Dangerous developments, all the recent chemical accidents.

"ERNS database goes down due to Y2K problem. The main U.S. EPA database for reporting chemical spills, the Emergency Response and Notification Systems, was quietly unplugged at the end of 1999 because it was not Y2K-compliant. The ERNS Web page carried no information on this, nor apparently was any public announcement made. EPA staffers told the Center for Y2K and Society that they are working on a new system, tentatively known as 'ERNS 2000', that they hope will be ready in mid-January. Until a new system is up, EPA regional offices and emergency responders will have to rely on the reporting system maintained at the National Response Center. First response to chemical spills thus may not be significantly affected by the loss of ERNS, but the 10 EPA Regions will no longer have any ability to modify the data in the accident reports as new information becomes available (e.g., if a spill initially reported as 10 gallons of gasoline turns out to have been 10,000 gallons)." -- Y2K Center staff, Jan 6, 2000

We were forewarned on Oct 21,'99: "Most Small Chemical Plants Surveyed Not Y2K-Ready; Temporary Shutdown Urged to Minimize Chemical Accident Risks..."

The Senate Press Release [broken link removed]
The Texas A&M Report [broken link removed]

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), January 07, 2000

Answers

Url corrections; EPA Warning - Y2k

Sorry. Those were broken links I had found. The Texas A&M report leads to this article: "Readiness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises" at http://y2k.senate.gov/documents/sme_chemrpt.pdf (This is a .PDF file, Acrobat Reader needed)

~~~~~

The following advice/alert was posted on the United States Environmental Protection Agency 2000 (EPA) website:

CEPPO's Y2K ADVICE Be sure to consider the impact of Year 2000 (Y2K) related date changes on your facility. The Y2K "bug" could affect your computer or process control systems. It could also affect water and electric supply, communications, and deliveries to or from customers. Make sure that possible disruptions do not lead to an accidental release.

EPA/CEPPO ALERT - Prevent Year 2000 Chemical Emergencies (February 1999)

This alert is being issued to prevent Year 2000 Chemical Emergencies. At any size company, the Y2K issue could threaten worker and community safety and health. It could cause complete shutdowns of machinery or safety-related systems or could generate erroneous information (e.g. wrong temperature) which could lead an operator to take unsafe or improper steps. For chemical process industries, the Y2K problem could increase the potential for process shutdowns and accidental chemical releases.

This alert raises awareness about the Y2K problem and offers a strategy to address the problem. However, given that the Year 2000 is approaching soon, facilities should dedicate increasingly more efforts on developing contingency plans to prepare for unanticipated events like those above. Contingency planning is especially important for facilities that have not started or have made little progress in assessing and remediating the Y2K problem.

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), January 07, 2000.

Before you get a word in edgewise, kindly take a look at this report. ;-)

I realize that not All incidences could be attributed to Y2k malfunctions.

Most recent chemical plant accidents (USA)

January 5, 2000 - 3:00 PM - Columbus, OH..... Chemicals.....Hundreds Evacuate VA Medical Clinic, Seven Taken to Hospital Due to Carbon Monoxide Leak

January 5, 2000 - Davey, FL..... Chemicals..... Anhydrous Ammonia Leak at Ice Plant; Nearby Resident Dies, Eight Workers Exposed January 5, 2000 - Upper Darby, PA..... Chemicals, Explosion, Fire..... Fire Destroys Chemical Plant; Firefighters Unsure of Chemicals Involved

January 2, 2000 - 9:00 AM - Diamond Springs, CA..... Chemicals, Fire..... Thermostat Apparently Malfunctions at Gold-Plating Facility; Fire, Evacuation Result January 2, 2000 - White Hall, AR..... Chemicals..... Worker Suffers Serious Burns from White Phosphorus Handling Accident at Army Arsenal

January 1, 2000 - Umatilla, OR..... Chemicals.....Trace Amount of Nerve Gas Discovered Leaking from Army Weapons

December 31, 1999 - 11:45 AM - Hamilton, OH..... Chemicals, explosion, Fire..... Chemical Warehouse Fire Sends Chlorine Fumes Into Air

December 30, 1999 - 3:30 PM - Luverne, MN..... Chemicals.....Workers Evacuated from Poultry Plant, 51 Injured, Four Hospitalized

December 30, 1999 - 12:45 PM - Tewksbury, MA..... Chemicals.....Three Injured in Chemical Spill at Water Treatment Plant

December 29, 1999 - Hallam, NE..... Explosion, Fire..... Two Killed in Blast at Nebraska Power Plant

December 29, 1999 - Bowling Green, KY..... Chemicals..... State Police Officer Treated for Chemical Inhalation Following Chemical Theft Investigation December 29, 1999 - Bridger, MT..... Chemicals, Explosion, Fire..... Small Montana Town Rocked by Chemical Explosion

December 27, 1999 - 9:00 PM - Des Moines, IA..... Chemicals..... Carbon Monoxide Leak Sends 15 at Downtown Des Moines Business to Hospital

December 26, 1999 - 1:30 PM - Front Royal, VA..... Chemicals..... Propane Leak Sickens Dozens, Forces Shopping Center Evacuation

December 26, 1999 - 2:00 AM - Wadesboro, NC..... Fire..... Two Killed When Tank Truck Overturns At Gas Station and Fire Engulfs Van

December 24, 1999 - Chicago, IL..... Chemicals, Explosion, Fire..... Explosion, Fire at Chicago Area Refinery

* Why aren't we hearing about these mishaps on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, and other major tv news networks?

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), January 07, 2000.

Re: Emergency Response and Notification Systems unplugged, non-Y2k compliant

Original article: (inadvertently deleted)

"ERNS database goes down due to Y2K problem. The main U.S. EPA database for reporting chemical spills, the Emergency Response and Notification Systems, was quietly unplugged at the end of 1999 because it was not Y2K-compliant. The ERNS Web page carried no information on this, nor apparently was any public announcement made. EPA staffers told the Center for Y2K and Society that they are working on a new system, tentatively known as 'ERNS 2000', that they hope will be ready in mid-January. Until a new system is up, EPA regional offices and emergency responders will have to rely on the reporting system maintained at the National Response Center. First response to chemical spills thus may not be significantly affected by the loss of ERNS, but the 10 EPA Regions will no longer have any ability to modify the data in the accident reports as new information becomes available (e.g., if a spill initially reported as 10 gallons of gasoline turns out to have been 10,000 gallons)." ." -- Y2K Center staff, Jan 6, 2000, http://www.y2kcenter.org/resources/glitches/index.html

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), January 07, 2000.

Our original October 21, 1999 press release, "MOST SMALL CHEMICAL PLANTS SURVEYED NOT Y2K-READY", can be found athttp://www.y2kcenter. org/news/1021pr.html.

The Senate press release can be found at http://www.senate.gov/~y2k/news/pr991021.htm.

The Texas A&M report can be found at http://y2k.senate.gov/documents/sme_chemrpt.pdf [in PDF format].

-- Philip Bogdonoff / Center for Y2K and Society

-- Philip Bogdonoff (pbogdonoff@y2kcenter.org), January 07, 2000.

Philip -

Thanks much for reposting the links that "I" broke.

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), January 08, 2000.