local, state and federal government offi-cials. In addition, the House of Represen-tatives has passed an amendment to pre-vent the EPA from finalizing the propos-als, and the EPA's own Science Advisory Board warned EPA against finalizing the proposals.

• ECOS Resolution • TRI Advocacy Center • Mass Opposition Fact Sheet © 2006 Right to Know Network (A Pro-ject of OMB Watch). All rights reserved. 1742 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washing-ton DC 20009, (202) 234-8494 Please feel free to copy and disseminate this newsletter with proper credit www.crtk.org

-Mexico Discloses Toxic Pollution Re-leases

In August, Mexico became the first Latin American country to publicly disclose toxic industrial chemical releases by launching the Registro de Emisiones y Transferencia de Contaminantes (RETC). The database, similar to the U.S. Toxics Release Inventory, tracks 104 chemicals from approximately 1,000 federally-regulated facilities.

Unfortunately many heavy polluters, in-cluding the electronics sector and facto-ries operating on the U.S.-Mexican bor-der, fall under state or municipal jurisdic-tion and therefore are not included in the database. Nonetheless, Mexico's new program will provide information crucial to making health and safety decisions, and will hopefully be expanded to include more facilities and more chemicals.

• U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs Press Release

• "Welcome to the World of Hazard-ous Inventories", by Talli Nauman, International Relations Center

• Mexico Discloses Toxic Pollution Fact Sheet

-Environmental Council of States Op-poses EPA's TRI Proposals

On Aug. 29 the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) passed a resolution urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw its proposals to reduce reporting under the Toxic Re-lease Inventory (TRI). The resolution characterizes the TRI as an important and effective tool for reducing toxic pollution and states that the proposals would harm the TRI without reducing any reporting burden on companies.

sired state of cyber security are described. See:

http://www.chemicalcybersecurity.com/online_information/newsroom/27sept06.cfm

The Chemical Sector Cyber Security Pro-gram recently unveiled the 2006 edition of the Chemical Sector Cyber Security Strategy at the 2nd Chemical Information Technology Council Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The updated document outlines the sector's plans to continue driving im-provements to information technology and manufacturing system security through a sector-wide program. It builds

on the chemical sector's many achieve-ments in enhancing cyber security since the original strategy published in 2002. The updated strategy organizes the path forward for the chemical sector into five key elements: information sharing, guid-ance enhancement and relevance, sector-wide adoption, enhanced security in tech-nology solutions and government rela-tions. Within each of these elements, pro-posed strategic plans as well as the de-

From the "Right to Know Network":

Chemical Sector Cyber Security Program:

Land Beef Company in Tolleson, AZ, and the International Border Water Commis-sion's treatment plant in Nogales, AZ.

EPA, as of June 2006, reported that nine Risk Management Program (RMP)facilities in Arizona were fined a collective $15,000 for failing to review and update RMP plans by June 2004.

Each facility was fined $2,000 or less. The nine facilities included five water treatment plants in Scottsdale, one water treatment plant in Flagstaff, Del Monte Fresh Produce in Goodyear, AZ, Sun

RMP Enforcement in Arizona:

http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/Research/ord9227.pdf (PDF, 4MB)

Thanks to [email protected]

Damage:

Phase I: http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/Research/ord0612.pdf (PDF)

Phase II: http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/Research/ord0204.pdf (PDF, 3.7MB)

Field Product Removal-Tank Cars:


RAILROAD TANK CARS - DAMAGE AND PRODUCT REMOVAL: DOT CORNER

OSHA CORNER

Floor Loading Protection [29 CFR 1910.22(d)]:

than that for which the floor or roof is approved by the building official. (Thanks to The Environmental Resource Center - Visit www.ercweb.com )

OSHA regulations at 29 CFR 1910.22(d) state that in every building or other struc-ture, or part thereof, used for mercantile, business, industrial, or storage purposes, the loads approved by the building offi-cial must be marked on plates of ap-proved design. According to OSHA, the local building official is the government official who is responsible for enforcing the local building codes. Those plates must be supplied and securely affixed by the owner of the building, or a duly au-thorized agent, in a conspicuous place in each space to which they relate. Plates may not be removed or defaced. If they

are removed, defaced, or lost, the owner or an agent must replace them. Several years ago, OSHA proposed to remove the requirement for a floor load-ing sign; however, in the proposal the employer must ensure that employees involved in warehousing or storage activi-ties know the intended load limits. This would apply to “structurally supported surfaces.” It is illegal to place, or to cause or permit to be placed, on any floor or roof of a building or other structure a load greater

NEW OSHA DISASTER PREPARATION RESOURCES CD TOOL: gency preparedness plans. E-mail ASSE's Sarajenie Smith at [email protected] for a copy, or call (847) 699-2929.

(Thanks to, as always, Gregory T. Ban-ner, USDHHS at [email protected] )

Employers and employees involved in cleanup and recovery efforts following natural disasters will benefit from a new "tool" developed by OSHA and the Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). The 2006 Dis-aster Preparation Resources CD features a

compilation of resources from OSHA, ASSE, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Federal Emer-gency Management Agency on ensuring safe and healthful response and recovery operations. The CD will help employers review, develop and update their emer-

MINE SITE CLEANUP- TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION:

* Response to Suicide and Controversies to Trauma Management

Visit: http://heds.org/nnaemsa.htm

Don't hesitate to connect with Rose Whitehair at (602) 291 - 9055 if you have any questions. [email protected] (As always, thanks to Rose Whitehair!)

The National Native American Emer-gency Medical Services Association NNAEMSA) will be hosting their confer-ence at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. on November 8-10, 2006.

Highlights include:

* Hosting of two other national organiza-tional meeting during the conference the National Native American Fire Chiefs and the meeting of the National Associa-tion of Community Health Representa-

tives, Inc

* NIMS compliance courses - It is impor-tant to remind all of you that it is essential that you and your organizations become National Incident Management System (NIMS) compliant as soon as possible, especially if you anticipate receiving any federal funding in the near future.

* Medical Director's FREE Pre-conference course

* Medicare and Medicaid experts, IHS Emergency Management Programs

NNAEMSA CONFERENCE- LAS VEGAS:


TRIBAL CORNER

Tribal Program Link: http://www.epa.gov/region09/indian

Tribal Program Newsletter: http://www.epa.gov/region09/indian/newslet.html

Juan-Saunders, Chairwoman of the To-hono O’odham Nation. “We appreciate the efforts of all involved in resolving this important issue.”

Sulfate, a primary contaminant, has been found at 19,400 parts per million in these areas, while background concentra-tions are less than 100 ppm. Uranium, another primary contaminant, has been measured at 7.98 ppm in the evaporation ponds, which are above .08 ppm back-ground levels. (Contact: Wendy L. Chavez, (415) 947-4248, [email protected] )

U.S. EPA recently reached an agree-ment with Cyprus Tohono Corporation requiring the company to clean up a por-tion of its 10,505-acre mine site responsi-ble for contaminating groundwater on the Tohono O’odham Nation, 32 miles south-west of Casa Grande, Ariz.

Under the settlement, the company will clean up a 450-acre area. Area resi-dents have reported that in certain wind conditions dust from the mine blows up into North Komelik, creating potential inhalation of particulate contamination.

“Although the village is being pro-vided clean drinking water in the short term, today's action is necessary to protect public health in the long term,” said Keith Takata, the EPA’s Superfund division director for the U.S. EPA's Pacific South-west region. “The work under the EPA order will minimize further contamination to the aquifer, as well as address exposure from contaminated soil.”

“This agreement has been a long time in coming and will help to protect the health and well being of Tohono O’odham Nation members” said Vivian

Arizona Native Scene: Visit www.nativescene.com to see such articles as " Environmental issues and "Bear Butte," "Native American Recognition Days - Month-Long Events," and "Changing Face of Today's FBI." (Thanks to Rose Whitehair for sharing and to Loren Tapahe, Publisher of the Arizona Native Scene.)


Quality Programs. A Hazardous Materi-als Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grant enables us to provide the EPCRA training at no cost to participants. There is no registration fee for this train-ing. However, due to limited number of spaces available, registration is necessary and will be limited to thirty (30) partici-pants. Also, because of funding limita-tions, travel reimbursement will not be available and training attendees will be responsible for their own transportation, meals and room costs. If you have any questions please contact George Little, Emergency Systems De-velopment Coordinator, at (602) 258-4822.

This is an invitation to attend the upcom-ing Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. (ITCA) sponsored training, Site Incident Commander (SIC) 24-Hour, in Kaibab, Arizona. The EPCRA training program, funded by the Department of Transportation-Hazardous Materials Emergency Prepar-edness (DOT-HMEP) Grant, provides technical training and assistance to tribes in the development of tribal emergency response plans. Site Incident Commander (SIC) 24-Hour Training Kaibab-Paiute Tribe Community Center Kaibab, Arizona

November 20-21-22, 2006 8:00 am to 5:00 pm This course is designed for persons who will assume control of the incident scene. This course is designed for tribal police & fire, forest service, highway workers, public works, tribal rangers, EMTs, inter-ested community members and for those personnel who respond to emergencies on Tribal lands. This course includes train-ing and competency in the Incident Com-mand System, risk communication, emer-gency operations plans, hazards and risks of operating at the scene, state and federal resources and plans, and the importance of decontamination. Sponsored by the inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. (ITCA) Environmental

INTER TRIBAL COUNCIL OF ARIZONA, INC. (ITCA)

LET’S HEAR FROM YOU! Send us your inputs and feedback on the newsletter; including, exercises and other LEPC related activities in which you've been involved. Let us know

what you’d like to see in future editions. Talk to us!

We appreciate your input and look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Daniel Roe Daniel Roe,

Commercial products and services are mentioned for informational purposes only and should not be construed as AZSERC endorsements.

The AZSERC was established by Arizona Law (Arizona Revised Statutes-Title 26, Chap-ter 2, Article 3) and is tasked with the imple-mentation of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPRCA) in Arizona. This Commission oversees 15 Local Emer-gency Planning Committees and supports community, industry and government and academia in: planning, release and incident reporting, data management guidance for inventory reporting, public disclosure of infor-mation about hazardous chemicals in Arizona as well as development of training and out-reach programs. The Commission supports individual agency goals and objectives. This is accom-

plished through the receipt and coordination of emergency notifications of chemical re-leases, collection and provision of chemical inventory information to interested parties, training and grants programs. Additionally, the AZSERC provides consul-tative services, conducts and participates in workshops and coordinates development and review of plans and programs for 15 Local Emergency Planning Committees. Further, the AZSERC serves as a state clearinghouse for hazardous chemical emer-gency preparedness and planning activities and information through coordination with federal, tribal, state, local governments, indus-try and community interest groups.

ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION

ARIZONA EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMISSION 5636 E. MCDOWELL ROAD PHOENIX, AZ 85008-3495

PHONE: (602) 231-6346 FAX: (602) 392-7519

Visit us on the web: www.dem.state.az.us/azserc www.azserc.org (for reporting)

AZSERC STAFF Daniel Roe Executive Director Roger Soden Emergency Services Program Coordinator Paul Culberson Planner II Richard Eaton Programs & Projects Specialist II Sylvia Castillo Admin Asst III Chrissy McCullough Admin Asst II

COMMISSIONERS: Lou Trammell Chair Susan Gerard ADHS Director Stephen A. Owens ADEQ Director Victor Mendez ADOT Director Roger Vanderpool ADPS Director DESIGNEES: Daniel Roe ADEM Don Herrington ADHS Michael Fulton ADEQ Terry Conner ADPS Sonya Herrera ADOT

ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Corporation Commission Industrial Commission State Mine Inspector State Fire Marshal Radiation Regulatory Agency Department of Agriculture Arizona Fire Chiefs Association Mesa FD & Chandler FD State Attorney General SI Smith and Associates, LLC – Sybil Smith Apache Nitrogen – Pam Beilke Intel Corporation - James Wick Riverside Environmental- Bill Embree GATEKEEPER NEWSLETTER: DANIEL ROE – EDITOR IN CHIEF CHRISSY MCCULLOUGH - EDITOR

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Gatekeeper Newsletter November 1, 2006 Volume …provides emergency responders with vital...

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