Poll shows more prepared for chemical weapons emergency

By Nathan Solheim
Assistant Metro Editor
03-21-2004

Linda Moore has all her emergency gear for a chemical weapons accident. She’s got the air filter, the protective mask and what she called “that plastic bag” at her house in western Anniston. She’s gone through the training at McClellan and gets mailings all the time, but that doesn’t mean she feels safe. “If something happens, everybody will be in a panic,” said Moore, who lives in the pink zone, the area closest to the chemical weapons stockpile. “We live so close, we’d be dead anyway.” Calhoun County has spent millions of dollars trying to educate residents on what to do in the event of an accident at Anniston Army Depot’s stockpile. Through the county Emergency Management Agency, public information campaigns have been waged over the past few years, and now, EMA staffers and county commissioners have an idea about whether their message is getting through. A recent survey compiled by Benton-Newton, an advertising firm the county hired for the information campaign, shows that 75 percent of Calhoun County residents polled in June 2003 are at least somewhat concerned about a chemical accident. That’s down 2 percent from a poll taken in November 2002 when 79 percent said they were somewhat or very concerned. The two polls show a slight increase in the number of people who feel somewhat informed to well-informed about what action to take in a chemical weapons accident. About 83 percent felt they were somewhat to well informed on what to do in 2003 compared with 77 percent in 2002. The 2002 numbers came from a poll taken over the six counties in the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, which includes, Calhoun, Cleburne, Talladega, Clay, St. Clair and Etowah counties. In the 2002 poll, 300 county residents were surveyed. In the 2003 poll, 300 Calhoun County residents were polled as well. The poll had a margin of error of 6. Rodney Batey, who lives in Jacksonville, could count himself in the group of people in the know. He took his family of five to McClellan to get emergency equipment and said the demonstrations and seminars were informative. “I think its an excellent job as far as I’m concerned, I feel like they’re keeping on top of things going on at the depot,” Batey said. Batey lives in the protective action zone, which is the area in Calhoun County farthest from the chemical weapons stockpile. On the EMA’s map, his zone is green. The survey shows more people learned between 2002 and 2003 what zone they live in. The 2003 poll found that 74 percent of residents know their zone for work, home and school, significantly more than the year before, when 54 percent of people knew their zones. The percentage of people who have formulated an emergency plan also increased slightly between 2002 and 2003, but 50 percent of residents still don’t have a plan, the latest poll showed. Jessica Myers, who lives in Wellborn with her roommate, Lori Cunningham, doesn’t have much idea about what to do in the event of an accident. She doesn’t know where to get her protective equipment and said she probably would try to evacuate in an accident. The county’s message has not yet reached Myers. “We haven’t been informed yet,” she said. Cunningham said she’d look at any information about emergency preparedness. “They could send us stuff through the mail,” Cunningham said. More than 70 percent of Calhoun County residents know what to do if the EMA tells them to evacuate or shelter-in-place, according to the survey. The number of people who know what do in an evacuation decreased by 1 percent from 2002 to 2003. Clifford Mosley, who lives in western Anniston, said one of the best educational tools he’s received has been going to McClellan to get his emergency equipment. But, he said, he isn’t sure what to do in an accident. “I guess all I know to do is run or do whatever we have to do when we’re at home,” Mosley said. Several numbers were gleaned from the advertising firm’s poll in 2003. About 88 percent of residents know equipment is available to them, but 40 percent don’t know where to get it. The poll shows 79 percent of residents have their protective equipment. The next public information campaign is set to kick off in late May or early June, said Rachelle Eccher, the media director for Benton-Newton. The focus will be to inform as many people as possible through a variety of different methods from commercials to direct mail. Ken Joiner, Calhoun County administrator, said it’s difficult battling complacency among residents. There are some who will never know what to do. But he said he is satisfied with the public information initiatives thus far. “From my perspective, they’ve done a professional job,” Joiner said. “It appears on the survey, looking at the numbers, they’ve done an exceptional job.”

About Nathan Solheim

Assistant Metro Editor Nathan Solheim is Minnesota native and a University of Georgia graduate.