Anniston Star
April 9, 2003

Centech begins distribution of preparedness equipment to area residents

By Nathan Solheim
Star Staff Writer
04-09-2003

Sandra Pettit, left, shows an EMA employee how to put on a protective hood at the Centech distribution center at McClellan. Photo: Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star

Distribution of protective equipment to Calhoun County residents begins today, the latest step in efforts to protect the community in case of an accident at the Anniston Army Depot's chemical weapons stockpile.

Centech Inc., the company that won a $14 million county contract to distribute the equipment and train residents in its use, will open its research and training facility at McClellan at 10 a.m.

Centech is responsible for giving out protective hoods, air filters and shelter-in-place kits.

Tuesday, Centech workers and EMA officials were preparing for the facility's grand opening.

Delois Champ, interim director of the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency, said the preparations are on schedule and the facility should be ready to handle residents.

"People have been working hard to get ready," Champ said. "This is going be well organized. Folks have been doing dry runs for a week and the training should pay off."

Workers at the facility have been training in preparation for the distribution over the past few days, running several test groups through the procedure.

The procedure begins with a registration in which residents must show a picture identification with their current address. They'll move through various classrooms to be trained on the equipment they are to receive. At the end of the training sessions, residents pick up the equipment.

"We've had people coming through to stress the system," said David Ford, a spokesman for the EMA. "We're making sure it can handle the crowds and to give the employees some training."

Residents living in the pink zone, the area closest to the stockpile and the incinerator, will be the first to get protective equipment. Distribution then will stretch outward through the Immediate Response Zone and the Protective Action Zone, which are more distant from the incinerator.

Pink-zone residents will receive a protective hood, an air filter and a shelter-in-place kit. They must fill out a medical questionnaire to receive a hood.

For pink-zone residents, the visit to the facility is expected to take between one and two hours.

"It's going to be time-consuming," Ford said. "It won't just be coming in here and signing your name. There's going to be some training, especially on the protective hoods."

Residents outside the pink zone will not receive a protective hood, so the process is expected to take less time.

Hours for the training center will be 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1-6 p.m. Sundays. Residents will receive mailings describing what protective equipment they are to receive.

Residents will go through a training session for each piece of equipment. They cannot receive a piece of equipment without having the training.

Some members of the Calhoun County Commission have visited the facility.

Calhoun County Commission Chairman James A. "Pappy" Dunn said there may be a few glitches in the early stages of the distribution process, but otherwise he expects it to go smoothly.

"Hopefully, whatever problems we run into will be at a minimum," Dunn said.