California's Tool Kit Available

The CSB has been featuring news stories that recently provided a great link to some resources made available by the Office of Emergency Services (OES) in California. Of particular interest may be the Y2K Hazardous Materials Project Implementation Tool Kit that was distributed to the Local Agencies. This Tool Kit contains guidelines for implementing the Y2K Hazardous Materials Project at the local level and is organized into the following sections: (1) General Guidance & Administration; (2) Triage Guidelines; (3) Assessment Guidelines; (4) Emergency Responders; (5) Selected Authorities; and (6) Appendices & Glossary.

Y2K Project Depends on Local Agencies

In early 1999, the OES initiated the Y2K Hazardous Materials Project by assisting in the Y2K readiness of approximately 130,000 hazardous materials facilities/handlers in California. That large list was narrowed down to about 11,300 riskier sites. With a budget of about $9M, the OES has accomplished what to some might seem impossible - a visit and evaluation of each and every site by either the State or a Local Hazardous materials expert. Rather than focus on an exhaustive audit of each facility, the visits have focused on contingency planning and resource sharing.

Lessons Shared

Smaller sites have been helped with simple things like leaving a computer controlled gate open during the "change-over" so that it can fail in a "safe position." Even some larger sites have stepped up communication plans and mutual aid drills with local emergency responders. The OES held a video conference on November 16th to discuss what has been learned thus far, and share experiences on addressing emergency management issues, infrastructure, medical/health and human services.