CHECK IT OUT!!! -- new Y2K TRAINING for FIREFIGHTERS/HAZMAT! A must-read!!

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New Y2K training materials, slides, case studies, etc. from the International Association of Firefighters. This is an excellent resource from a very reputable organization. These are the men and women who will be on the frontlines of any Y2K-related incidents (from fires resulting from home storage of gasoline to toxic releases resulting from process control failures). Please check it out at:

http://www.iaffhazmat.org/html/y2k__preparedness.html

Why not mail a copy of the Y2K Awareness slides to your local firestation? Or to a small chemical company in your neighborhood?

-- d (d@d.com), October 26, 1999

Answers

They're finally getting around to it ... first responders ...

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 26, 1999.

Or to your local newspaper editor...

-- (normally@ease.notnow), October 26, 1999.

good idea.

-- d (d@d.com), October 26, 1999.

I'm a retired FD Lieutenant and my last berth was on Rescue One. When I got my wood-burning stove application in August from my former FD, they chuckled. The building department did the same.

I've also given pages on info to the local newspaper and as of today, they have not published one article on Y2K. I also asked the FD Chief if E911 was ok and he said the phone company was taking care of it.

I hope you have better luck in your cities/towns!

-- Cant Say (Chicken@NoWay.com), October 26, 1999.


Sorry kiddos,

Still nursing burns from Decker's Weekend Wrestlemania post.

Haven't checked out the link yet, d. I hope {more like a fantasy at this point} that for all our sakes we still have time for training to get out to the rank and file.

-- flora (***@__._), October 26, 1999.



d,

Thank you very much for the link!!! I've been trying for months to get my family up in Chicago to listen. Fortunately, one of my cousins is a firefighter and paramedic - perhaps this link will get him to wake up and the others will follow. I love them too much to see them get hurt because they don't want to listen.

Thanks again!

Deb

-- Deb (vmcclell@columbus.rr.com), October 26, 1999.


Deb - hope it was useful. Please post to this thread if you get any positive feedback from your cousin.

-- d (d@d.com), October 26, 1999.

deb-

Ok, maybe a short math exercise will help them to GI - from below:

If of course, the ACTUAL figures don't deviate far from the stated, then;

"4.1% of 66,000" = 2706 chances for a catastrophic event, which leaves "An estimated 85 million Americans live within five miles of one of the 66,000 sites that handle hazardous chemicals." asking the question "What is that awful smell?"

Those that WILL fail bear a striking resemblence to those pesky bad chips embeded in billions of systems. Who knows which ones are which?

Gee, I think something already stinks, don't you?

For fair use educational/research purposes only;

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, October 21, 1999 CONTACTS: Sen. Bennett - Don Meyer 202-224-5224 Sen. Dodd - Unice Lieberman 202-224-5224 Chem. Safety Board - Phil Cogan 202-261-7620 Tex. Engineering Sta. - Mike Downey 409-845-5524

STUDY SAYS SMALL CHEMICAL BUSINESSES NOT Y2K READY, BENNETT, DODD URGE EPA, FEMA TO HELP PREPARE COMMUNITIES

Report available at http://y2k.senate.gov/documents/sme_chemrpt.pdf

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, and Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), Committee Vice-Chair, today released new data - first referenced in the Committee's September 22 A100-Day Report - that provides an unprecedented look at the lack of Y2K readiness among small and medium-sized chemical businesses.

"In the past, we have had very little information about small chemical handlers and manufacturers, and the assumption was made that they were not prepared for Y2K, said Bennett. "To a large degree, that assumption has been confirmed by this in-depth, independent report."

Based on the new findings, Bennett and Dodd said they are urging Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) head James Lee Witt and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Carol Browner to alert State Emergency Managers, State Emergency Response Commissions and Local Emergency Planning Committees.

"Ensuring the health and safety of our citizens must be our number one Y2K priority", said Dodd. "While the probability of a Y2K-related disruption is low, the potential harm even one chemical accident can cause means we must be especially vigilant."

Funded by the Nathan Cummings Foundation and prepared by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station's (TEES) Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center headquartered at Texas A&M University in College Station, the report conducted a scientific survey of firms with 200 or fewer employees in New Jersey, Kansas, California and Texas. Its results include the following:

86.5 percent of firms surveyed are not currently prepared for Y2K. 85.6 percent have not coordinated emergency plans with local/community officials. A majority have not linked contingency planning to community emergency services such as police, fire and rescue, or hospitals. 79 percent said they had never before been surveyed about Y2K preparedness. A majority of respondents do not belong to industry organizations or trade associations, which have been the primary gatherers of Y2K preparedness information in the private sector. 4.1 percent said Y2K presents Apotential for a catastrophic event.

In addition, the survey said that small and medium-sized chemical firms are, in general, "far-removed from technology advances, basic information and know-how, and access to technical and financial resources".

"This is the case for many small businesses outside the chemical industry as well," said Bennett. "And while small business Y2K preparedness is important for our economy, few small businesses in other industries carry the same public safety concerns with regard to their Y2K preparedness."

Dr. M. Sam Mannan, the O'Connor center director and associate professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M, conducted the study with project manager Charles Isdale.

"We suggest that special emphasis be given to contingency planning and communications issues, given the lack of preparation time remaining," said Mannan. "Sharing contingency planning strategies and coordination with local responders is highly recommended."

"Plant managers, workers and emergency responders must redouble their efforts to coordinate contingency planning and implementation," said U.S. Chemical Safety Board member, Dr. Jerry Poje. "The time to apply an ounce of prevention is running out."

A March Chemical Safety Board report noted a lack of information about small and medium-sized chemical businesses, which the board expected had taken "less than appropriate" measures to prepare for Y2K. Also, during a Senate field hearing in New Jersey in May, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration came under fire for Y2K public education efforts with the chemical industry that Senator Bennett deemed "woefully inadequate".

The Committee's "100-day Y2K report" released in September also cited a scarcity of information about small chemical enterprises, and gave the industry a below-average rating for emergency planning.

At the Committee's urging, the White House Y2K Council held its first chemical industry roundtable on August 30, which was intended to produce government and industry recommendations for millennium preparations. At the time, industry groups attempting to survey small and medium-sized enterprises were encountering significant roadblocks in gathering information from their members.

"Now that we have more information on the chemical industry, individuals and communities can take reasonable steps to prepare for Y2K," said Bennett. "I would urge community emergency planners and local chemical firms to work together toward ensuring a smooth and safe transition to the new year."

"Time is running out, but it's still not too late if these firms act now," said Dodd. "Developing viable Y2K contingency plans in conjunction with state and local officials must be a top priority in the chemical industry."

U.S. chemical manufacturing, storage and transportation is a $392 billion industry. An estimated 85 million Americans live within five miles of one of the 66,000 sites that handle hazardous chemicals.

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-- Michael (mikeymac@uswest.net), October 27, 1999.


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