News

Illegal production of methamphetamine in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. The Office of National Drug Control Policy estimates the economic cost to society of meth use in this country between $16.2 billion and $48.3 billion annually.

What happens to the homes that were used to create math once law enforcements shuts down the operation? Lethal chemicals seep into the walls of these homes, leaching out over time, exposing new residents to all the toxins. Meth Lab Cleanup, a national training and abatement company, estimates there are currently 2.5 million meth-contaminated homes in the United States. For every 10 homes used for meth production, experts say, authorities uncover just one.

Many of these homes are sold at deep discounts. And in many states, realtors aren’t required to disclose to potential buyers that the home they are about to purchase once housed an illegal meth lab and is loaded with toxins. Chemical residue from production of the drug seeps into the walls and insulation. That great “fixer-upper” just may be hiding all kinds of deadly chemicals that could make you and your family extremely sick.

So how do you find out if the house you want to call home was once the location of meth lab?

• Visit the Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Clandestine Laboratory Register. This list contains the addresses for all homes discovered by law enforcement that contained meth labs. The searchable database has addresses arranged by state and city.
• Talk to the neighbors in the area and find out what kind of history the property has.
• Visit the local police department and inquire about any arrests or issues involving the property.
• Buy a test kit for the property. The cost to clean a former meth house runs anywhere from $5,000 to $150,000. The test kit to determine if there are dangerous chemicals from its production costs about $50.

Emergency Film Group’s Response to Illicit Drug Labs DVD provides training for emergency personnel who may encounter a clandestine drug lab during routine calls or who may be involved in taking down a lab. An ideal resource for law enforcement, hazmat teams, EMS and other emergency personnel.

A recent study released by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), endorsed by the Obama administration and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), recommends guidelines for first responders entering active shooter incident “warm zones.”

The guidelines are based on plans that were developed by the Hartford Consensus, a group of physicians and emergency response officials from the FBI, the Navy, the Dallas SWAT team and elsewhere.

Traditionally, EMS and other medical responders have to wait to enter an active shooter scene until law enforcement has completely cleared it. This delay in being able to respond to the injured frequently leads to victims dying from injuries that are treatable – such uncontrolled bleeding, collapsed lungs, and airway obstructions.

But the new guidelines recommend adopting procedures similar to ones that the military uses in combat – allowing medics quickly onto the battlefield to begin immediate treatment, thereby saving lives.

As active shooter incidents have become more frequent over the past few years, law enforcement has changed and developed policies and strategies on how they respond to these events. Many in the field say it’s also critical for fire and emergency medical services to also change their procedures in these events.

The plan calls for setting up stations in “warm zones” and also recommends increased use of tourniquets to stop bleeding. Widespread training of law enforcement and the general public of the use of tourniquets is also highly recommended. FEMA’s report can be found here. . . .

Emergency Film Group’s Active Shooter: Rapid Response is a safety training DVD program for organization which may be involved in the response to a mass shooting. The program contains a substantial EMS section. More information about this program can be found here. . .

In a previous post, Emergency Film Group covered the details of the safety alert issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding the potential high volatility of the crude oil coming from the Bakken oil shale patch in Montana and North Dakota. According to the agency, the crude, which is shipped by rail across the U.S. and Canada, could be more flammable than traditional oil. (See story here).

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has also issued a safety alert about crude oil being transported from the Bakken region. The PHMSA alert states:

Based upon preliminary inspections conducted after recent rail derailments in North Dakota, Alabama and Lac-Megantic, Quebec involving Bakken crude oil, PHMSA is reinforcing the requirement to properly test, characterize, classify, and where appropriate sufficiently degasify hazardous materials prior to and during transportation. This advisory is a follow-up to the PHMSA and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) joint safety advisory published November 20, 2013 [78 FR 69745]. As stated in the November Safety Advisory, it is imperative that offerors properly classify and describe hazardous materials being offered for transportation. 49 CFR 173.22. As part of this process, offerors must ensure that all potential hazards of the materials are properly characterized.

Proper characterization will identify properties that could affect the integrity of the packaging or present additional hazards, such as corrosivity, sulfur content, and dissolved gas content. These characteristics may also affect classification. PHMSA stresses to offerors the importance of appropriate classification and packing group (PG) assignment of crude oil shipments, whether the shipment is in a cargo tank, rail tank car or other mode of transportation. Emergency responders should remember that light sweet crude oil, such as that coming from the Bakken region, is typically assigned a packing group I or II. The PGs mean that the material’s flashpoint is below 73 degrees Fahrenheit and, for packing group I materials, the boiling point is below 95 degrees Fahrenheit. This means the materials pose significant fire risk if released from the package in an accident.

Read the entire PHMSA alert here. . . .   

Smoke rises from derailed oil train cars in western Alabama on Nov. 8, 2013.

Emergency Film Group’s Crude Oil Spill Response Package provides comprehensive training for emergency personnel to effectively respond to these dangerous incidents. More information about this package can be found here. . .

Multiple incidents of explosive accidents have prompted the U.S. Department of Transportation to issue a safety alert warning the pubic, emergency responders and shippers about the potential high volatility of the crude oil coming from the Bakken oil shale patch in Montana and North Dakota. According to the agency, the crude, which is shipped by rail across the U.S. and Canada, could be more flammable than traditional oil.

Officials say the oil coming from the Bakken's oil patch is lighter than traditional heavy crudes, making it prone to ignite at lower temperatures. Lighter crudes contain more natural gas, giving it a much lower flash point - the temperature at which vapors given off by the oil can ignite.

Earlier this month, in New Brunswick, Canada, a train carrying the crude oil in one of its cars and propane in three others, derailed in and exploded. The fire that ensued burned for days and residents needed to be evacuated.

Another incident occurred in December, near Casselton, N.D. when a train carrying the crude crashed into another train which had derailed. The crash triggered a massive explosion and witnesses described seeing a “giant fireball” upon impact. Responders arrived on the scene to find 10 of the 106 cars on the oil train fully engulfed in flames. The second train, which was transporting grain, did not catch fire.

No one was injured in the accident, but because of the toxic fumes being released by the fire, the 2400 residents of the town were evacuated to Fargo, about 25 miles away.

In November, a train transporting oil coming from North Dakota derailed and exploded near Aliceville, Ala. There were no injuries but an estimated 749,000 gallons of oil spilled from 26 tanker cars.

In July, a train transporting the oil derailed in Lac Megantic, Quebec, causing a massive explosion. Forty-seven people were killed and more than 30 buildings in the downtown area were destroyed.  About 1.6 million gallons of crude oil being transported was spilled.

Lac Megantic, Quebec explosion.

No explosions or fires in the latest incident which occurred last week when a train carrying the crude oil derailed over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. The area where the derailment occurred is near the University of Pennsylvania. There are also three hospitals and a major highway close by. There were no injuries and no oil was spilled when the more than 100 car train left the tracks.

The Bakken oil boom has created another boom – the number of train cars that transport the product. In 2009, there were just 100,000 tanker cars which delivered the crude oil throughout the country. But that number quadrupled in 2013 to 400,000.

Industry experts say the dangers of crude have long been underappreciated and need to be communicated to the hundreds of counties and cities that have seen a surge in crude oil trains.

Emergency Film Group’s Crude Oil Spill Response Package provides comprehensive training for emergency personnel to effectively respond to these dangerous incidents. More information about this package can be found here. . .

The results of a new study by Dräger and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) reveal that that more than half of safety experts in the oil and gas industry are unaware of new hydrogen sulfide (H2S) exposure limits set by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).

Hydrogen Sulfide, an odorless, colorless gas, is the leading cause of death among gas inhalation-related fatalities in the workplace. The guidelines recommended by the ACGIH include:

• Threshold Limit Value (TLV): 1 ppm
• Time Weighted Average (TWA): 1.4 mg/m3
• Short Term Exposure Level (STEL): 5 ppm, 7.0mg/m3

Other results of the survey included:

• Seventy-six percent of the safety experts who were aware of the new standards felt - despite the increased safety results from using them - no urgency to adopt them.
• There is a great variation of alarm levels used by companies: 39 perenct use 10 ppm and 15 ppm; 35 percent use 5 ppm and 10 ppm; and 15 percent use 10 ppm and 20 ppm.
• Of the companies surveyed who haven’t adopted the guidelines, only 24 percent have adjusted their H2S limits within the last three years and only 34 percent anticipate adjusting their current H2S limits in the near future.
• Most of those survey believe 1 ppm is important very few think of those surveyed believe that current instruments can obtain accurate readings. The majority felt that the 1ppm resolution will cause an increase in false readings.

Emergency Film Group’s Hydrogen Sulfide safety training video teaches workers and responders how to protect themselves against the hazards of this toxic gas. More information about this program can be found here. . .

An analysis of chemical incidents in elementary and secondary schools conducted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), found that 62 percent of these incidents resulted from human error (i.e., mistakes in the use or handling of a substance), and 30 percent of incidents resulted in at least one acute injury.

Proper handling of chemicals is critical for the protection of students and facility in schools. Keeping an inventory of chemicals, correctly storing and labeling these products, as well as proper disposal are all required for safety. Education and training of the possible risks and hazards of chemicals needs to be provided to those who will be handling these dangerous chemicals.

Damage to a classroom in Fresno, CA after a chemical fire.

In their analysis of these incidents, the ATSDR found that the majority were caused by one of the following:

• Improper chemical storage
• Unsafe handling practices
• Improper application of standard workplace procedures
• Equipment failure (i.e., broken containers, hoses, or pipes)

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) recently released a video safety message, After the Rainbow, that focuses on potential dangers in high school chemistry laboratories. The message features Calais Weber, an accident survivor, who on January 23, 2006, at age 15 was burned over 40 percent of her body during a chemistry demonstration performed by her teacher at a prestigious boarding school she attended in Ohio.

What steps can schools take to prevent these accidents? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers these four strategies to help prevent chemical accidents:

1.  Identify places where chemical health and safety incidents might occur on your school’s campus such as:

• Store rooms
• Custodial closets
• Kitchens
• Nurses’ offices
• Swimming pools
• Science and art classrooms
• Motor pools (bus barns)
• Vocational and agricultural shops

2.  Develop and follow appropriate health and safety training and worksite practices for staff/students who use chemicals:

• Store hazardous chemicals securely, in well-ventilated and lit areas; and, in tightly closed, properly labeled containers.
• Avoid the combination of incompatible chemicals (For example, do not store alphabetically).
• Avoid the use of flammable chemicals near open ignition sources (i.e. furnaces and space heaters) or damaged electrical outlets and wiring.
• Perform periodic maintenance checks on vessels and equipment that contain hazardous chemicals (Look for unexpected crystallization in bottles, or bulging containers).

3.  Develop and distribute campus-specific contingency plans; then, train staff and students on emergency practices and procedures for chemical events, such as:

• Practice evacuation and “shelter-in-place” drills with faculty
• Compile chemical event notebooks with emergency checklists and phone contacts, chemical inventories and material safety data sheets (MSDS).
• Designate lead staff to serve as monitors who would be responsible for making sure everyone under their charge follows the appropriate evacuation procedures.

4.    Develop, communicate and implement preventative policies and practices with chemicals on school grounds to:

• Ensure that proper ventilation practices are considered when chemicals like pesticides, paints, and floor strippers are applied.
• Identify and properly dispose of waste or derelict chemicals that have been in storage for an unknown period of time.
• Enforce policies on improper possession or use of chemicals when observed on school grounds; common items may include liquid mercury, pepper spray, or cans of spray paint.
• Substitute equipment that does not use mercury when replacement purchases are made; such as thermometers, blood pressure cuffs, or electrical equipment.

Additional resources for schools from the EPA can be found on their website, including the Healthy School Environments Assessment Tool and the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Kit.

Emergency Film Group’s Chemical Safety Training Package teaches about the hazards of chemicals. This package contains two DVDs, Introduction to Hazardous Chemicals and Fun with Chemistry. It’s ideal for any first responder who may encounter chemicals in the course of their work or anyone who works around chemicals. More information about the package can be found here. . .

A new report written by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism’s (START) in response to the recent theft in Mexico of a truck that was transporting radioactive material, concludes there are “substantial disincentives” for any type of collaboration between Islamic terrorist groups and Latin American-based transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).

For the past two years, START has been working on a project to determine what the potential alliances are of these two groups and if they could work together in order to  obtain radiological and nuclear materials.

The organization concluded that Islamic terrorists would have little reason to trust the TCOs, given the great differences in worldviews. There are several reasons cited in the report that TCO’s would be hesitant to work with Islamic terrorist group, with one of the main reasons being profit-motivation that drives most of these TCOs. The risks involved to the group’s safety, as well as retaliation from authorities, are other factors that inhibit this collaboration.  

Recovered cobalt-60.

Although the recent theft of the truck carrying cobalt-60 wasn’t connected to terrorist activities, it did send up red flags over the potential consequences if this activity were to take place. However, according to the report, “Although unfounded, the recent incident in Mexico stirred concern regarding the potential for criminal organizations to acquire, smuggle and sell radiological materials, possibly to terrorist organizations. While there are many potential intersections between TCOs and terrorists, ranging from hybrid organizations to ideologically- or kinship-based collaboration, the scenario that seems to be of most concern to policymakers is TCOs utilizing their existing pathways and infrastructures for smuggling drugs, human beings and other cargo into the United States in order to provide a ‘delivery service’ for terrorists to smuggle RN weapons or materials into the United States.”

START says that although there is no indication that TCOs and Islamic terrorist groups are working together, there is “significant evidence of collaboration in drug trafficking and the transportation of members of terrorist organizations in and out of Central and South America.”

The report shared these conclusions of what the effects a “dirty bomb” explosion could have on the general population:

“At a minimum, “a radiological attack would entail considerable costs for cleaning up the attack site and may lead to at least the temporary displacement of people residing in the area where the attack occurred. The disruptive psychological impact on a public largely unaware about the effects of radiological terrorism would likely be far more damaging than the actual physical destruction, and could result in billions of dollars in economic damage and could stress the public health system.”   

A stolen truck that was carrying radioactive medical equipment has been recovered by Mexican authorities. The dangerous cargo was being hauled to the Radioactive Waste Storage Center in Maquixco when the truck was stolen while parked at a gas station in Tepojaco.

The radioactive material, Cobalt-60, is used for medical reasons, but can also be used to make “dirty bombs” - weapons where conventional explosives are used to disperse radiation from a radioactive source.

The equipment containing Cobalt-60 shown here as it was loaded onto a vehicle that was later stolen.

The driver of the truck reported he was sleeping in the truck when he was awoken by two men, armed with guns, at around 1:30 a.m. They forced him out of the vehicle and tied his hands and feet and left him in the parking lot as they drove off in the 2007 Volkswagen cargo truck.

The truck was located in a remote area about 25 miles from where it was stolen. The Cobalt-60 was located about a half-mile away from the vehicle, along with the empty protective lead container. Authorities believe they recovered most of the radioactive material.

Officials said they don’t believe the radioactive material was the target of the thieves and believe the two men had no idea what they were stealing. The two men are most likely suffering from radiation exposure.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based UN nuclear body, says there are more than 100 incidents of thefts and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and radioactive material each year. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, at a 2012 nuclear security summit, spoke about the effects dirty bombs can have. In his speech, Amano said, “These materials, such as cobalt-60, could be used along with conventional explosives to make so-called dirty bombs. A dirty bomb detonated in a major city could cause mass panic, as well as serious economic and environmental consequences.”

Emergency Film Group’s, Radiation Monitoring, teaches emergency personnel in mission specific Operations Level competencies regarding monitoring for radiation at WMD events as well as natural disasters and industrial accidents. To learn more, read here. . .

According to the National Fire Protection Association, there are more home fires on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year. Nationwide, firefighters respond to three times the normal number of incidents they usually do.

And the number one place where most of these fires start is in the kitchen. With multiple dishes cooking on all the burners, the turkey baking in the oven, doorbell ringing, family and friends arriving – it’s easy to see how people get distracted and accidents can happen.

The CPSC says "Stand by Your Pan" on Thanksgiving Day.

If a fire does start, the experts agree that one of the worst things you can do is try to put it out yourself. You could be injured or cause the fire to become worse.

The popularity of deep-fried turkey has greatly increased the number of fires that occur on Thanksgiving. Deep fried turkeys are boiled at searing temperatures in up to five gallons of hot oil. The fryers are designed to operate at a temperature of around 350 degrees Fahrenheit, but that temperature can soar to as high as 670 degrees. If this happens, the oil can literally bursts into flames.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) offers these safety tips:

• Avoid wearing loose fitting clothing while preparing a meal. Dangling sleeves or excess material can easily catch fire.
• Check cooking food regularly and stay in the home while cooking. Use a timer as a way to remember food is either on the stove or in the oven.
• Keep combustible items, such as pot holders/oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper/plastic bags, towels and curtains away from surfaces that generate heat. This includes appliances as well as the stove and oven.
• Be sure to have a fire extinguisher on hand and read the directions well in advance of any potential emergency so that you are ready to use it at a moment’s notice.
• Install a smoke alarm on each level on the home making sure there is one in close proximity to the kitchen.
• Keep children away from cooking areas being sure they remain at least three feet away from the stove.
• If there is a fire inside the oven, shut off the oven and leave the door shut. Call 9-1-1 and report the fire and leave the home until firefighters arrive.
• If a stove fire occurs, immediately shut off the stove and cover the burning pan/burner with a lid or use a fire extinguisher. Do not attempt to move a burning pan outside and do not throw flour, water, salt or any other substance on the fire as these can cause the fire to flare up.
• Gas or propane stoves are a common source of carbon monoxide in the home. If you are cooking for several hours, a build-up of carbon monoxide may occur so be sure to run vents you may have in the kitchen and open windows/doors in the kitchen at least once each hour to allow fresh air to circulate.