The LEPC is using Hazardous Materials Awareness Week as the focus of a public-private sector outreach and education campaign. The LEPC is asking 55 municipalities, 11 counties and 11 school boards to join the LEPC, North Central Florida Regional Planning Council and the SERC in proclaiming the week of January 21-27, 2007 as Hazardous Materials Awareness Week. Local governments are being encouraged to send employees that might discover a release to a new Florida First Responder Awareness Level class being scheduled in each county. A Hazmat Boot Camp will be offered during Hazmat Week and will include photo opportunities for the media. A "What Facilities with Chemicals Need to Know about the LEPC" seminar will also be offered.

The LEPC trained of 190 students in18 classes for a total of 1990 hours of training. Awareness level classes had 109 students while technician level classes had 95. Two students attended an operations level class. The old Florida course was used for all the awareness level classes. Technician level classes included IAFF 160 hour, HazMedic, Air Monitoring, Ammonia & Chlorine Response, ALOHA/CAMEOfm and Boot Camps based upon the skills listed in the SERC Competency Check-Off.

Training goals include conducting at least one new Awareness Level class in each of the eleven counties as well as a Train-the-Trainer for the new package. The LEPC will continue holding Boot Camps and will take them on the road this year. Additional training props will be added to the Boot Camp this year starting with a one ton Chlorine system and a dome from an anhydrous ammonia rail car. Training will be conducted on using the hazards analysis data in CAMEOfm and the new features in ALOHA that allow the modeling of a variety of fire and explosion risks. HazMedic training will continue expansion to cover decontamination at the scene through hospital care. The LEPC is working towards offering the IAFF 160 hour technician class as a hazmat training provider approved by the Florida State Fire College.

The LEPC conducted a strategic planning break out sessions to identify key emergency management issues in the development of a "Get a Shelter In-Place or Evacuation Plan." There is a need for a decision tree to help make and justify sheltering in place decisions. The LEPC split into three break-out groups and identified key issues and priorities that responders and emergency management must quickly address in the decision-making process. A report on this strategic planning initiative will be presented at the next LEPC meeting.

Staff activities include teaching two "CAMEOfm and ALOHA for Hazmat Technicians" classes in Gainesville and using CAMEOfm to update hazards analyses for six counties. Staff attended a Current Issues in Emergency Management conference and the last Training Task Force, LEPC Chair/staff and SERC meetings. He helped teach a Chlorine Response class at the University of Florida TREEO Center and continues to provide administrative support to the North Central Florida Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team. Staff submitted comments to the U.S. DOT on proposed changes to the fee system that funds the HMEP planning and training programs. Examples were given of the value of the HMEP program in Florida and the need to provide additional funding to LEPCs.

The next LEPC meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on February 16, 2007, at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida. A behind the scenes tour of Shands focusing on hospital care of contaminated patients will follow the LEPC meeting,