In the shadow of the incinerator: EMA works to identify residents with special needs

By Jason Landers
Star Staff Writer
07-13-2002

Mamie Gallahar, 88, must rely on relatives for transportation. Her case is typical of special-needs residents living in the area nearest the chemical weapons stockpile. Photo: Trent Penny/The Anniston Star The tone alert radio collects dust on an end table in Ruth Laney's tiny living room. "They gone and put this radio in here, but I don't know how to operate it," she says, nodding in the direction of the unplugged device that, were it not disabled, would sound instructions in the unlikely event of an accidental leak at the Army's chemical weapons stockpile. The 78-year-old widow says she unplugged the device because the siren and flashing lights made her nervous. Laney lives alone on a secluded section of road with no neighbors. An air tank feeds her oxygen. She is bedridden and has no car to escape in if the radio were to blare out an evacuation warning. She has no one lined up to give her a ride, either.

Ruth Laney, who is bedridden and lives in the pink zone, has no transportation arrangements for an emergency evacuation. According to a presentation released Friday during a Local Emergency Planning Meeting, 2,691 special-needs residents such as Laney live in an eight- to 10-mile radius of the stockpile. Special-needs populations include people with disabilities or health problems, those without transportation, and latchkey children, whose parents are at work. Aging rockets filled with tons of nerve agent are stored in protective igloos a few miles from these residents' homes. The Army plans to start incinerating the weapons later this year, but for now, no plan is in place to address the needs of these vulnerable households, said Brian Lazenby of the county Emergency Management Agency. EMA officials are working to change that. The presentation Friday by Argonne National Laboratory is part of an ongoing effort to identify who the special-needs residents are and where they live. Once the population is identified, Lazenby said, the county "will determine if the resources provided for the general population is practical for the special-needs individuals. "If not, we will look at some additional resources that will meet their individual needs." William Metz, Ph.D., of Argonne, said his company's research has shown that about a third of the special-needs residents believe they will die from a stockpile accident. "I don't think I have too many more years to be here," said 88-year-old Mamie Gallahar, a widow who lives alone and relies on relatives for transportation. "But I don't want to go like that," she said, pointing a leery thumb in the direction of the stockpile. According to Metz, the typical special-needs resident is a widowed or divorced woman over age 60 who lives alone and has been at her current address more than 15 years. They are someone's mother, aunt, grandparent, friend. About half believe officials have plans in place to help them in an emergency. Most of these residents say they will follow government orders, but few have discussed personal protection plans with family, friends or neighbors, Metz said. Some options for assisting those with special needs, according to Metz, include educating them on being more self-sufficient in the event of an emergency and encouraging community support to meet the needs that special-needs residents cannot. Planning for the special-needs residents is a unique effort, Metz said. "We are doing something that has never been done before in the CSEPP (Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program)."

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