b) Radiation Environmental Laboratories
EPA has two state-of-the-art radiological labora-
tories: one in Montgomery, Alabama, and the other
in Las Vegas, Nevada. These laboratories can
assist by quickly characterizing radiation sources to
help make decisions about howto protectthe public
health.
c) Environmental Radiation Ambient Monitoring
System
EPA operates the Environmental Radiation
Ambient Monitoring System (ERAMS) for measuring
radioactivity and other contaminants in various
environmental media. ERAMS is a
national comprehensive radiation monitoring
network with over 250 sampling stations distributed
across all 50 States and U.S. Territories. In a
radiological emergency, these sampling stations
may be able to provide information about how far
contamination has spread.
3. OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE
a) National Enforcement Investigations Center
(NEIC)
EPA's National Enforcement Investigations Center
is the technical support center for EPA enforcement
and compliance assurance programs nationwide.
The NEIC maintains multi-disciplinary teams of
experts who perform inspections and technical
evaluations of petrochemical and industrial facilities
involved in the manufacture and handling of
hazardous substances. The NEIC offers expertise
in the following areas:
•• Environmental forensic evidence collection &
sampling
•• Environmental forensic analysis
Information management/computer forensics
•• Enforcement related technical analysis
NEIC support for site-specific environmental
forensic evidence handling can be requested
through the appropriate Criminal Investigations
Division (CID) Regional Office. The EPA OSC can
help state and local responders contact the CID
Office.
b) EPA Contractor Resources
EPA's emergency response contracts provide swift
access to cleanup services for removal of oil and
hazardous substances. Under these contracts,
response resources are available around the clock
responding within 6 to 48 hours, depending on the
location. Superfund Technical Assessment and
Response Team (START) contractors are able to
mobilize the fastest and can provide immediate
monitoring, sampling, analysis, and technical
support and can perform minor containment
activities. Emergency and Rapid Response
Services (ERRS) contractors can mobilize between
2 to 48 hours based on the geographic location of
the incident and can provide containment,
countermeasure, cleanup, and disposal services.
c) Research Laboratories
EPA has research laboratories with programs in
field monitoring and analytical and technical
support. The laboratories can also provide the
models for fate and transport of chemicals that can
provide information needed to make informed risk
management decisions. Some of these labs have
the capability to deploy mobile units to a
contaminated site for chemical and biological
analysis.
d) Contract Laboratories
EPA's Contract Laboratory Program (CLP) provides
a range of state-of-the-art chemical and analytical
services. These include both routine and special-
ized analytical services, and the analyses of basic
and unusual chemicals in air, water and soil media.
THE NATIONAL CONTINGENCY PLAN (NCP)
AND OTHER PLANS
Depending on the circumstances surrounding an
incident, different federal plans (i.e., the NCP, the
Federal Response Plan [FRP], the Federal
Radiological Emergency Response Plan [FRERP],
and the federal crisis and consequence man-
agement plans for terrorist incidents) provide the
structure for federal response. These plans allow
the NRS to provide support under most circum-
stances that would involve WMD. For instance,
under the Terrorism Incident Annex to the FRP,
EPA activates environmental response capabilities
to support the federal response to acts of NBC
terrorism, either by coordinating with NRS agencies
to use the structures and capabilities developed to
support NCP operations, or by activating the NCP
itself.
EPA COUNTER TERRORISM PROGRAM
RESPONSIBILITY AND POLICY COORDINATION
EPA's Emergency and Deputy Emergency
Coordinator provide national policy coordination
across EPA's program offices and with other
government agencies for counter-terrorism
preparedness and response efforts.
PLANNING AND RESPONSE CONTACTS
May 2000
EPA 550-F-00-008
SEPA
During an emergency, the National
Response System can be accessed 24-
hours-a-day by calling the National
Response Center (NRC) at 1-800-424-
8802. The NRC will notify the appropriate
EPA OSC and Regional Office. For non-
emergencies/planning activities, State and
local responders can access the NRS
through their EPA Regional Removal
Manager:
EPA Region I:
EPA Region II:
EPA Region III:
EPA Region IV:
EPA Region V:
EPA Region VI:
EPA Region VII:
EPA Region VIII:
EPA Region IX:
EPA Region X:
617-918-1260
732-321-6656
215-814-3241
404-562-8721
312-353-9295
214-665-2270
913-551-7952
303-312-6827
415-744-2293
206-553-6709
For EPA's counter-terrorism programs, the
Emergency or Deputy Emergency Coordi-
nator can be contacted at 202-260-8600.
Or visit http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/.
EPA CAPABILITIES: RESPONDING
TO NUCLEAR-BIOLOGICAL-
CHEMICAL (NBC) TERRORISM
EPA OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
RESPONSE CAPABILITIES
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
has statutory authorities and responsibilities to
prepare for and respond to emergencies involving
oil and hazardous substances, pollutants or
contaminants, which include chemical, biological
and radiological materials that could also be
components of a weapon of mass destruction
(WMD). A WMD is defined as a weapon, device, or
large conventional explosive that produces
catastrophic loss of life or property. EPA carries out
its preparedness and response efforts primarily
under the mandate of the National Oil and
Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan
(NCP) and the Radiological Response Program.
EPA provides technical support, response
coordination and management, and resource
assistance to local and state first responders under
the National Response System (NRS). The NRS is
the federal government's mechanism for emergency
response to releases of hazardous substances,
pollutants, and contaminants and discharges of oil
that threaten human health and the environment.
The NRS is fully described in the NCP at 40 CFR
Part 300.
Additional EPA Responsibilities
In recognition of EPA's responsibilities, capabilities
and experience, Presidential Decision Directive
(PDD) #39 assigned EPA the task of assisting the
FBI in threat assessments and determining the type
of hazards associated with releases or potential
releases of materials in a terrorist incident. EPA is
also assigned to assist the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) with environmental
monitoring, decontamination, and long-term site
cleanup. EPA is the lead agency for hazardous
materials response under Emergency Support
Function (ESF)#10 of the Federal Response Plan
(FRP). PDD #62 reinforces EPA's mission to
enhance the nation's capability to prevent and
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respond to terrorist events involving WMD. PDD
#63, which addresses the protection of America's
critical infrastructure, named EPA the lead agency
for the Water Supply Sector. Under these and
other Federal authorities, EPA may participate
during the crisis and consequence management
phases of a terrorist incident response and may
prevent and prepare for deliberate releases
resulting from terrorist incidents. In addition, in the
Nunn-Lugar-Domenici legislation, EPA was named
as one of the six Federal agencies for assisting in
the provision of the WMD training program for first
responders in 120 of the country's largest cities.
Federal On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs)
The Federal OSC is the primary federal
representative at responses conducted under the
MRS. Federal OSCs work with State, local, and
private responders to protect human health and the
environment. The Federal OSC is the point of
contact for the coordination of federal efforts with
the local response community. EPA OSCs possess
the authority to manage all response efforts at the
scene of an incident, and can call upon a variety of
specialized equipmentand highlytrained personnel.
Some of these include: the Environmental
Response Team; the Radiological Emergency
Response Team; the U.S. Coast Guard Strike
Teams; and the National Enforcement Investigation
Center. EPA has approximately 215 OSCs to
address releases or potential releases in the inland
zone of the country. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
provides OSCs for the coastal zones. When an
incident report is received by the National
Response Center (NRC), it is immediately relayed
to a Federal OSC. The NRC serves as a first alert
center for any potentially hazardous substance
release to the environment of chemical,
radiological, biological or etiological agents.
1. SPECIAL FORCES AVAILABLE TO THE OSCs
The NCP discusses special forces and other
assistance available to Federal OSCs during a
response. The following are examples of the
specialized assistance available to the Federal
OSC.
a) Environmental Response Team (ERT)
EPA's ERT supports EPA's OSCs with expertise in
treatmenttechnology, biology, chemistry, hydrology,
geology, and engineering. EPA's ERT can provide
24-hour access to special decontamination
equipment for chemical releases and advice to the
OSC in hazard evaluation; risk assessment;
multimedia sampling and analysis; on-site safety,
including development and implementation of plans;
cleanup techniques and priorities; water supply
decontamination and protection; application of
dispersants; environmental assessment; degree of
cleanup required; and disposal of contaminated
material.
The ERT, located in Edison, NJ, can also be
activated by the OSC to provide technical expertise
for complex emergency responses involving or
potentially involving weapons of mass destruction,
especially chemical weapons such as VX nerve gas
and sarin gas. ERT resources can be pre-deployed
for special events having a high level of terrorism
threats. In addition, the Emergency Response
Training Program (ERTP), located in Cincinnati,
OH, provides training courses for personnel who
respond to or investigate and clean up abandoned
hazardous waste sites. Training is provided in
safety and health as well as in the various technical
operations needed to identify, evaluate, and control
hazardous substances that have been released.
EPA's Portable Instrumentation and Entry-Level
Capabilities
In response to an NBC threat or incident, EPA's
ERT can provide portable instrumentation and
various entry capabilities to assist at the scene of
an incident.
Monitoring Instruments: The ERT has numer-
ous types of field portable instruments to:
• • Monitor various toxic gases in real time,
including nerve or mustard agent vapors and
volatile organics in the low and sub parts-per-
million concentrations.
• • Qualify low-level alpha contamination on
surfaces, personnel, and personnel protective
equipment; assess the lateral distribution of
gamma emitters in soil/pipes, etc.; and monitor
for beta or beta-gamma emitters.
• • Measure alpha, beta, or gamma radiation.
Analytical Instruments, including:
• • Minicam - identifies volatile organic and
inorganic compounds over wide concentration
ranges.
• • Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer
(GC/MS) - identifies trace components in
complex matrices.
• • Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer (TAGA) -
MS/MS that allows real-time analysis and
tracking of plumes. This is a mobile laboratory
unit.
ERT's Entry-level Capabilities:
Level "A" Personnel Protective Equipment
(PPE) - required when the greatest potential for
exposure to hazards exists, and when the
greatest level of skin, respiratory, and eye
protection is required. These fully
encapsulating suits afford protection against
petroleum products and halogenated
hydrocarbons, as well as against nerve and
blister agents.
Level "B" PPE - used under circumstances
requiring the highest level of respiratory
protection, with a lesser level of skin protection.
Level "C" PPE - used when the concentration
and type of airborne substances is known, and
the criteria for using air-purifying respirators are
met.
b) The Coast Guard's National Strike Force
(NSF)
The NSF is composed of three strategically located
strike teams, a public information assist team, and
a coordination center. The strike teams have
specially trained personnel and equipment to
respond to major oil spills and chemical releases.
The Public Information Assist Team (PIAT) is
available to assist the OSC in demands for public
information during a response. The National Strike
Force Coordination Center (NSFCC) maintains a
national inventory list of oil spill response
equipment. NSF capabilities are especially suited
to incidents occurring in the marine environment,
but also include response management, entry-level
A through C, site assessments, safety and action
plan development, and documentation for both
inland and coastal zone incidents. The NSF can be
accessed through the Federal OSC and the
National Response Center.
c) Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC)
The SSCs are the principal advisors to the OSCs for scientific
issues, communication with the scientific community and
coordination for requests for assistance from state and
Federal agencies regarding scientific studies. The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides
SSCs in coastal and marine areas. For inland zones, SSCs
are provided by EPA's ERT.
2. EPA's RADIOLOGICAL RESPONSE
CAPABILITIES
EPA's role in response to a nuclear/radiological
terrorism incident will vary depending on the
situation. The three main areas of EPA radiological
response are:
Monitoring and assessment
•• Protective action guidance
Assistance in coordinating federal response
during the cleanup
Additionally, EPA has developed Protective Action
Guides that help state and local officials protect
potentially affected populations. Each EPA regional
office has a regional radiation program, through
which support can be obtained.
a) Radiological Emergency Response Team
EPA's Office of Radiation and Indoor Air(ORIA) has
established a Radiological Emergency Response
Team (RERT), with staff in Washington, DC, and at
laboratories in Nevada and Alabama. The RERT
provides support during incidents or at sites
involving radiological hazards. Expertise is
available in:
•• Radiation monitoring
•• Radionuclide analysis
Radiation health physics
•• Risk assessment
The RERT can provide on-site monitoring and
mobile laboratories for field analyses of samples.
Requests for RERT support may be made 24-
hours-a-day via the National Response Center.
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