The Calhoun County Commission on Thursday discussed starting an educational campaign advocating evacuation in the event of a chemical weapons accident at the Anniston Army Depot. But on the same day, the Citizens Advisory Committee said it will move ahead and begin teaching the community about shelter-in-place.The county commissioners have not accepted shelter-in-place, which involves going to an interior room and sealing the door and windows with duct tape and plastic as a protective action in the event of a chemical weapons accident. They voiced concern that it won’t work.
But the Citizens Advisory Committee, a governor-appointed board with the mission of acting as a liaison between the community and the Army, has planned a large-scale meeting on Oct. 2 to educate the public about shelter-in-place.
“We’re losing valuable time here and we don’t want to postpone it any longer,” said George Smith, a CAC member. The group met Thursday afternoon but did not hold a formal meeting as it failed to obtain a quorum.
Meanwhile, Calhoun County Commissioners and Emergency Management Agency officials met to discuss how they would go about educating the public to evacuate in the event of a chemical emergency.
A county EMA Internet site, www.calhounema.org, has been launched instructing residents how to evacuate, and officials are discussing other means of educating the public as well.
EMA officials hired EM Assist, a local consulting company, to aid them in organizing their protective action plan.
"We need to start educating the public right now," said Bill Karl, chief executive officer for EM Assist. “It’s a big job, and it’s not going to happen overnight.”
Classes are being considered as a way to inform the public, but Burney said the county does not have the funding to take on such an endeavor.
As part of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Planning Program, county officials have requested $1.6 million in federal planning support. Burney said this money is paramount if a full-swing education campaign is to take place.
Even if the entire $30 million CSEPP budget county officials are requesting to educate and protect the public is made available today, the protective action plan will not be in place by April, the scheduled date to start burning the 2,253 tons of chemical weapons stored at the depot.
“You can't get there from here by April, and that's not our fault,” Burney said. “We can’t do anything without money.”
Yet CAC is moving forward with a plan contradictory to the county’s.
In a July 2 letter the Calhoun County Commission charged that the CAC was overstepping its mission.
“While we are certain your offer is strongly supported by the Army, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the local contractor we must point out the CAC has no authority to engage in this type of activity,” the letter read.
There has been no correspondence between the two groups since, said Erma Wilkins, chairwoman of the CAC, who said she felt insulted by the letter.
Smith said the CAC was designed to gather and disseminate information, and educating the public falls within that duty.
David Baker, head of Community Against Pollution, is also calling out for the county to educate the public. At a public meeting on an unrelated matter, Baker said he asked attendees if they knew what protective zone they lived in and if they knew what they were supposed to do in the event of a chemical accident at the depot.
No one answered yes to either question, Baker said. People should have known that information years ago because of the threat posed by the stockpile. He places the blame on the Calhoun County EMA.
“We should have been safe whether they built that incinerator or not,” he said. “Why wasn’t more education done sooner? Why did it go this far?”
In years past, the EMA distributed annual calendars, which include zonal maps and evacuation routes. A 2001 calendar was not published because EMA officials were waiting on additional information that could have changed the evacuation plan, said Delois Champ, EMA public information officer. Maps also have been published in The Anniston Star and the local phone books, she said, although the Bell South phone book contains only evacuation routes, while the Alabama Direct phone book contains only the map.
Still, Mrs. Champ said there is no excuse for not knowing what zone you live in or what evacuation route to take.
“Zonal maps are available, and if you don’t know your evacuation route, you need to be finding out,” she said. “They have been available for several years now.”
A study conducted by Integrated Emergency Management showed that evacuation is practically impossible, but EMA officials want residents to understand they are not advocating a countywide mass exodus.
“Evacuation is not going away. It’s always been a part of this,” said Mike Burney, Calhoun County EMA director.” But if you are not being asked to evacuate out of your zone, we ask that you stay home and let others get out.”
Residents living in zones not being evacuated are asked to tune to local radio or television programs for further instructions, he said.
County officials have been criticized for their reluctance to join a public information campaign like the one taking place in Talladega, St. Clair, Etowah, Cleburne and Clay counties.
Commissioners say they have held off on a full-scale education campaign because they don’t want to teach false information.
“I don’t want to tell them things that may change,” said Commissioner Robert Downing. “Talladega County and these others told people to put a wet rag over their mouths. Now they are finding out that may get people killed.”
County officials have asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a number of items, such as protective hoods like those used by Israelis during the Gulf War, they say are necessary to provide 'maximum protection.' So far they have received nothing, Burney said.
“If we don’t get the hoods, we've got a decision to make,” he said.
“At that point, we've got to reconsider whether or not Calhoun County needs to continue to be a part of the CSEPP program," Downing said.” We’re not bound by law to be a part of this. It’s an obligation we feel we have to the citizens of this county.”
