LATEST NEWS
Thursday,
October 07, 2004
Umatilla County
daycares to receive air filters
By AMYJO BROWN
of the East Oregonian
ajbrown@eastoregonian.com
PENDLETON — About 15 day
care facilities in the west end of Umatilla County will receive portable
air recirculation filters, extending the time staff and children can remain
indoors if chemical agent is released at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.
The purchase of 30 filters for the limited population was approved
Wednesday by Umatilla County Commissioners, at a total cost of $12,050.
“It seems like the right thing to do,” said Commissioner Emile Holeman.
The approval was given, however, contingent on the creation of a
strict policy outlining why the daycare facilities are being singled out,
and what other groups might reasonably appeal for the equipment.
“It needs to be emphasized that this is a special population who
we are trying to help,” Holeman said, adding that he was concerned about
sending a mixed message to county residents.
In August, the commissioners refused to supply more than 1,000 of
the filters to residents in Umatilla and Hermiston, an area at risk from
a potential depot accident.
The residents in those areas already have shelter-in-place kits,
the most effective protective measure, according to Meg Capps, emergency
manager for Umatilla County. The filters would be an additional layer of
protection and are designed with a special carbon filter that could capture
vapors of chemical agent if the deadly material was released from the depot’s
stockpile.
The commissioners said then that the reduced risk from the filters
was not significant enough to warrant spending more than half a million dollars
on purchasing the filters.
This recent decision is different, said Dennis Doherty, chairman
of the board of commissioners.
According to Bill Howard, logistics officer for Umatilla County’s
Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, if there were an accident
involving chemical agent, residents would be asked to leave their homes as
soon as the outside air was clear. That’s because vapors could build up inside,
he said, and CSEPP would recommend that residents air out their homes after
an event.
In facilities such as the day care institutions, organizing the children
and getting them outside might take longer, Howard said. The filters, if
used, would give them about 30 minutes more to evacuate.
The CSEPP staff did not propose to include distribution of the filters
to individuals with special needs in private homes.
“If we are going to provide an extra layer of benefit, we looked
at whether it could easily be used,” said Cheryl Seigal, spokesperson for
CSEPP. “If you are a citizen with difficulty performing basic functions,
would this indeed benefit you?”
She said CSEPP staff were concerned that the weight of the filters,
30 pounds, would make their use difficult for such individuals.
The county commissioners requested that CSEPP write the policy for
distributing the filters. That policy will come before the commissioners
for approval.
The 30 filters will likely be distributed by January.