NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA
LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE
2009 NW 67th Place, Gainesville FL 32653-1603 -- (352) 955-2200 x108 -- fax 955-2209

NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR ADDITIONAL HAZARDOUS MATERIALS EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS, TRAINING, AND EQUIPMENT IN NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA

CONCLUSIONS

The need for additional hazmat teams, training, and equipment was assessed by the LEPC as a Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA) funded planning project. A survey of first responders, incidental responders and hospitals was conducted. The response areas of the LEPC's two recognized regional hazmat teams was analyzed. The conclusions follow:

A hazardous materials emergency response team is needed in the Taylor County area. This is based upon the large distance to existing hazmat teams and the large amount of Chlorine and other extremely hazardous substances transported through and stored near Perry. Buckeye Florida Limited Partnership has the necessary skills to respond to off-site transportation Chlorine leaks; however, currently will only respond to leaks that occur on the Buckeye facility.

Each county needs to have at least one, if not all, fire departments trained and equipped to respond at the Operational-level and be able to set up a decontamination corridor without outside assistance. This would allow for defensive actions, the rescue of injured personnel, and an earlier entry by an out-of-town hazardous materials team.

There is a need and interest in EMS training and coordination with hospitals to properly deal with contaminated patients. The HMTA training program should be expanded in the future to include the pre-hospital care of contaminated patients.
There is still a need for Awareness-level training. Also, many organizations reported on the survey that they need binoculars in their vehicles to be able to safely collect data.
Few fire departments report having sufficient training, equipment, and standard operating procedures to respond at the operational-level as defined by 29 CFR 1910.120(q). Many departments expressed an interest in the Initial Response to Hazardous Materials Incidents (IRHMI) classes offered by the LEPC.
A number of public-sector and private-sector Section 302 facilities have hazardous materials response capabilities that should be encouraged to enter into agreements with local responders. These teams typically are specialized in responding to a limited number of chemicals that are present at their facility.
Many water and wastewater treatment plants require additional written procedures, training, equipment, and back-up personnel to safely respond to a Chlorine release.

INTRODUCTION

The North Central Florida Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) has the responsibility to implement the Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) in our area. EPCRA mandates that the LEPC increase public safety regarding hazardous materials through planning, training, exercising, and public education.

The LEPC selected a needs assessment for additional hazardous materials emergency response teams as a Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA) planning grant project. The main goal of the project is to evaluate the need for additional hazardous materials emergency response teams in our district. Currently, the LEPC plan recognizes two hazmat teams available for responding over a 7,000 square mile area.

A second goal is to identify levels and delivery mechanisms of training that are most needed in the public-sector. The survey was also used to collect information on the type of equipment, planning, and standard operating guidelines that are needed by responders.

BACKGROUND

Last fiscal year, the LEPC conducted an Enhanced Hazards Analyses (EHA) as its HMTA planning project. That report increased the LEPC's knowledge of the chemical hazards present at 20 regionally significant Section 302 sites. As a follow-up to the EHA project, the LEPC elected to conduct a Needs Assessment survey to identify local responder's ability to respond to both fixed-site and transportation releases. The LEPC planning program and associated implementation projects are aimed at increasing the ability of responders to safely respond at the appropriate level.

Two surveys were used to collect information from responders and hospitals. EPCRA Section 303(d)(3) grants the LEPC the authority to collect information necessary for hazardous materials emergency planning. The survey is believed to be relevant to all the recipients because of minimum hazardous materials training and planning requirements under Florida Administrative Code 38I-20 (public-sector only), 29 CFR 1910.120, 40 CFR 311, and/or 29 CFR 1910.1200.

The LEPC also implements a hazardous materials emergency response training program. Training is offered at the Awareness-Level and Operational-Level as defined by 29 CFR 1910.120(q). Hazmat exercises are also periodically conducted by the LEPC as a means of increasing the preparedness of local first responders.

LEPC HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESPONSE GOALS

The hazardous materials emergency response goals for North Central Florida are as follows:

The first emergency responder on the scene of a hazmat incident will be adequately trained to at least the Awareness-Level. The responder will recognize the situation as a hazmat incident, not become contaminated, safely collect as much information as possible, make the proper notifications, and keep people away from the hot zone.
The fire department(s) that respond on the scene will be trained to a minimum of the Operational-level. An Incident Management System (IMS) will be initiated and an Incident Commander will take command. All responding agencies will function under the IMS in pre-defined roles as defined in their Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs), as required by 29 CFR 1910.120(q).
The situation will be sized-up and the assistance of a hazmat team requested if needed. A hazards assessment will be conducted and the need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will be identified. A decontamination corridor will be established prior to entry. Defensive actions and possibly rescue that can be safely performed with available PPE will be carried out. If necessary, evacuation or sheltering in place will be initiated and coordinated with County Emergency Management personnel and other agencies.
A hazardous materials team trained and equipped to at least the Technician-Level will arrive in a timely manner and take aggressive measures to stop a release, if appropriate. When the situation is stabilized, a contractor will be provided by the responsible party or transporter to clean-up the site. An incident critique will be conducted to improve the overall response process.

The above description is a generalized summary and does not include all goals and objectives that will need to be carried out at each of the response levels.

Many water and wastewater treatment plants require additional written procedures, training, equipment, and back-up personnel to safely respond to a Chlorine release.

METHODOLOGY

The LEPC used surveys to evaluate the hazardous materials response capability of fire departments, law enforcement, emergency medical services, hospitals, and public works. One survey was mailed to first response and incidental response agencies and a second survey to hospitals. The preparedness of first responders to respond at the Awareness- and Operational-Levels was evaluated by this survey. Appendix A contains a copy of the responder survey and Appendix B of the hospital survey. Survey responses will be addressed in case by case basis.

NEED FOR ADDITIONAL HAZARDOUS MATERIALS EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS

The need for additional hazardous materials emergency response teams is also based upon the following two factors:

Areas that one of the two existing hazmat teams can respond to in a timely manner.
The location of facilities containing extremely large amounts, more than one million pounds, of extremely hazardous substances, transportation routes, vulnerable populations, and the inability of local responders to safely respond to an incident.

HazMat Team Coverage in North Central Florida

Currently, the North Central Florida Local Emergency Planning Committee Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan recognizes two regional hazardous materials response teams. The Gainesville Fire-Rescue Hazmat team is located at Station Number 2 on Archer Road in Gainesville, Alachua County. The Occidental Chemical Corporation hazmat team is located near White Springs, in Hamilton County.

Occidental Chemical Corporation is in the process of being sold and it is unknown what impact this will have on the hazmat team. The continuing operation of the Occidental team is critical to maintaining adequate hazmat coverage in North Central Florida. It is recommended that the LEPC consider sending the new company owner a letter explaining the importance and benefits of maintaining the current functional status of the hazmat team.

Illustration I shows the areas that the two existing regional hazmat teams can cover in a timely manner. The 30-mile radius is the approximate area that a team could likely respond to within one hour of being requested. A 45-mile radius is also shown as the area where it is possible to respond to within one hour. It should be noted that the adequate response time in metropolitan areas is generally considered 30 minutes, which is one half of the value used in this study.

Dixie, Taylor, and parts of Lafayette and Madison Counties are more than 45-miles away from a hazmat team. This area has inadequate hazardous materials response capability. The primary conclusion of this report is that a third hazmat team is needed that can provide timely response to this geographic area.

Hazmat teams located outside of District 3 are too far away to respond in a timely manner to the deficient-coverage area. All of the teams are more than 60 miles away and include Valdosta (Georgia) Fire Department to the north, Ocala, Marion and Citrus Counties to the south, Jacksonville to the east and possibly Tallahassee to the west.

A number of private-sector Section 302 facilities have hazardous materials response capabilities. These teams typically are specialized in responding to a limited number of chemicals that are present at the facility. For example, PCR, Inc. (Gainesville) has recently purchased a foam truck and is discussing a mutual aid agreement with Gainesville Fire-Rescue.

Buckeye Florida Limited Partnership (Taylor County) has the capability to respond to onsite releases of extremely hazardous substances. The facility reported 19 releases (with a total of 48 injuries) of extremely hazardous substances from January 1990 through September 1995, as summarized in Appendix C. Fifteen of the releases were over the EPCRA Section 304 Reportable Quantity (RQ). Based upon the follow-up reports it appears that Buckeye Florida personnel are trained and equipped to responded to leaks involving Chlorine and Sulfur Dioxide. However, Buckeye is unwilling to respond off-site to releases of chemicals being shipped into the facility.

Locations with Large Amounts of Extremely Hazardous Substances

There are two locations in North Central Florida that reported on the 1994 Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory (Tier Two) having over one million (1,000,000) pounds of extremely hazardous substances present. The facilities are Occidental Chemical and Buckeye Florida Limited Partnership.

Occidental Chemical reported an average daily amount of 3,300,900 pounds and a maximum daily amount of 10,400,000 pounds of ammonia on its 1994 reporting year Tier Two form. Oxy also reported sulfuric acid with an average daily amount of 30,633,663 pounds and a maximum daily amount of 75,170,193 pounds. A wide variety of other chemicals is also reported on the Tier Two form.

To mitigate the hazards, the above chemicals are stored in an isolated area. The Occidental hazardous materials response team is available to respond off site to releases of their chemicals and most frequently transportation-related releases from other companies. Through their Community Awareness and Emergency Response (CAER) program they provide training and equipment to local responders and sponsor exercises in Hamilton County.

The other company with large amounts of extremely hazardous substance is Buckeye Florida Limited Partnership located in Taylor County. An average daily amount of 1,800,000 pounds and a maximum daily amount of 2,708,000 pounds of Chlorine on its 1994 reporting year Tier Two form. A wide variety of other chemicals is also reported on the Tier Two form.

To mitigate the hazards, Buckeye Florida has workers trained to repair Chlorine and Sulfur Dioxide leaks onsite and they installed a water cannon aimed at a methanol storage tank. No off-site response to stop a leak is available from Buckeye to an incident involving one of the approximate 30 railcars per month of Chlorine that are transported to Buckeye through western Madison County, northern Taylor County, and the City of Perry.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the LEPC asks Buckeye Florida Limited Partnership to work with the LEPC, Taylor County, and the City of Perry to develop a workable plan for responding to hazardous materials incidents in that area. The initial focus should be on Chlorine railcars.

NEED FOR ADDITIONAL HAZARDOUS MATERIALS EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING

The results of the survey of first and incidental response agencies indicates that there is a need for additional hazardous materials emergency response training in North Central Florida. The survey also indicates that the LEPC training program is focusing on types of training that are most needed. A strong correlation was noted between returning the survey and an organization's previous participation in an LEPC activity.

There is still a need for Awareness-level training for numerous law enforcement, volunteer fire departments, public works, and others. Many responders reported that the 4-hour Recognizing and Identify Hazardous Materials Awareness-level program offered by the LEPC was interesting and that they learned a lot form it. Also, organizations that attended the 4-hour class are more likely to be interested in a 24-hour Operational-level class.

There is a need and interest in the Initial Response to Hazardous Materials Incidents (IRHMI), Basic Concepts and Concept Implementation classes that the LEPC is beginning to conduct. Each county needs to have at least one, if not all, fire departments trained and equipped to respond at the operational level and be able to set up a decontamination corridor without outside assistance. This would allow for defensive actions, the rescue of injured personnel, and an earlier entry by an out-of-town hazardous materials team to enter a site earlier than if the hazmat team had to establish decon themselves. Currently, few fire departments reported having sufficient training, equipment, and standard operating procedures to respond at the operational-level as defined by 29 CFR 1910.120(q) and the SERC Guidelines.

The survey also indicated the need for hands-on activities to accompany the IRHMI class. The drills should be a maximum of 8-hours in length and should cover defensive actions, decontamination, and provide experience with some of the common chemicals that participants are most likely to encounter.

A number of departments stated that the LEPC should establish a video library. This would allow specialized training on a flexible schedule.

There is a need and interest in EMS training and coordination with hospitals to properly deal with contaminated patients. The HMTA training program should be expanded in the future to include the pre-hospital care of contaminated patients.

The hospital survey indicated a variety of levels of preparedness among the hospitals for dealing with contaminated patients. Additional training is needed to ensure the safe hospital response during a hazmat incident. Overall, less than half of the hospitals returned a survey and two hospitals answered ‘no' or ‘none' to every question.

NEED FOR ADDITIONAL HAZARDOUS MATERIALS EMERGENCY RESPONSE EQUIPMENT

At the awareness level, many organizations reported that they need binoculars in their vehicles. The binoculars are necessary to read placards and collect other information from a safe distance.

Numerous departments reported on the survey that they lack even the basic equipment necessary for responding to an incident. This was especially true with volunteer fire departments. Some of the items needed in North Central Florida include:

Bunker Gear
Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBAs)
Extra air tanks
Radios and Public Address Systems
Decontamination Equipment
Banner (Hot, Warm Zone) tape
Sorbents
Money

The equipment needs at the technician level were not addressed in this survey. There is only one public-sector (Gainesville Fire-Rescue) hazardous materials emergency response team. Gainesville Fire Rescue recently purchased a new truck for its hazmat team in 1995.

NORTH

CENTRAL

FLORIDA

LOCAL

EMERGENCY

PLANNING

COMMITTEE

NEEDS ASSESSMENT
FOR ADDITIONAL HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS,
TRAINING, AND EQUIPMENT
IN NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA

Adopted by the LEPC on
November 17, 1995

Financial Assistance for this
Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA) Planning Project
Was Provided through the
State of Florida
Department of Community Affairs
Division of Emergency Management

PREPARED BY:
NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL NORTH