democratizing GIS
Home   Store   Free GIS   Education   Free Shapefiles   Census   Weather   Energy   Climate Change   News   Maps   TOPO   Aerial   GPS   Learn GIS

DOWNLOAD SHAPEFILES: Canada FSA Postal - Zip Code - U.S. Waterbodies & Wetlands - Geographic Names - School Districts - Indian Federal Lands
Zip Code/Demographics - Climate Change - U.S. Streams, Rivers & Waterways - Tornadoes - Nuclear Facilities - Dams & Risk - 2013 Toxic Release Inventory TRI

ANWR Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; What is at stake; removed USFWS website; photos, maps, descriptions

tools for survival plans Maps Food Water Health Gardening Energy Housing Security Communications Livelihood

Money Making Tips Work from Home Make Money Used Lumber & Building Materal Beginner's Guide Buy/Sell Gold Electronics & Computer

GIS Shapefile Store - for Beginners & Experienced GIS Users Alike. Geographic Names Information System, Nuclear Facilities, Zip Code Boundaries, School Districts, Indian & Federal Lands, Climate Change, Tornadoes, Dams - Create digital GIS maps in minutes.

Toxic Release Inventory TRI Shapefiles

Canada FSA Postal Code Shapefile

GNIS Shapefiles 2,000,000+ Points

Nuclear Energy Facilities in the U.S.

Download Zip Code with Demographics Shapefiles

Download U.S. Streams & Rivers Shapefiles

Download Water Body & Wetland Shapefiles

Download Zip Code Boundary Shapefiles

Download School District Shapefiles

Download Indian & Federal Land Shapefiles

Download Climate Change Shapefiles

Download Tornado Shapefiles

Download Dams & Risks Shapefiles

Follow Mapcruzin.com on Twitter Follow on Twitter

Didn't find what you are looking for? Email me and I'll find it for you.

Progressive Links

Federation of American Scientists

Physicians for Social Responsibility

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

Union of Concerned Scientists

Alternet

Reader Supported News

Common Dreams

Truthout

Huffington Post

Media Matters

Think Progress

Grist Environmental News

Climate Shift Blog

MapCruzin Consulting
Data Research and GIS Specialists.

GIS Tutorials

GIS Basics

GIS Terminology

Of Interest

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Maps

Climate Shift - The effects of climate shift on the future of planet earth and its inhabitants.

Right to Know or Left to Wonder?

Hazardscapes - Toxic and Nuclear Risks in your backyard.

War & Environment

Worst Case Scenarios: Terrorism & industrial chemicals.

Ten Action Steps for Parents, Teachers and School Officials

<-- Terrorism and Industrial Chemicals

Ten Action Steps for Parents, Teachers and School Officials

by

Fred Millar, Ph.D.
[email protected]

  • Chemical industry officials say that since September 11 they are vigorously revising (up) their own risk assessments on the many dangerous facilities and operations that could provide attractive targets/weapons for terrorists. The railroad industry is also doing so, specifically regarding hazardous materials rail cargoes, many of which are stored for months in highly populated communities.
  • Many schools are located within the "vulnerable zones" of nearby chemical facilities and/or transportation lines, but don�t usually know it because local officials do not want to "alarm the public." Toxic gas clouds have in the past invaded schools and injured students, revealing large gaps in schools� capacities to deal with serious chemical releases. Congressman George Miller (D-CA) is now introducing legislation to ask schools to beef up their emergency planning.

The suggested steps below are in logical planning order, solidly based in current public policy on accident prevention and emergency planning and building on existing federal law and information available and guidance, and relevant for both fixed facilities and transportation. These steps move in three main stages (italics) and focus on potential consequences of s successful terrorist attack on a chemical facility. It is not relevant now to consider facilities� past good record or current safety features that would reduce the probability of release, since what a terrorist achieves is to make the release a certainty.

  1. Reassessment of Acceptable Risks: Initiate a rough screening and mapping to determine schools with populations at potential risk of industrial chemical release. Begin a dialogue with Fire Department (FD) and Emergency Management Agency (EMA) officials. Sources that could be used:
    • U.S. EPA�s federal website system, VZIS: this uses facilities� own calculations, but has limitations.
    • Look at the Local Emergency Planning Committee Plan, especially the vulnerable zone maps showing the current community hazard assessment, based on calculations using federal guidance documents.
    • Check the Risk Management Plan documents in the local federal Reading Room.
    • Ask facility managers directly for data from RMP database.

  2. Dialogue on hazards with local facility managers, fire chiefs, EMA officials.

    • Identify which chemicals are of greatest concern.
    • Work with a sample of perhaps 10 types of releases that could occur with one or more chemicals.
    • Determine Worst Case Scenario vulnerable zones � furthest distance of gas clouds.
    • Determine WCS speed of clouds.
    • Calculate time (consensus averages agreed upon here) needed for evacuation or shelter-in-place decisions:
    • How many minutes for:
      • facility management to notice it has a release? (could be quiet sabotage)
      • facility management to decide not to handle it alone?
      • notification to local EMA or FD?
      • FD or EMA to assess the situation re need for SIP/evacuation?
      • FD or EMA to call SIP/evacuation?
      • Notifications of community (beginning and end of protective actions)?
      • Community begins SIP/evacuation?
      • Community safely completes evacuation?

  1. Using comparison of data from calculations in #2 above to determine if any schools are in "Near Zones" � where you cannot either Shelter In Place or evacuate successfully.
  2. Dialogue on possible risk reduction options (e.g., the Blue Plains facility example: chlorine gas to bleach) -- especially in urgent situations with likely targets facilities (oil refineries?) or in Near Zones situations.
  3. Assess each facility�s security and secondary containment measures. Identify which types of assaults could not be defended against with existing security and containment measures.
  4. Emergency Planning: Assess community/facility alert systems.
  5. Assess schools� ventilation system, etc. to see if and how a gas cloud can be kept out of the school.
  6. Consider communications issues: what if parents rush to schools to pick up their children?
  7. Consider transportation issues � evacuate children to where? How avoid a cloud? How fast can an evacuation be completed?
  8. Plan tabletop or field drills to identify gaps in preparedness.

[A comprehensive dialogue will include relevant stakeholders: parents, staff, PTA, teachers associations, local environmentalists who may have know how to use Right To Know tools made available after the Bhopal India disaster. The reassessment could be done system-wide or only a pilot with a sample of the most at-risk schools.]

We may hope that a new focus on external risks will only reinforce parents� ability to have school officials reduce their own risks and hazards. Do they have a current inventory and plan to dispose of hazardous and toxic chemicals used or stored at school? They should and it's not hard. Mercury? Pesticides? Flammables or explosives? Formaldehyde? Look in old storage areas, in science labs and art rooms, voc-ed classes, and custodial closets. If the product container does not have an accurate label or Material Safety Data Sheet on file that tells you what to do in case of emergency, dispose of it. At the same time and at no additional cost, schools can often substitute less-toxic maintenance and instructional supplies for hazardous ones on the disposal list. Schools should then notify their insurers of these simple risk reduction steps and ask for a more favorable premium rate.

 

Copyright © 2001, Fred Millar Ph.D.,
All Rights Reserved

<-- Terrorism and Industrial Chemicals

Didn't find what you are looking for? We've been online since 1996 and have created 1000's of pages. Search below and you may find just what you are looking for.


Michael R. Meuser
Data Research & GIS Specialist

MapCruzin.com is an independent firm specializing in GIS project development and data research. We created the first U.S. based interactive toxic chemical facility maps on the internet in 1996 and we have been online ever since. Learn more about us and our services.

Have a project in mind? If you have data, GIS project or custom shapefile needs contact Mike.

Contact Us

Report Broken Links

Subscribe for Updates

Follow on Facebook
News & Updates

Find: Maps, Shapefiles, GIS Software & More

MapCruzin Blog for updates, questions and answers
Blog Updates

More Blog Updates

Downloads

Google Earth Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Maps
Lester Brown's Plan B 3.0
State GIS Shapefiles, Maps & Resources
GIS Shapefiles & Maps
GIS Programs, Tools & Resources
Free World Country & Regional Maps
GIS / GPS Careers and Job Positions
Disease Outbreak Maps
TOPO Maps
Extreme Weather & Disaster Maps
Free World Maps from the CIA Factbook
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ANWR Maps
Oil and Gas Maps
Africanized Honey Bees
Renewable Energy Potential Maps of the United States
Terrorism Maps
War Maps
Google Maps
Weather Maps
GPS Resources
Historical Maps of the World
Google Earth
Library of Congress American Memory Map Downloads
Toxic Chemical Pollution Maps
Climate Change Maps
Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Maps
Census Shapefiles
World Maps

Issues

Environmental Justice
Data Sources
Greenwash & JunkScience
Statistical Resources
Wireless Dangers
Surviving Climate Change
Global Right-To-Know
Creating Living Economies
Books of Note
Toxic Klamath River
Federal Lands Maps
TRI Analysis
TRI Webmaps
EnviroRisk Map Network
Community-Based Research
Right-To-Know or Left to Wonder?
Chemical Industry Archives
21st Century Warfare
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology
Globalization/Democracy
National Parks and Public Lands
Trade Secrets/Toxic Deception
GIS Books
Our Projects
Other Projects
1999 Archive Environews
Environmental Books
Environmental Links
Redwood Coast Information
Recycle, Salvage, Reuse

Resources
Shapefile Store
Free GIS Software
Free Map Downloads
Free Shapefiles
Free Remote Sensing
Free Topo Maps
Free GIS Tutorial
Free GPS
ToxicRisk.com
ClimateShift.com
Maptivist.com

About MapCruzin - Cookies, Privacy, Fair Use and Disclaimer - Advertise on MapCruzin.com

Copyright © 1996 - 2019 Michael Meuser, All Rights Reserved
MapCruzin is a Pop-Up Free Website -- Best Viewed With ANY Browser