News

Massachusetts State Police say they are increasing routine patrols at water supply facilities around the state after a possible security breach incident at the Quabbin Reservoir near Belchertown, which is the primary drinking water source for Boston and forty other communities.

At approximately 12:30 am Tuesday, a trooper saw two cars parked at one of the reservoir park entrances and then noticed a group of people, five men and two women, walking towards the vehicles. When questioned, the male individuals said they were chemical engineers and had recently graduated from college. The group claimed to be at the reservoir for educational purposes and career interests.

The seven people were from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Singapore and had addresses in Amherst, Cambridge, Sunderland, Northampton, and New York City. State Police provided the Commonwealth Fusion Center the identities of the group and details of the incident. The Commonwealth Fusion Center works with local, state and federal public safety agencies and private sector organizations in collecting, analyzing and distributing intelligence relevant to terrorism and public safety.

Quabbin Reservoir is the primary drinking water source for Boston and forty other communities.

A preliminary background check revealed no warrants, detainers or advisories for anyone in the group and they were allowed to leave after being cited for trespassing. In a statement to the press, State Police spokesperson David Procopio said both his agency will continue to investigate the incident.  “Further investigation is being undertaken because of the late hour when they were observed, their curious explanation for why they wanted to see the reservoir, and the fact that they were in an area marked no trespassing,” Procopio said.

Emergency Film Group’s Terrorism: Biological Weapons DVD training program provides training and response guidelines to emergency personnel who would be called upon to respond to a terrorist incident involving biological agents. To learn more, read here. . .

The Unites States Forest Services is bracing for another bad year of wildfires. Areas most at risk include Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, the eastern Rockies and Florida. Persistent drought conditions and infestations of the tree-killing bark beetle have left the nation’s woodlands at high risk. The agency is also struggling with cuts to its fire-fighting budget.

Last year was the third most-active wildfire season since 1960, with more than 9.3 million acres of public and private land burned. The Forest Service spent $1.4 billion in fire-fighting cost and predicts the same activity this season.

Fires burn hotter and faster than they did a decade ago, attributed to warmer and drier weather. Last year was the warmest on record for the country. Warmer weather brings drier vegetation, which fuels the fires, causing them to spread much quicker. The warm weather extends wildfire seasons by 60-70 days a year.

Another threat is the infestation of bark beetles, which have invaded an estimated 46 million acres in the western part of the country, creating highly flammable stands of dead trees.

The American Red Cross has announced a new iPhone/Android app for wildfires. According to the app description, “Blaze Warnings let you see where NOAA has issued wildfire warnings, Blaze Alerts notifies you when a new wildfire occurs and the Blaze Path Tracker gives you a current view of the wildfire's track and perimeter. You can also let loved ones know that you are safe even if the power is out and learn what steps you should take to prepare your family, home and pets – all from the palm of your hand.” T receive a link to download the app, dial **REDCROSS (**73327677) from your mobile phone. The app can also be found at iTunes or Google Play app stores.

Emergency Film Group’s Wildland Firefighter 2 offers a unique delivery platform and wildland fire qualification system unmatched by any other wildland training program. To learn more, read here. . .

The U.S. Forest Service is bracing for another bad year of wildfires.

Earlier this week, the commissioner of the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said that testimony gathered from casualties and medical staff indicated that the nerve agent sarin was used by rebel fighters. In an interview with a Swiss-Italian television station, Carla Del Ponte, a veteran war crimes prosecutor, said, “Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated.” Del Ponte added, "This was used on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities."

The commission later released a statement saying that investigators had “not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by any parties to the conflict”.  White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the U.S. is “highly skeptical” that Syrian rebels had used chemical weapons and added, “We find it highly likely that chemical weapons, if they were in fact used in Syria - and there is certainly evidence that they were - that the Assad regime was responsible.”

Photo released by state news agency Sana shows people being treated after an attack in Syria.

But Del Ponte’s statements raise the issue of whether or not Syrian rebel forces have access to chemical weapons. A U.S. State Department official told CNN that the United States does not have information suggesting that rebels have "either the capability or the intent to deploy or use such weapons." But, the source also said facts are not complete and the investigation continues.

Al-Nusra Front, the strongest Syrian opposition group, is actually a front for al Qaeda in Iraq, who have been known to use chemical weapons in the past, detonating a series of chlorine bombs from 2006 through 2007. Evidence shows, however, that there has been a debate among al Qaeda leadership regarding the use of chemical weapons. A letter written by Osama bin Laden five days before his death urges his followers who were considering “poison” to be “careful of doing it without enough study of all aspects, including political and media reaction.”

The Syrian civil war, which began with anti-government protests in March 2011, has now claimed an estimated 70,000 lives and forced 1.2 million Syrian refugees to flee.

Emergency Film Group’s Terrorism: Chemical Weapons DVD is part of the WMD Response Package. This safety video is designed to provide training and response guidelines to emergency personnel who would be called upon to respond to a terrorist incident involving chemical agents. To learn more, read here. . .

It’s been just over one year since Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) announced changes to its Hazard Communication (HazCom) Standard that will integrate the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) into OSHA’s HazCom standard. The deadline for compliance training is December 1, 2013. According to the agency’s website, when the original HazCom Standard was implemented in 1983, it gave the workers the ‘right to know,' but the new Globally Harmonized System gives workers the ‘right to understand.'

Both the old and the new standards requires chemical manufacturers and importers to evaluate the chemicals they produce or import and provide hazard information to employers and workers by putting labels on containers and preparing safety data sheets. The old standard allowed employers to put that hazard information on labels and material safety data sheets in whatever format they chose. The new standard requires that information to be presented using the standard GHS which provides a single set of harmonized criteria for classifying chemicals according to various health hazards (e.g., irritation, sensitization and carcinogenicity) and physical hazards (e.g., fire, explosion and corrosion), and specifies model formats and substantive requirements for labels and safety data sheets.

The major changes to HazCom standard are:

• Hazard classification: Chemical manufacturers and importers are required to determine the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import. Hazard classification under the new, updated standard provides specific criteria to address health and physical hazards as well as classification of chemical mixtures.
• Labels: Chemical manufacturers and importers must provide a label that includes a signal word, pictogram, hazard statement, and precautionary statement for each hazard class and category.
• Safety Data Sheets: The new format requires 16 specific sections, ensuring consistency in presentation of important protection information.
• Information and training: To facilitate understanding of the new system, the new standard requires that workers be trained by December 1, 2013 on the new label elements and safety data sheet format, in addition to the current training requirements.

Emergency Film Group’s Global Harmonization & the Hazard Communication Standard DVD training program focuses on OSHA’s changes to the Hazcom Standard. The program includes descriptions of the classifications and subcategories of physical & health hazards of chemicals, information that must be included on a label, signal words, pictograms, hazard statements, the 16 sections of safety data sheets and an instructor's CD-Rom. To learn more, read here. . .

OSHA has introduced several new hazardous material symbols as part of their revised HazCom Act.

In the hours and days that followed the Boston Marathon bombings, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies asked members of the public to contact them with any photos or videos taken during the event that could have held clues to the identities of the people who had placed the bombs. Several photographs taken by an anonymous photographer showed men dressed in dark blue jackets and tan pants, moving throughout the bombing site. Some of these men were in the photographs were carrying large black backpacks. The photographs went viral throughout the internet and many people thought these were the suspects. It turns out, however, that these men were actually members of a National Guard Civil Support Team (CST), pre-scheduled to be at the event.  

Photos of what many people thought were pictures of the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombing.

CSTs are the National Guard’s full-time response force for emergencies or terrorist events involving weapons of mass destruction, toxic chemicals, or natural disasters. CSTs are routinely pre-staged at large public events, like the Boston Marathon, to help reduce the risks and assist civilian authorities. There is a very real threat of terrorists adding chemical, biological or nuclear materials in their improvised explosive devices (IED) – referred to as a “dirty bomb”.

One photograph shows a CST holding a radiation monitoring device in the immediate aftermath of the bombing. During a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence which took place a week after the bombing, Subcommittee chairman Rep. Peter King (R-NY) asked Richard Daddario, the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism to explain a possible scenario had the Boston bombing suspects used dirty bombs in their terrorist acts.  Daddario replied, “If a dirty bomb were to go off in Boston, there would be a large area that would be contaminated for a substantial period of time...it would shut down all economic activity in that area, chase residents out of the area for substantial periods of time until there could be a cleanup, [and] there would be mass panic.”

A CST holding a radiation monitoring device at bombing site.

Heightened concerns over the possibility of more acts of domestic terrorism only re-enforce how critical it is that emergency responders and public safety officials are fully trained on how to effectively handle an attack. Emergency Film Group’s Terrorism: Explosive & Incendiary Weapons and Terrorism: Biological Weapons DVD training films both provide the essential training in the event a terrorism crisis occurs.

The second part of Emergency Film Group’s production shoot for Responding to Highway Incidents Involving Commercial Explosives brought us to Alabama. (See related story here).

Sound engineer Dillard Morrison and DP Jim Simeone preparing for shot.

Our first stop was at a surface coal mine run by Nelson Brothers Inc. Our crew was given a tour of the mine, including a demonstration of how the coal is exposed. We got some great technical footage of the way commercial explosives are utilized in this endeavor.

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Day two in Alabama was spent with the all-volunteer Dora Fire Department. One deadly scenario that can occur when transporting commercial explosives is the truck catching on fire. The Dora F.D. did a great job in helping us create that situation for the film. We also did some filming at a local home that had previously burned down, recreating another dangerous situation that emergency responders should always be aware of when dealing with any kind of incidents involving explosives. (See related story here.)  

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The Emergency Film Group production team recently traveled to Texas and Alabama to film location shots for a project for the Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME). According to its website, the IME “develops recommendations and guidelines for all facets of explosives operations from manufacture to use and disposal. These recommendations and guidelines are produced as Safety Library Publications and promoted throughout the industry and to regulating agencies.”

The film, Responding to Highway Incidents Involving Commercial Explosives, will provide training for firefighters, law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, truck drivers, industry personnel, and others who may need to respond to an incident involving commercial explosives. Commercial explosives play an important role in today’s world and are utilized in mining, construction and in the petrochemical industry.

Over seven billion pounds of commercial explosives are manufactured and used every year in the United States. Most of these explosives must be transported over the highway. The IME and the US Department of Transportation (DOT) have established rigorous and comprehensive safety practices to help prevent accidents.

One of the scenarios highlighted in the film involves guidelines and procedures emergency responders should follow when a truck transporting commercials explosives is involved in a vehicle accident. EFG had the pleasure of working with the Fort Worth Fire Department. Members of the department, as well as members of the Fort Worth Police Department, participated in the filming. Several local actors also played the roles of ‘victims’ and ‘bystanders’. A great job by everyone involved.

All of Emergency Film Group’s programs are created with the assistance of leaders in emergency response training. This technical committee for this program included experts from The Austin Powder Co., Core Labs, North America Orica Mining Services, Nelson Brothers Inc., Halliburton, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Eastern Kentucky University.

A massive explosion at a West, TX fertilizer plant has left almost 200 people injured and at least 5 to 15 people dead. Officials fear the number of fatalities will rise, as many people are unaccounted for, including several firefighters who were fighting a fire at the plant when the explosion occurred. The city’s EMS director, Dr. George Smith, confirmed the deaths of two EMS workers and said that three to five firefighters and a police officer were reported missing.

The blast occurred at 7:50 p.m. and registered as a 2.1-magnitude seismic event, according to the United States Geological Survey. One city councilor reported that the four block area around the explosion's epicenter was “totally decimated.” Fifty to 75 houses were destroyed, an apartment complex with about 50 units, that was reduced to "a skeleton," a middle school and a nursing home. Many witnesses compared the scene to that of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The materials made at the plant were similar to the materials used to fuel the bomb that blew up the Murrah Federal Building.

Texas explosion registered on Richter Scale.

Firefighters had been called to the West Fertilizer Company plant earlier to put out a small fire. The explosion occurred as they were fighting the fire. Officials are still investigating to determine if the chemicals at the plant, including ammonium nitrate, caused the explosions.

Ammonium nitrate is a commonly manufactured fertilizer, with nitrogen making up about one-third of this chemical compound. It’s very popular as a plant fertilizer because of its solubility in soil, allowing the nitrate to move deep into the root zone under wet conditions. Ammonium nitrate is sensitive to heat and pressure which can lead to an explosion.

Another concern to authorities is the potential of exposure to anhydrous ammonia, a toxic gas that is also used as a fertilizer. West Fertilizer Co. reported it has 54,000 pounds of the chemical at the plant.

Anhydrous ammonia gas is dangerous. Upon inhalation, throat passages and lungs swell, leading to hoarseness, hardening of the respiratory tract, and in sufficient concentrations – suffocation and death. Contact with eyes can cause visual impairment. Ingestion can result in liver malfunction and coma. Although anhydrous ammonia is classified as a non-flammable gas, it can ignite with explosive force when mixed with air in the right concentration.

This explosion comes almost 66 years to the day of another massive explosion that occurred in Texas City. On April 16, 1947, the French vessel SS Grandcamp, docked at the Texas City port when a fire broke out, detonating 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate. The explosions killed almost 600 people and left thousands injured.

Emergency Film Group’s Inorganic Oxidizers DVD is one of the DVDs of the HazChem Series. This informative DVD provides training to emergency response personnel who may be called upon to respond to a leak, spill or a fire involving ammonium nitrate, calcium hypochlorite or nitric acid. Another program in the series, Anhydrous Ammonia, discusses response issues for this dangerous gas. To learn more, read here. . .

The U.S. Secret Service has confirmed that a ricin-laced letter addressed to the President was intercepted at the remote White House mail screening facility on Tuesday. The letter contained a “granular substance” and preliminary field tests confirmed the substance was ricin, which has the potential to be toxic even in small amounts.

Another letter, which also field tested positive for ricin, was mailed to Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. That letter was intercepted at the remote Senate mail screening facility. Other Washington lawmakers who have also received suspicious letters or packages include Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake.

In a statement earlier today, the FBI said that the investigation is ongoing and there be more letters that will be received. The spokesperson said there is no indication of any connection to the Boston Marathon attacks.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ricin is a poison that comes from castor beans. It is part of the waste left over when castor oil is made from the beans and can be found in the form of powder, mist, a pellet or dissolved in water.  The CDC reports that U.S. military had experimented in the 1940’s with using ricin as a warfare agent.

When exposure to ricin occurs, the poison gets inside the cells of the body and prevents the cells from making the proteins they need. Without the proteins, cells die. As more and more cells die, death may occur. Ricin can enter a person’s system through inhalation, ingestion or through skin and eye contact. There is no known antidote for ricin so if someone is exposed, it is imperative to get the ricin off or out of the body as quickly as possible. Remove all clothing (cutting off clothing that needs to be pulled over the head), rapidly wash entire body with soap and water and seek medical care immediately.

Emergency Film Group’s Terrorism: Biological Weapons DVD training program provides training and response guidelines to emergency personnel who would be called upon to respond to a terrorist incident involving biological agents. To learn more, read here. . .