Contact: Stephen M. Apatow
President & Executive Director, Humanitarian Resource Institute
Eastern USA: (203) 668-0282 Western USA: (775) 884-4680
Internet: http://www.humanitarian.net Email: sma@humanitarian.net
U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE CALLS FOR COMMUNITIES TO PREPARE FOR POSSIBLE
CHEMICAL EMERGENCIES RELATED TO THE YEAR 2000 TECHNOLOGY PROBLEM
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.
According to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000
Problem:
* 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 A potential for a catastrophic event.
For detailed information on these reports and resources from the U.S.
Chemical and Hazard Safety Investigation Board visit the Humanitarian
Resource Institute Global Y2K Infrastructure Risks Web Site which can
be found at: http://www.humanitarian.net/y2keconomic.html
COMMUNITY & FAMILY PREPAREDNESS
Humanitarian Resource Institute in cooperation with the FEMA Community
& Family Preparedness Program has constructed a one stop Community &
Family Preparedness resource guide on the internet. Included on this
web site is the Preparedness Guide for Chemical Emergencies which was
produced by the National Disaster Education Coalition: American Red
Cross, FEMA, IAEM, IBHS, NFPA, NWS, USDA/CSREES, and USGS. Topics
Include:
* Why Talk About Chemical Emergencies?
* What Is a Home Chemical Emergency, and a Major
* Chemical Emergency?
* Awareness Information
* Preventing Chemical Emergencies in the Home
* What to Do During a Home Chemical Emergency
* Plan for Major Chemical Emergencies
* Media and Communicate Education Ideas
* What to Do During a Major Chemical Emergency
* What to Do if You Are at the Scene of a Chemical Accident
* How to Shelter-in-Place
* Evacuation During a Chemical Emergency
* What to Do After a Major Chemical Emergency
The Community & Family Preparedness Resource Guide can be found at:
http://www.humanitarian.net/prepare.html
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".
All messages to sanet-mg are archived at:
http://www.sare.org/htdocs/hypermail