LOCAL 

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Saturday, May 08, 2004

Emergency test bugs said minor, ‘fixable’

By JEANNINE KORANDA of the East Oregonian
jkoranda@eastoregonian.com


PENDLETON — Despite a few glitches and a number of firsts, communities surrounding the Umatilla Chemical Depot passed all of the performance measures laid out for Wednesday’s simulated chemical emergency.

The annual drill was the first time new systems like the 450 megahertz radio, Incident Response Information (IRIS) and wireless Internet systems were used. It’s also expected to be the final test before incineration of the 3,700 tons of chemical weapons stored at the depot begins, possibly by July.

The 450 MHz radio system, which allows for more people to use the system simultaneously, proved practical and useful, said Keith Alleman, systems analyst for Innovative Emergency Management, which ran the drill.

He praised the innovative uses of technology developed by the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program in Umatilla and Morrow counties.

Among the minor problems noted in the review were a problem with cross contamination at a Washington state decontamination site and a miscommunication that meant southbound traffic on Interstate 82 at Locust Grove in Washington was not closed on time.

“A number of the issues were fixable and solutions have been identified,” Alleman said. A look back at other drills conducted in the area show consistent improvement over time, he added.

Wednesday’s exercise also involved the Red Cross for the first time.

In another first, Morrow rather than Umatilla County was responsible for activating the alert system, which went well, Boardman Fire Chief Mark Rogelstad said.

“It just proves the system works well,” he said.

In the event of an emergency, Umatilla and Morrow counties have up to six minutes to activate the alert systems. It took just three minutes Wednesday.

Wednesday’s test also incorporated drills with 28 schools in the area, although evaluations focused on the three schools that would have been in the simulated plume’s path: AC Houghton and Columbia Middle schools in Irrigon and Paterson Elementary in Washington state.

Emergency plans call for the two Irrigon schools to shelter in place, which was accomplished in plenty of time.

“They were protected from the very first molecule of agent, the fastest traveling molecule of agent wouldn’t have gotten there yet,” Alleman said.

The drill did not go off without a hitch, however. The primary tone alert radio at Hermiston High School never sounded, although the school ran through the exercise at the appropriate time.

Bill Howard, the CSEPP logistics officer for Umatilla County, said that two of the school’s three radios did go off, and in the case of an actual emergency the school would have been alerted by the sirens directly outside the building.

The tone alert radio did not work due to the building’s metal shell, which blocked the signal. To fix the problem, Howard has installed a larger antenna.

Desert View Elementary in Hermiston also had a false fire alarm right before the CSEPP drill, so students had to evacuate the building. In an actual CSEPP emergency, the incident commander would have determined what action the school would take, CSEPP spokeswoman Cheryl Seigal said.

“It might have been confusing for the kids ... but the school did the right thing and the kids reacted fairly well,” said Hermiston Fire Chief Jim Stearns, noting they followed the fire drill procedures and then performed well in the CSEPP drill.

The Hermiston Fire Department also had to respond to a commercial structure fire at about 4 a.m. before the CSEPP drill commenced, a semi truck rollover during the drill, and three ambulance calls during the drill. In all cases the department was able to handle the unexpected events.

The simulation focused for the first time on moving chemical weapons into the plant for incineration. In the exercise, two pallets of M-55 GB Rockets were being loaded into a transportation container when there was an explosion.

The test involved five counties, two states and several state, county and federal agencies working together.

About a year ago the chemical depot in Anniston, Ala., was at the same stage Umatilla is now, going through its final drill before incineration. Nelson Bates, director for Talladega County Emergency Management Agency, said public confidence climbed when Anniston did well in its final drill. Now that incineration is proceeding with no major incidents, there seem to be no serious concerns in surrounding communities, Bates said.