18 October 2006
A Toxic Load on a Derailed Train Scenario Played Out on Tabletop Exercise
Harrison Hot Springs British Columbia - On Wednesday,
November 30 at approximately 06:00 hours a CP train travelling westbound derails after striking a fully loaded concrete truck stalled at
the crossing at Ashton and Pioneer. This scenario is what faced the joint Emergency Preparedness Committee for the District of Kent and
the Village of Harrison Hot Springs. But, it got worse, one of the cars was carrying Hydrogen Chloride - a toxic, corrosive high
pressure gas that has danger written all over it. In essence, the gas can be deadly and requires self contained breathing apparatus to
be worn by all rescue workers.
"We chose to "use" an extremely toxic material for this derailment spill... it is not a substance that is carried
regularly through our community by rail. Unfortunately, a train derailment is high on our risk evaluation list and ANY and all possible
toxic materials must be considered or we would be negligent in preparing for this type of emergency," says Bonnie Kent, the Deputy
Emergency Co-ordinator and the SAR Representative for the Operations Section.
Discussing this scenario during the table top exercise were all the members of the committee and a reflection of those that would be
called upon in case of an emergency. They included: employees of both the District of Kent and the Village of Harrison Hot Springs
(Mayors, CAO's, Planning Chiefs and Finance Department Heads; Fire Department Chiefs for Harrison, Agassiz, Seabird Island; Emergency
Social Services Representatives; Haz Mat Management Response Team from Canadian Pacific Railway.
"The table top exercise runs us through emergency scenarios that could be possible within our two communities. This allows us to
check our emergency plans for areas of strength and weakness and any deficiencies we find can then be updated and fixed. We hope to
follow up this table top exercise with a full response mock exercise in the Spring," says Kent. Similar exercises are held
quarterly.
As the exercise progressed the stark horror of what this could mean became apparent - from the residents who might gravitate to the site
of the crash and became exposed to the hydrogen chloride to the residents who lived near the site of the derailment and the rescue
personnel who could not rescue people due to unsafe conditions.
Harrison's potential isolation in case of an emergency was also noted. "In the scenario everyone in Harrison was completely stuck...
we had no road out without having to either cross through the plume of Toxic smoke or enter directly into the Hot Zone (isolation
distance of 360 metres). We need an alternative road out of town! One of my worst fears would be this type of incident on a beautiful
summer weekend when literally thousands of people are in the Village enjoying the beach and water. Not only would there be chaos, we
would likely see panic and attempts to leave the area which we do not have the resources to control," says Bonnie.
The scenario ran from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and addressed a number of problem solving questions and the various roles of people
involved. "I was thrilled with the turn out for this tabletop exercise... it reaffirms for me just how committed our community
leaders are to ensuring our safety. We have a long way to go before our emergency and disaster plans are completed and ready for public
input, but we are working hard to that end and hope to have at least the basic outline prepared within a year," says Kent.
The joint Emergency Preparedness Committee for the District of Kent and the Village of Harrison Hot Springs will also be working on
increasing public awareness and education, particularly in the areas of evacuation procedures and "Shelter in Place"
procedures. We will be working toward public education in the near future and in the mean time, any group wishing us to present
Emergency Procedure workshops can simply phone either myself or Roger Poulton to set up a meeting. Phone:
604-796-3868 or 604-796-9272.
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