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Welcome
to the November 2007 Issue!
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Welcome
to the November 2007 Issue!
Chemicals, Chemicals, Chemicals!
Seems
to be what everyone is talking about these days. It makes sense -
DHS
published their Appendix A this month and so facilities have until
January 19, 2008 to finish the Top Screen process. If they are
covered. Later in the newsletter, I'll pass along how DHS is
handling
mixtures. We're not just talking about Chemical Regulations
though. There's an advertisement for a wonderful course on Toxic
Industrial Chemicals/Materials and their effects. There's a link
to a great video (Citizen Soldier
by 3 Doors Down) that will help strengthen the Community-Military
Bond. Bill has found some safety travel tips to make your
holidays bright. You'll hopefully notice our new logo. Next
month I'll introduce our new Chief Technology Officer who has started
to rework a lot of our styles and products with a more updated
image. This newsletter should also be in a new format by
then.
Bill has asked each of you for your inputs, stories and articles.
This is your newsletter. Based on feedback that we've received,
it has become a tool for businesses and agencies - but we don't want to
forget our primary customer - the individual and their family.
Strong families means a strong America, and a strong world, and we're
here to help make the world safer.
Blatant plug: If you are thinking of stocking stuffers for your family
or employees this year, consider a bulk pack of Keeping
Our Neighborhoods Safe. There's enough for everyone, and
we've kept the cost low so you don't have to pay a premium for your
family's safety.
Thanks for the feedback you've given us so far, and please continue to
send it in! This is your newsletter and we want to hear from
you!
Until next month, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy
Kwanzaa, Blessed Yule, or whatever you celebrate!
Stephen
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From
The Editor's Desk
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Happy
Thanksgiving!
I
hope that you were able to spend the
Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family, or, at the very least,
in peace and comfort. We have much for which to be thankful: Our
health, our Freedoms, and, in the case of SRM Associates, the
opportunity to make the world a little safer. We get to help each of
you be more prepared to protect yourselves and your family from
something bad.
Preparedness
doesn’t just mean purchasing all the items of a published list, and
packing it away under the front stairs (though that’s not a bad
idea) in case of emergency, it also means pursuing and solidifying
relationships. (You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t have
some interest in being prepared for the time when that emergency kit
comes into play.)
There
is a phrase in the military that
works in this situation: “Eyes on.” “Eyes on” refers to
being able to see something (be it an object, a scenario, or even a
singular perspective,) that might be hidden from the views of others.
In
this case, I use “Eyes on.” to
indicate the diverse spread of experience and considerable knowledge
found in our readership. A law-enforcement officer in Panama City,
Florida has a different perspective than a firefighter in Spokane,
Washington. Each brings a unique perspective and vision, based upon
the concerns found in his or her native environs. SRM Associates
brings these seemingly divergent perspectives, these “Eyes”
together, to create a dialogue that stimulates the thought processes
that generate effective and comprehensive emergency-related
situational awareness (much like what FEMA’s Incident Management
System, only in a conceptual brain-storming manner.)
Towards
that end, I would like to
invite you, the reader, to contribute your observations, ideas,
thoughts and/or opinions, lessons learned, etc. to be included in
future editions of this newsletter.
Exchanging
ideas helps everyone
increase our knowledge base in terms of emergency preparedness. An
understanding of the factors that contribute to safety and security
of the citizens of all nations allows us to make the world a safer
place.
Please
send us your ideas at info@oursafetowns.com.
Be
safe, and I’ll see you next month,
-Bill |
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Recent
and Upcoming Events
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Recent Events
November
6-8 -
Stephen spoke on the new Chemical Facility
Vulnerability Assessment Regulations at the EPA Western Regions'
Emergency Prevention and Preparedness conference -- along with the
mid-year National Association of SARA Title III Program Officials
(NASTTPO). It was a good meeting. Stephen went on right
after the DHS
guys. They spoke on the regulations and requirements, and Stephen
told
people how to implement the regulations at their facilities based on
his experience developing Chemical Facility Security Vulnerability
Assessment methodologies and conducting SVAs on a number of
facilities.
November 26 - Following the NASTTPO conference, Stephen met with the
Area Commander responsible for enforcing the DHS CSAT regulations,
Carlos Vazquez. They discussed the implementation of the
regulations
pretty much throughout the West Coast. Carlos is going back to
Washington, DC in early December to get more information on how DHS is
going to implement the regulations and when they will be putting out
their guidance. Carlos did confirm however, that for calculating
mixtures, DHS is expecting facilities to multiply the weight percentage
of the chemical times the amount of solution.
It’s
here! Published: Appendix A of the Chemical Facilities
Anti-Terrorism Standard Final Rule has been published!
For
those who have been anxiously
awaiting the publishing of Appendix A in the Federal Register, it
happened on November 20:
On
November 20, 2007 the Department of
Homeland Security published the final Appendix A in the Federal
Register. With the publication of a final Appendix A, all provisions
of 6 CFR Part 27, including section 27.210(a)(1)(i), are operative
and in effect.
The
deadline in the Chemical Facilities
Anti-Terrorism Standard (CFATS) interim final rule for submission of
"Top Screens" required by 6 CFR section 27.210(a)(1)(i)
will be 60 calendar days from the date of publication of Appendix A
in the Federal Register.
If
you have any questions, feel free to
call us at (951) 764-3626 or email Stephen at: stephen.melvin@oursafetowns.com
The
Community – Military Bond
The
band
“3 Doors Down”, in partnership with the National Guard, presents
a music video that pays tribute to the men and women of our National
Guard. Click here (http://www.1800goguard.com/movie/index2.php)
and enjoy!
Upcoming Events
Ammonia Safety - Free Awareness Workshop
December 5, 2007, 7:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Carlsbad Safety Center, 2560 Orion Way, Carlsbad, CA 92008
This workshop is sponsored by the County of San Diego Department of
Environmental Health-Hazardous Materials Division (DEH-HMD), Airgas,
and Alliance Industrial.
Seating is limited to 100 persons, so please register early.
Certificates of attendance and handouts will be provided for those who
register in advance.
Call the Hazardous Materials Duty Desk at 619-338-2231 to reserve your
seat.
Upcoming
Training Opportunity!
FEMA
Region 9 in coordination with
ATSDR and ACMT invite you to:
Chemical Agents of
Opportunity for
Terrorism: The Medical Consequences of TICs (Toxic
Industrial Chemicals) and TIMs (Toxic Industrial Materials)
Tuesday,
December 18th, 2007
8:00 - 4:30 pm at the
Dellums Federal Building (1301 Clay Street, Oakland, California,
94612)
The
course provides awareness-level
training for a variety of toxic syndromes likely to be encountered
following exposures to "chemical agents of opportunity." This is a
unique opportunity to learn about the clinical health
effects of the more common chemicals which are most likely to be
encountered in a terrorist attack/event. Although the course is
presented by clinical toxicologists the presentations are directed to
non-medical specialists.
The
target audience includes: Federal,
State, Local and Tribal government representatives, emergency
planners & responders, HazMat responders, law enforcement,
military, health agency personnel and the emergency management
community.
The
faculty members are all board
certified and fellowship trained physician medical toxicologists who
are members of the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and
currently serve as consultants to ATSDR. They have extensive
experience directly caring for patients suffering from the
ill-effects of chemical agents and poisons.
A
full course description,
transportation and parking information may be found on the
registration web-site.
Registration
is free and must be
completed by December 7, 2007 at http://www.trainex.org/caot.
For
more information, please contact:
Libby Vianu
Regional Representative
ATSDR Region IX
75 Hawthorne Street
Suite 100, HHS-100
San Francisco, CA
94105
Office Phone (415)
947-4319
January
29, 2008 -
It's time for the Gatekeeper Regulatory Roundup in Arizona, and Stephen
has been asked to speak again this year on the Chemical Facility
Vulnerability Assessment Regulations. For those of you who missed
it
at the NASTTPO conference, it will be informative and will give you the
tools you need as a business to comply, or as a regulator to assist
your businesses in complying. Since the deadline for the Top
Screen
will be past, Stephen will focus on the Security Vulnerability
Assessments and the Site Security Plans. The title of the
presentation
is: Confused by
CFATS? Learn the nuts and bolts from someone who's been there!
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What lies ahead?
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We
are (slowly) working on Keeping Our Schools Safe. We
continue to look for folks who are interested in reviewing it (we've
had a couple more after the last newsletter), and
always welcome your comments as to what you would like to see in the
final product.
We are continuing to do more consulting work with cities and
businesses. As our business grows, we want you to know that we
are committed to ensuring that we provide the same level of expertise
and service to which you are accustomed. We work with people who
are interested in making their business, community or jurisdiction
safer, and not just people who are willing to help someone spend grant
money. There are plenty of other folks out there who will do
that. It's only because of you that we are able to make these
wonderful things happen!
We've just put together the right team for a major project in the LA
basin. We won't give away too much detail right now, but will
tell you that it involves training neighborhoods on security awareness
and anti-terrorism principles. We'll keep you posted!
As always, if you are interested in working with us directly to make
your community, business, or agency safer, please contact us at: info@oursafetowns.com.
Remember,
Keeping
Our Chemical Facilities Safe has been published, and is now
available! Click here
to purchase your copy!
See
you next month! |
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Safety
Tip
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Safe
Travel Tips
Tips
to
increase your security if you are traveling overseas:
-
Dress
like a local. Avoid wearing clothing that identifies your nationality.
Expensive suits or military uniforms may make you a target.
-
Avoid
wearing expensive jewelry, identification tags (“dog tags”),
military-type watches, or service academy rings.
-
Relax
military grooming standards. Military haircuts may draw unwanted
attention. If you must wear short hair, remember: short hair is
fashionable, blend your military haircut into one of the popular styles.
-
Carry
a tourist passport. Don’t use a passport that identifies you as a
government employee. Make copies of your passport and bring two sets of
passport photos in case your passport is lost or stolen.
-
Don’t
carry your military identification on your person. If you must, always
be aware of ways to “ditch” or hide it in an emergency.
-
Use
civilian style luggage; avoid luggage identification tags that can be
read by a casual observer.
-
Blend
in. Keep an eye on what is going on around you.
(source: U.S. State Department and Department of
Defense)
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| ©
2007 SRM Associates |
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