Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program Research Articles

Use of mock media in emergency management exercises: the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program experience.

Disasters of any kind attract significant attention from news media, and media play an important role in disaster response. In a US government program for hazardous materials preparedness, risk communication functions were incorporated into planning and are demonstrated during response exercises. To provide the best training and most realistic play, exercise controllers play the role of news media reporters-mock media-during these exercises. They attend news conferences, interview exercise players in the field, and make calls to participants. They produce news stories including television reports, newspaper articles, radio spots, blog entries, and social media messages. This allows exercise players to experience how their actions and statements would be represented in the media, more effectively mimicking the environment of a real event.

Using a simulation cell for exercise realism

A simulation cell or SimCell is an effective and flexible tool for control of emergency management exercises. It allows exercise participants to interact, via simulation, with a wide variety of nonplaying organizations and officials. Adapted from military application, the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) applied, developed, and refined the SimCell concept for emergency management exercises. It has now been incorporated into national exercise guidance through the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program, and has been used in a wide variety of national, regional, and local exercises. This article reviews development of the SimCell concept in CSEPP, briefly surveys current practice incorporating SimCells in exercise control, and offers practical lessons-learned and tips on using a SimCell to best advantage. Lessons learned include using a SimCell as an exercise-control hub; preparing inject material for exercise controllers as part of the Master Scenario Event List; laying the groundwork for success through exercise player and controller training; developing protocol for SimCell communications; and capturing feedback from SimCell controllers for inclusion in the exercise evaluation reporting process. The SimCell concept is flexible and can be applied to a variety of exercise types and through a variety of methods.

Quality Control of Meteorological Data for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program

Abstract The Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program Meteorological Support Project ensures the accuracy and reliability of data acquired by meteorological monitoring stations located at seven U.S. Army chemical weapons depots where storage and weapons destruction (demilitarization) activities are ongoing. The data are delivered in real time to U.S. Army plume dispersion models, which are used to plan for and respond to a potential accidental release of a chemical weapons agent. The project provides maintenance, calibration, and audit services for the instrumentation; collection, automated screening, visual inspection, and analysis of the data; and problem reporting and tracking to carefully control the data quality. The resulting high-quality meteorological data enhance emergency response modeling and public safety.

Preparing people with special needs for emergencies: The Alabama Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) model

A six-county region in northeastern Alabama put together one of the United States’ most progressive efforts to assist the special-needs population in preparing for and protecting themselves against emergencies. The region is host to a US Army depot that stores and incinerates an aging chemical weapons stockpile, the release of chemical weapons agent from which could pose a threat to the surrounding area. Almost a decade ago, the counties collectively agreed to provide their most vulnerable residents—those with physical, medical, or mental disabilities or those lacking transportation who have no family, neighbors, or friends nearby—with emergency preparedness assistance equal to or greater than that provided to the general population. Due to their immediate proximity to the depot, two counties faced the greatest challenge in providing “maximum protection” to their residents. These counties made substantial adjustments to the protective-equipment distribution process and to the public training process for those residents with special needs. Self-sufficiency is sustained through repeated, empathetic contact between emergency management personnel and the special-needs population with additional specialized resources deployed on a proactive basis throughout the region.

10.2172/885772

The Reutter/Wade analysis (Reutter and Wade 1994) was undertaken to improve the technical basis for assessing battlefield casualties from deployment of chemical weapons containing nerve and sulfur mustard agent payloads. The analysis sought to utilize available data and modern, accepted, toxicological methods to develop agent-specific casualty estimators for U.S. military forces. The authors also estimated qualitative confidence levels for each estimator based on the quality and quantity of the data. For percutaneous and inhalation vapor exposures, the report estimated cumulative exposures necessary to achieve lethal (LCt{sub 50}), severe (ED{sub 50}), threshold (percutaneous vapor only, ECt{sub 50}), or mild (nasal vapor, ECt{sub 50}) effects. For percutaneous liquid exposures, the report estimated lethal (LD{sub 50}) and severe (ED{sub 50}) doses. The vapor exposures necessary to achieve mild ocular effects were also estimated. This report examines potential implications of the Reutter/Wade study for off-site or civilian emergency planning in the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) and summarizes principal findings of the Reutter/Wade report, the National Academy review of Reutter/Wade, and the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA) expert panel assessment of Reutter/Wade casualty estimators. This report also identifies how estimates of human health effects are used in CSEPP, organized by functional planning topics. Finally CSEPP casualty estimators are considered in light of the Reutter/Wade work.

SARA Title III and Community Hazards Planning: The Case of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program

This paper provides an overview and analysis of the impact of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986's Title III provisions (SARA Title III or Title III) on community participation, risk communication, and other elements of effective emergency preparedness for response to accidental hazardous chemical releases. It employs the U.S. Army's Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) as a case study and applies conclusions from this case to other programs. The employment of SARA Title by CSEPP exemplifies recent efforts by emergency planners to integrate disaster research theory into the practice of emergency management. This integration has occurred in three specific areas: (1) disseminating risk information to the public; (2) enhancing intergovernmental coordination; and (3) identifying needed resources and legal reforms for ensuring that emergency response and recovery decisions can be made in a timely manner—free of postemergency litigation.