Chemical hazards are often transported via the railway system in the United States. The Mayor of Cantor has decided that his city should develop a basic emergency plan to handle a potential train derailment. CRX Railroad transports ammonia tankers through Cantor for distribution to factories all over the east coast. A train derailment in Cantor could lead to the release of a tanker, or multiple tankers, of ammonia in his community. Ammonia is a highly hazardous chemical and could lead to a major incident if released in the community. Since the CRX train does not stop in Cantor, the city does not have a train station. This limits the ability to receive early alerts if the train is experiencing issues as it approaches Cantor.
In this exercise students will create a basic emergency plan for Cantor to handle this potential issue.
Students will need to address each element identified below to address the chemical release concerns in emergency plan format.
Elements of a Basic Emergency Plan:
1. What is the mission of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)? (The mission statement should be one or two sentences.)
2. What are the goals or objectives for the Chemical Release Emergency Plan? (Identify at least three goals or objectives.)
3.What modification can you make in your city to mitigate potential issues with a train derailment? (You can identify changes such as training for personnel, community education campaigns, mutual aid agreements with the State Police, etc.)
4.Who are the key members of the Planning Team for this incident? (Consider which agencies you would like to see represented in any city discussions on how to respond to a chemical release. An example of an agency you would want to include is the Fire Department and their Hazmat Unit. Identify at least three agencies.)
5.Who will you assign to the Emergency Operations Center? (This is the hub of an incident response. Select five leaders in the city that you would like to assign to the Emergency Operations Center to lead response efforts. You can select individuals like the Chief of Police, the director of the local hospital, etc.)
6.What type of training would you like to build into the emergency plan for emergency responders? (Identify at least one training element, such as a hazmat course.)
7.Who will be assigned to search and rescue efforts, in the event of a derailment? What precautions would you like these responders to take based on the ammonia release? (You can identify specific units or personnel that you would like to handle response efforts, including search and rescue.)
8.Identify two goals that you have for recovery efforts after the incident. How will you know that life has returned to the pre-incident level?