Published: October 08, 2008 11:35 pm      

Spill drill helps agencies prepare for the real thing

At 9:30 Wednesday morning two people walked out of Harcros Chemicals on Phelps Road and spoke to a team of emergency workers.

“We can’t breathe,” said Kara Maas, clutching her chest and trying to shield herself from the rain.

Maas and Victor Maltavo, students from the Whitfield County Career Academy, were playing “victims” during a simulated emergency drill to test a multi-agency response to a chemical spill.

Emergency crews were called to the business around 9 a.m. to reports that about 300 gallons of 12.5 percent bleach had spilled. Maas and Maltavo were able to get out of the building. A third person was “hurt” trying to leave the area,

Whitfield County and Dalton firefighters set up decontamination tents and dressed firefighters in bright red Hazmat (hazardous materials) suits to prepare them to enter the building. The reverse 911 system was used to call residents within a two-mile area. Valley Point Elementary and Middle Schools about a mile and a half away were readied for use for any potential evacuees, with students pretending to be victims.

At 10:30 a.m., Jeffrey Putnam, director of Whitfield County’s Emergency Management Agency, met with the media to continue the simulation.

“(The bleach) is going into a drainage pond that has a chemical are they are reacting,” Putnam said.

By the time the drill ended shortly before noon, 30 more people who “self-evacuated” arrived at Hamilton Medical Center to be treated, said Matthew Crumpton, trauma and emergency coordinator for the hospital. They were also students from the Career Academy.

Emergency personnel worked in the driving rain. Had there been a real spill, the rain would have made their response more difficult, officials said.

An overflowing storage tank at the Harcros Chemicals plant in August of last year resulted in a spill of 30 to 40 gallons of toxic anhydrous ammonia, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents and more than 400 workers from neighboring plants.

A chemical spill at MFG Chemical in Dalton in 2004 forced more than 200 families from their homes and saw 154 people, including police and ambulance personnel, seek treatment for chemical exposure. Federal officials said following a review of that incident that problems with emergency response underscored “a nationwide problem.”

Emergency officials are expected to review evaluations over the next few weeks to assess the response to Wednesday’s drill. Participating agencies included the Whitfield County Fire Department, Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, Dalton Fire Department, Dalton Police Department, Dalton State College Police Department, National Weather Service, Whitfield County Schools, the North Georgia Health District, the Medical Reserve Corps of the health district and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.