Big Things Ahead!
I'm now in the DC area. It's cold
out here! I know all of the Southern Californians are laughing at
me, but I hope that you'll look us up when you come out this way.
It's a big month for floods as Bill gives you all of the preparedness
tips that he's been able to cobble together from various sources.
It may seem like overload, but there's a lot to it, and with flood
season coming up, it's a good time for it. Jovanni is working on
other projects this month, but we hope to have him back next month to
continue talking about human/machine interfaces and the safety/security
matchup. Just giving you a quick newsletter this month as it's
been very hectic getting out here, but we'll beef it up again next
month.
We really
want to get your events on our calendar - no matter where they are
located! Let us know so we can include them!
For
those who wish to correspond with us via snail-mail, please use our
temporary PO Box
in the Capitol Region:
PO Box 15494
Washington, DC. 20003
We'll provide an update to you as soon as we get a permanent
location out that way. Stay safe and we'll talk to you next month!
Stephen
I Want You to Build An Ark
This month I am going
to continue to push flood preparation awareness to the front.
Flooding due to snowmelt and seasonal rains is not a localized event;
it can impact communities far removed from the source.
Communities not directly subject to rain or snow, but located on a
floodplain, can suddenly find themselves inundated by massive
accumulations of water from sources several states away.
Last month we addressed the need for personal preparation. This
month I want to address fiscal preparation.
Disasters come in three parts; Pre-event preparation, the event itself
(as well as the immediate steps taken to endure the event), and
post-event recovery. Flooding primarily threatens
structures. Effective evacuation plans can protect populations,
but cannot ensure protection for structures located in flood-prone
areas. Some preparation can minimize the damage to these
structures and their contents, but there is still a significant risk
that the structures will suffer some type of damage. Clean-up,
repair, and replacement costs can add to the impact of the event.
Flood insurance can mitigate this financial impact, as well as reduce
the stress that accompanies the event. It is traumatic to learn
that one’s residence and/or business has suffered damage during a
flood. This trauma is considerably lessened with the knowledge
that there will be funds available for the post-event recovery.
In this newsletter I have included information from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that will assist you in obtaining
information on flood-related emergency financial assistance. With
Spring on the way, I urge everyone to at least become familiar with
these resources.
Stay safe (and dry!)
Bill
Hiatus
Jovanni's on hiatus this month.
He'll be back next month with more information on the safety/security
interface between humans and machines.
Jovanni
New Englanders Urged
to Purchase Flood Insurance Before Spring Thaw
BOSTON, MA - With
spring on its way, the threat of flooding once again looms over New
England. Last season all six states received a federal disaster
declaration following a mid-April event and each of the last three
years has brought declarations to the region due to severe storms and
flooding.
So what can individuals and families do to prepare? Buy flood insurance.
Property owners, renters and business owners are urged to purchase
flood insurance. The only requirement is living within one of the more
than 20,000 communities in the nation participating in the National
Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
The benefits of flood insurance far exceed that of federal disaster
assistance. The most prevalent form of assistance comes in the form of
a low-interest loan and is only made available within a federal
disaster area. In addition, a disaster assistance award averages $4,000
- often well short of the actual damage.
There are many myths surrounding the NFIP and flood insurance policy.
For instance, many residents assume that homeowners insurance covers
flood damage it does not.
Another misnomer is that a property must be in a Special Flood Hazard
Area or a floodplain to be eligible for coverage not true. In fact, 20
to 25 percent of all claims occur outside of a floodplain.
The average cost of a $100,000 flood insurance policy in New England is
a little more than $800 per year making it far more affordable than the
high costs of reconstruction. It takes 30 days after purchase for a
policy to take effect, so it's important to buy insurance before the
floodwaters start to rise.
Find out more about your risk and flood insurance at
www.floodsmart.gov. To purchase flood insurance or find an agent, call
1-800-427-2419.
(Source: www.fema.gov)
Navy Missile Likely Hit Fuel Tank on Disabled Satellite
Navy Missile Likely
Hit Fuel Tank on Disabled Satellite
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2008 – The missile fired from a U.S. Navy ship in
the Pacific Ocean that hit a malfunctioning U.S. reconnaissance
satellite late yesterday likely accomplished its goal of destroying the
satellite’s toxic fuel tank, a senior U.S. military officer said here
today.
Preliminary reports indicate the SM-3 missile struck its primary
target, which was a tank full of toxic hydrazine rocket fuel carried
aboard the 5,000-pound satellite, Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at a Pentagon
news conference.
“The intercept occurred. … We’re very confident that we hit the
satellite,” Cartwright said. “We also have a high degree of confidence
that we got the tank.”
Video shown to reporters depicts the satellite exploding at the point
of contact with the missile. Cartwright said the visible fireball and
the vapor cloud or plume around it suggest that the fuel tank was hit
and the hydrazine had burned up.
“The high-definition imagery that we have indicates that we hit the
spacecraft right in the area of the tank,” Cartwright said.
However, he added, it probably would take another 24 to 48 hours of
sifting through data “to get to a point where we are very comfortable
with our analysis that we indeed breached the tank.”
Radar sweeps of the satellite’s debris field thus far show that no
parts larger than a football survived the strike, Cartwright said.
Post-strike surveillance shows satellite debris falling into the
atmosphere above the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, he said. Small
remnants are likely to burn up in the atmosphere, never making it to
the Earth’s surface.
The U.S. State Department has provided updates on the situation to its
embassies around the world, Cartwright noted. There are no reports of
debris reaching the Earth, he said, adding that consequence-management
crews are on standby to respond to such a circumstance, if required.
The SM-3 missile was launched by the USS Lake Erie, positioned
northwest of Hawaii, at 10:26 p.m. EST yesterday, Cartwright said.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who is on an overseas trip, gave the
go-ahead to fire, Cartwright said.
The missile intercepted the satellite about 153 miles above the Earth,
just before it began to enter the atmosphere, Cartwright said. Joint
Space Operations Center technicians at Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Calif, confirmed the satalitte’s breakup about 24 minutes later.
The National Reconnaissance Office-managed satellite malfunctioned soon
after it was launched in 2006, making it unresponsive to ground
control. The satellite, orbiting Earth every 90 minutes or so, was
expected to fall to Earth in February or March with its tank of
hydrazine intact, possibly endangering human populations.
President Bush directed the Defense Department to engage the satellite
just before it entered the atmosphere. U.S. officials decided to shoot
down the satellite because of the danger posed by the hazardous
hydrazine, Cartwright explained, noting the goal was for the missile to
hit and rupture the tank of rocket fuel, causing the hydrazine to burn
up harmlessly in the atmosphere, along with debris from the stricken
satellite.
“So, you can imagine at the point of intercept last night there were a
few cheers from people who have spent many days working on this
project,” Cartwright said.
(Source: www.defenselink.mil)
Recent Events
February 14, 2008 - Yuma Area Ammonia
Safety Day (YAASD) held their fourth annual Yuma Area Safety
Day. There was no charge for this training. Keep an eye out
for next year's training!
Upcoming
Events
March 25-26,
2008 - CA LEPC Region VI meeting at the County of San Bernardino Fire
Marshal's Office. Contact Bob Lehmann for details at rlehmann@co.riverside.ca.us.
March 25-26, 2008 - Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and
the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) are
pleased to announce this special training opportunity.
“The Environmental Health Consequences of Clandestine Methamphetamine
Laboratories”
This course will be presented by faculty from the American College of
Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and offers a unique opportunity to learn
about the clinical health effects of methamphetamine use and abuse, the
hazards of methamphetamine synthesis, health effects of
methamphetamines, clean up and remediation of clandestine laboratories,
and public policy issues. A special session presented by LA
County Department of Public Health will address children’s health and
exposure considerations and we will also have a presentation concerning
policy and clean-up issues with a representative from California EPA.
The ACMT faculty members are all board certified and fellowship trained
physician medical toxicologists. They have extensive experience
directly caring for patients suffering from the ill effects of chemical
agents and poisons. For more information about ACMT please visit their
web-site at http://www.acmt.net/index.html.
Although the course is presented by clinical toxicologists the
presentations are directed to non-medical specialists. The
audience will include public health professionals, environmental health
professionals, social services providers, law enforcement, HAZMAT
professionals, public policy professionals and others who may work on
issues related to clandestine methamphetamine laboratories.
The full day course will be offered on March 25th at the LA County
Health Department in Commerce, CA.
A 4-hour short course will also be offered on March 26, in Glendale, CA
at the Public Library building. This shorter 4-hour course is
designed to provide awareness level training for Haz-Mat first
responders. However anyone interested or involved with
clandestine methamphetamine laboratories will also benefit from this
course.
Full course descriptions can be found on the attached flyers and on the
registration web-site.
The course is free and registration must be completed on-line by March
17th. Please be sure to register for only one course:
Full Day Course
Tuesday, March 25th 2008
LA County Health Department Auditorium
5555 Ferguson Drive
Commerce, CA 90022
Sign in: 8:30 - 9:00 AM
Course: 9:00 - 4:30 PM
http://www.trainex.org
4-Hour Short Course
Wednesday, March 26th 2008
Glendale Public Library
200 E. Harvard St.
Glendale, CA 91205
Sign in: 8:30 - 9:00 AM
Course: 9:00 - 1:00 PM
http://www.trainex.org
April 6-10,
2008 NASTTPO
Conference - The early
registration deadline for the NASTTPO conference in Savannah, GA (April
6-10) is fast approaching. Applications may be faxed to
623/975-9682 for processing, invoicing, etc. The draft agenda and the
registration form is on line at the www.NASTTPO.org website (http://www.nasttpo.org).
The registration fee includes your 2008 membership dues. They are very
excited about this year's conference. Speakers will include government
officials at the highest policy levels, so the opportunity to get
straight information will be excellent. Speakers will include:
- Carl Johnson,
the new Administrator of PHMSA at DOT, will discuss the future of HMEP
and the DOT Secretary's exciting new rural preparedness initiative
- William
Wright, CSB will present the results of recent chemical accident
investigations
- Representatives
of DHS in the chemical facility anti-terrorism program will discuss
their vulnerability and security assessment implementation efforts
(remember that emergency planning and exercises are part of this effort)
- EPA will
present information on their survey of LEPCs and developments with RMP
There will be
presentations on local success stories, changes in the HMEP program
including increased funding, training opportunities and other useful
information. Business discussions will include:
- The future of
E-Plan given DHS' decision to increase funding in cooperation with EPA
- Possible
legislation impacting the confidentiality of Tier II and other EPCRA
information
- Regulatory
proposals by PHMSA, DOT, TSA, and EPA
- Completely
revised by-laws
Contact Tim
Gablehouse, NASTTPO President at 303.572.0050 for more information.
We are continuing
to do consulting work with cities and businesses and
if we don't have an office in your area, we will either try to help
over distance (using the internet and travel) or help you to find the
right person in your area. 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 want someone to help spend grant
money. We make the world safer. It's our reson for being,
our passion and if we're not doing that, then the project isn't right
for us. If we can make the world safer, there isn't a more
committed passionate
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! We will provide free updates to all purchasers when we
revise the book after DHS releases their guidance. Click here
to purchase your copy! See you next month!
Flood:
Know Your Terms
Flood: Know Your Terms
Familiarize yourself with these terms to help identify a flood hazard:
Flood Watch: Flooding is possible. Tune in to NOAA Weather Radio,
commercial radio, or television for information.
Flash Flood Watch: Flash flooding is possible. Be prepared to
move to higher ground; listen to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio,
or television for information.
Flood Warning: Flooding is occurring or will occur soon; if
advised to evacuate, do so immediately.
Flash Flood Warning: A flash flood is occurring; seek higher
ground on foot immediately.
(Source: http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/fl_terms.shtm)
During
a Flood
From The Editor’s Desk
If a flood is likely
in your area, you should:
- Listen to the radio
or television for information.
- Be aware that flash
flooding can occur. If there is any possibility of a flash flood, move
immediately to higher ground. Do not wait for instructions to move.
- Be aware of streams,
drainage channels, canyons, and other areas known to flood suddenly.
Flash floods can occur in these areas with or without such typical
warnings as rain clouds or heavy rain.
- If you must prepare
to evacuate, you should do the following:
- Secure your home. If
you have time, bring in outdoor furniture. Move essential items to an
upper floor.
- Turn off utilities at
the main switches or valves if instructed to do so. Disconnect
electrical appliances. Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet
or standing in water.
- If you have to leave
your home, remember these evacuation tips:
- Do not walk through
moving water. Six inches of moving water can make you fall. If you have
to walk in water, walk where the water is not moving. Use a stick to
check the firmness of the ground in front of you.
- Do not drive into
flooded areas. If floodwaters rise around your car, abandon the car and
move to higher ground if you can do so safely. You and the vehicle can
be quickly swept away.
Driving
Flood Facts:
The following are
important points to remember when driving in flood conditions:
- Six inches of water
will reach the bottom of most passenger cars causing loss of control
and possible stalling.
- A foot of water will
float many vehicles.
- Two feet of rushing
water can carry away most vehicles including sport utility vehicles
(SUV’s) and pick-ups.
(Source: http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/fl_during.shtm)
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