Thursday, May 22, 2003

Utah Receives FEMA Grant The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that Utah would be one of 12 states to each receive nearly $250,000 to support development of hazard mitigation plans meeting FEMA guidelines. These funds represent about 75% of the anticipated cost of these plans.  Such plans are aimed at controlling response to primarily natural hazards. [FEMA Announcement]  10:11:04 AM

Chemical Plants Redux Finding Offsite Consequence Analysis (OCA) data dealing with word-case and alternative release scenarios for chemical plants is problematic. The EPA offers a Vulnerable Zone Indicator System, which is somewhat misleading. It says Most of us have driven past an industrial plant and wondered what was happening inside. Did you ever think to yourself: I wonder what they're making in there. Could they be using hazardous chemicals? What if there is an accident...The Vulnerable Zone Indicator System allows you to quickly find out if an address of interest to you could be affected by a chemical accident. The implication seems to be that filling out this form will reveal significant information about any possible chemical threat. A sample submission to this form brought the following information buried in a return email: Results: The EPA's Vulnerable Zone Indicator System shows that the location you submitted is likely to be in at least one RMP facility's vulnerable zone. One is then directed to a page which notes that actual information about which chemical plant and the nature of the danger is not available over the internet. Other options on this page: 1) ask someone at a regulated facility; they may choose to share this information. (Of course you would have to know what the plant is first). 2) Executive summaries of RMPs (Risk Management Plans) which leads to a dead link (and again, in any case, knowledge of the plant involved would be necessary).  3) Federal Reading Rooms (Utah's link leads to a dead page). 4) Utah's State Emergency Response Commission Contacts (at http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/serclist.htm#ut, and 5) right back around to the Vulnerable Zone Indicator System. Apparently, access to these RMP reports has been limited since 9/11, although proposed EPA restrictions on this information date back to April of 2000. [Vulnerable Zone Indicator System] [Washington Post Article 2000] 9:52:55 AM