Anniston Star
July 24, 2003

Protective measures for schools, other facilities near completion

By Charlotte Tubbs
Star Staff Writer
07-24-2003

HOBSON CITY

Hidden behind the red brick school on Martin Luther King Drive is what appears to be the construction of a new gymnasium.

Above building's bare concrete floor are arching steel beams and sheet metal. Soon, crews will install bathrooms, construct a storage area and move in bleachers.

But this facility isn't designed to hold screaming basketball fans or a concession stand. C.E. Hanna Elementary officials hope they never use it for its purpose - to shelter about 600 teachers and students in the case of an accident at the Anniston Army Depot's chemical weapons stockpile.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing efforts to fit about 50 schools, day cares and other facilities with air filtration and other protective measures by an October deadline.

An Army Corps of Engineers project manager said this week that all the projects are completed or on schedule to be finished by October.

Most school officials and directors of other facilities, including Mike Fincher of the Calhoun County Schools, say they feel as prepared as possible for a chemical accident. But some, including Mike Rollins of Coosa Valley Youth Services, say they won't be adequately prepared.

The decision to start destruction of chemical weapons rests with Gov. Bob Riley, who must decide whether to sign off on a limited operations plan that allows the Army to go forward with operations this summer. Riley has not made public his date for signing the plan, but it could be as soon as next week.

The Army also needs a permit to operate the incinerator from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. ADEM officials notified Riley last week that the permit is close to being issued.

The protective equipment being installed purifies air through a process known as over-pressurization. It uses massive filters that would cleanse outside air contaminated with chemical agent. Then clean air is pumped through the filters into a designated room, typically an existing gym or cafeteria, where students can safely weather a chemical storm.

According to the interim operations plan, the Army initially only will destroy weapons from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., and will put off destroying gelled rockets until the protective measures are in place.

But engineers determined that C.E. Hanna's nearly 50-year-old gym could not be over-pressurized, so they developed plans for a new $1.08 million building to be equipped with the air filtration system.

Principal William Hutchings said he hopes the school can work out an agreement with authorities that would allow the school and community to use the facility for physical education or community meetings.

A similar facility is under construction behind the Anniston Police Department. Only the skeleton of the building has been erected so far, said Anniston Police Chief Johnny Dryden.

In the event of a chemical emergency, all police department personnel and jail inmates would be ushered to the over-pressurized facility.

Other facilities are being equipped with enhanced shelter-in-place equipment, which uses filters to re-circulate interior air while creating an airtight seal.

Installation of shelter-in-place equipment at the East Central Alabama United Cerebral Palsy and Children's Choice Daycare Center is about 90 percent complete, said director Linda Johns.

In the event of a chemical accident, 50 children, nine adults and up to 30 staff workers there will move to an airtight section of the building that is equipped with air filters.

The facility would be locked down, and no child could leave until emergency officials gave clearance.

Johns is to tell parents of the lockdown policy when they register children for day care. She also has plans to start monthly chemical accident drills in August.

Johns' concern is that her facility is not equipped with over-pressurization equipment.

"I'm a little concerned how well we are protected, but it is better than nothing," she said.

Installation of shelter-in-place equipment at the Calhoun County Jail also is complete. Transporting inmates to another facility would have been nearly impossible, said Calhoun County Sheriff Larry Amerson.

"Everything we've been promised has been completed," Amerson said. "I assume we're as ready as we can be."

Over-pressurization is complete at about half of the Calhoun County school facilities slated to receive the equipment, officials said.

Mike Fincher, director of safety and security for the county school system, has been preparing an emergency plan for several years for use in case of a chemical accident.

The school system began holding drills in January. The drills revealed one flaw in the system that is being addressed now. Students in a choir class couldn't hear the drill announcement over the public address system in their room.

Fincher requested strobe lights for all band and choir rooms, gyms and playgrounds to alert students of a drill or emergency. Those are being installed now.

The schools will not open their over-pressurized facilities after hours, although there is a plan for students who stay in an after-school care program. The facilities are not designed to hold all of the parents, students and players at a football game, for instance, Fincher said.

While some are satisfied with the progress of such preparations, Mike Rollins, executive director of Coosa Valley Youth Services, said that facility has not received the protective equipment originally promised. The facility houses up to 90 children in a detention facility, boot camp and group home.

"I don't feel like we have been treated fairly," Rollins said.

Efforts to reach Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager Denny Tutwiler for comment Wednesday night were unsuccessful.

Although Rollins and the agency's board pushed for over-pressurization, they agreed to receive enhanced shelter-in-place equipment instead on several conditions. Those included a generator and replacement of the facility's leaky roof, which Rollins feared could leak chemical agent.

Engineers agreed to consider replacing a portion of the roof, but did not replace the entire roof over the containment area. Also, the generator has a manual switch, rather than a more costly automatic one, he said.

Starting the generator during a chemical emergency would require a staff member to exit the building through three locked doors, flip several circuit breakers, go through several more locked doors, crank the generator by hand and then flip the manual switch, Rollins said.

"The time factor is unbelievable," Rollins said. "The possibility of error is unacceptable."

At one point, he said, he was promised an automatic switch in exchange for a smaller containment area. While plans went through with the smaller containment area, the automatic switch never was installed, he said.

Another problem arose during a staff training session. The air-sealing system did not function as expected. Rollins has not heard back from the Army Corps of Engineers or any other agency since the session months ago.

"We have no paperwork, no brochures, no training, nothing," Rollins said.

Rollins said Army engineers also promised to install charcoal filters, devices that would remove harmful chemicals in the air to a breathable level. Those never were installed, he said.

Later, all schools were approved for over-pressurization equipment. That meant that Anniston Middle School, across McClellan Blvd. from Coosa Valley, would have a higher level of protection in a chemical accident.

"They're operating eight or nine months a year, eight hours a day," Rollins said. "We're operating 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. We have staff, volunteers and visitors and don't have the protection of schools," he said.

The 40 2- through 5-year-olds at Heritage Christian Preschool in Oxford regularly practice for a chemical emergency. Director Wanda Rogers stands in a hallway, blowing a whistle to alert teachers and students of the drill. They proceed to the facility's gym, which has been fitted with over-pressurization equipment.

Rogers takes roll. In a real emergency, she would lock the gym doors and flip the switch to start the air filtration system. Then the staff and the children would wait out the emergency, armed with a stockpile of diapers and snacks, until the air was declared safe to breathe again.

When Rogers started telling parents about the equipment, some told her they had never considered the need for such a facility. "Some had never thought about it," she said.

The thought of a chemical accident doesn't scare Rogers, partly because she's lived near the depot for years. But having a nearby shelter helps, too. "I'm pleased with what they've done," she said. "They've given us a very safe facility to go to."