Recent chlorine leak shows flaws in state response plan

            Franklin County Emergency Management Director Pam Brownell said a recent chlorine leak at the Apalachicola Wastewater Treatment Plant shows that changes need to be made in the state’s response to those types of emergencies.

A number of homes around the wastewater treatment plant were evacuated on January the 15^th after a chlorine leak was detected from a canister at the facility.

A hazmat team from Leon County was called to contain the leak, which they did in a matter of minutes once they got here.

The problem is it took nearly over 3 hours between the discovery of the leak and the time the hazmat team arrived.

Pam said she understands why most of the equipment is housed in Tallahassee as that is where the regional HazMat team is located, but more has to be done to provide training and equipment to smaller, rural counties too.

She said there needs to be more people trained and they need to have the basic equipment needed to hold their own until the Hazmat team gets here.

It’s something she says she has pushed for for years, but will do so again in her after-action report to the state.

She said the Apalachicola Fire Department, who oversaw the local response and evacuation, did a great job at the scene. 

http://live.oysterradio.com/