'& UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 1 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 April 22, 1998 OFFICE OF SOLID WASTE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE MEMORANDUM SUBJECT: Draft Guidance on CT Equipment Purchase FROM: Mark L. Mjoness, Senior Process Manager Office of Emergency and Remedial Response TO: Removal Managers, Regions I-X Regional CT Program POC Director, ERTC PURPOSE: To provide draft guidance to the Regions on making decisions for selecting and purchasing counter-terrorism (CT) equipment for their use. As stated in the Memorandum of March 27, 1998, from the Director, Chemical Emergency Preparedness Office, each Region and the Environmental Response Team Center (ERTC) were given an allocation of funds for FY 98 CT initiatives. One recommended use of the allocated funds is the acquisition of equipment to enhance Regional CT response capabilities. DISCUSSION: A workgroup of Regional, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Headquarters (HQ), ERTC, National Enforcement Investigations Center (NEIC), and other Federal agency personnel, in consultation with EPA's Counter-Terrorism Program Coordination Team (CTPCT), was formed to develop draft Guidance on CT Equipment Purchase. This draft guidance is the result of the workgroup's effort. When referring to CT equipment in the context of this draft guidance, it is meant in terms of its dual-purpose use in emergency response, as well as in response to a terrorist incident. The PRINTED ON RECYCLED/ RECYCLABLE PARES ------- - 2 - following three steps are recommended for prioritizing, selecting and purchasing Regional CT equipment: Step # 1; Regional Equipment Assessment. For a definition of CT equipment, please refer to Attachment 1, Recommended Regional CT Equipment List. As a first step, the Region should assess its current inventory of CT equipment and other emergency-response related equipment. Such an assessment includes the immediate availability of CT equipment either through our EPA in-house assets or through our Regional support contractors. Completing the equipment assessment will provide the Region with a Regional CT equipment inventory list, which should be used as the basis for making decisions on the acquisition of additional CT equipment by the Region. Please be advised that the equipment assessment should be performed in conjunction with assessing- the readiness of Regional emergency response personnel in meeting requirements"- for physical health, safety and equipment training, and clear- ances for CT response. Guidance on personnel qualifications and EPA's role in CT response fall outside the scope of this draft Guidance on CT Equipment Purchase. Also factored into this Regional equipment assessment should be response resources that may be provided by other EPA or non-EPA resources which are available to the Region within a reasonable response time for responding to a CT event, i.e., local, State, ERTC, NEIC, U.S. Coast Guard Strike Teams, Office of Radiation Programs resources, Office of Research and Development laboratories or other Federal resources (i.e., DOD, or other Federal Agencies). If those other resources outside the Region's emergency response program are not truly available within a reasonable amount of time, they should not be 'relied upon in an actual CT event. Step # 2: Equipment Priority and Selection. Before beginning the process of selecting CT equipment, it is essential that the Region has access to a sufficient number of Level-A Personal Protective Equipment f?PE) for its cadre of emergency response personnel either through in-house (EPA or non-EPA as discussed above) or contractor assets. If the Region does not have access to Level-A PPE, the first priority should be to purchase or assure the availability of adequate quantities of Level-A PPE for Regional or contractor emergency response personnel. If the Region has sufficient quantities of Level-A PPE, it may chose CT equipment it deems essential for its use from the ------- - 3 - Recommended Regional CT Equipment List (see Attachment 1) or other CT-related equipment for which adequate justification exists.- Such justification for CT equipment, which is outside the scope of Attachment 1, should be maintained in Regional files and does not require consultation with HQ. As described in Attachment 1, the Recommended Regional CT Equipment List consists of three categories of equipment as follows: (1) Personnel Protection; (2) Monitoring Instru- ments; and (3) Additional Equipment. Due to the expense of most of the items listed in the Additional Equipment category, we recommend that the Regions communicate with their neigh- boring Regions, ERTC, and other Federal agencies to determine whether such equipment is already available or accessible. If the Regions maximize their equipment needs by assessing available sources beyond their own equipment inventory, we will be more successful in using the small amount of CT i equipment funds in the most cost effective and efficient manner, Step # 3: Procurement. CT equipment procurement options in- clude the following: Small purchase at Regional level « Purchase by Regional START or ERRS contracts (special justification for contractor equipment purchase should be coordinated with OERR's Contracts Management Center and the Office of Acquisition Management) HQ procurement, i.e., small purchase or IAG with another Federal Agency (FEMA, GSA) HQ-coordinated military purchase through CBDCOM IMPLEMENTATION: Due to the short time remaining for obligating CT funds in FY 98, it appears that the only viable options will be for the Regions to either purchase their CT equipment via small purchase or to make it available through their Regional support contractors. Please note that the Regions should take actions to ensure obligation of their allocated PY 98 funds for CT initiatives before the end of the fiscal year. We also would like to stress that it is essential that the Region has a mechanism for providing periodic maintenance, as necessary, for equipment which needs to be maintained, upgraded and calibrated. ------- - 4 - In FY 99, HQ will explore the option of purchasing bulk quantities of CT equipment through an appropriate HQ procurement mechanism. This option will be more time consuming because infor- mation on bulk CT equipment will need to be collected firsr from the Regions prior to transferring the Regional CT allocation. By purchasing CT equipment in bulk, i.e, PPE suits, gloves, boots, etc., rather than via individual small purchases, we believe the Agency will incur greater savings in the cost of CT equipment:. Please provide your comments or suggestions on the draft guidance to me no later than May 15, 1998. We will consider your input before we issue it as interim guidance. For more information or questions regarding the draft Guidance on CT Equipment Purchase, please contact me at 603-8727 or Hans Crump at(703)603-8821 or by E-mail. Attachment cc: Steve Luftig, OERR Elaine Davies, OERR Jim Makris, CEPPO Ken Stroech, CTPCT Chair Superfund Directors Regional CEPP Coordinators Regional Radiation Program Managers OERR Center Directors Craig Conklin, OIRA CTPCT Members ------- ATTACHMENT 1 PERSONNEL PROTECTION LEVEL "A" RESPONSE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT - MSA Inc., Pittsburgh, _PA £800) MSA-2222, cost $4,000.00. MSA CHEMPRUFF II TOTAL-ENCAPSULATING SUIT (Betex) - This suit permits the wearer to use breathing air from either an SCBA or from an air-line system up to 300 feet long. The Betex suit is constructed using a three- layered fabric, beginning with a supporting subscrate fabric made from polyester. The inside is coated with black neoprene and the outer layer is coated with orange butyl rubber. Permeation testing results for this suit are available for 598 compounds, as provided in a chemical resistance guide. In general, butyl rubber resists degradation by many contaminants, except halogenated hydrocarbons and petroleum compounds.' Neoprene resists degradation by caustics, acids and alcohols. GEOMET RESPONDER CSM COMPLETELY ENCAPSULATING CHEMICAL SUIT - GEOMET Technologies Inc., cost $1,000,00. The suit is constructed of a patented material designed to provide a high degree of permeation resistance to a wide range of chemicals. It affords protection against petroleum products and halogenated* hydrocarbons, as well as against nerve and blister agents. These suits are designated as limited use, therefore they are not decontaminated following exposure to a hazardous environment but are discarded. It has an expanded back to accommodate an SCBA, but does not have a pass through to allow for use with a supplied-air respirator. LEVEL "B" PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT - TYVEK/SARANEX 23-P HAZMAT RESPONSE SUIT - GEOMET Technologies, cost $125.00. This is a fully encapsulating Level-B suit which provides for additional splash protection. The garment has an expanded back and rear zipper to accommodate an SCBA. The use of a chemically resistant film on Tyvek provides a high level of permeation resistance to many chemical substances. The suit construction includes elastic wrists, attached booties, a PVC face shield and exhaust pores. MONITORING INSTRUMENTS CHEMICAL AGENT MONITOR - ETG., Baltimore, MD (410) 321-5270, cost $5,000.00. The CAM is a portable, hand-held instrument designed to determine and indicate the hazard from nerve or mustard agent vapor in the air. The. CAM can be used to search cut clean areas, identify contaminated materials and monitor the effectiveness of decontamination. The CAM responds to nerve and mustard agent vapors down to the lowest concentrations that could affect personnel over a short period. - 1 - ------- DRAEGER TUBES - National Draeger Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (412) 787- 8383, cost $80.CO/box. Draeger tubes are colorimeteric tubes used to detect chemical warfare agent. Draeger tubes are designed to monitor for various type of nerve agent, blister agents, lung agents, blood agents, and nose and throat irritating agents. CHEMICAL AGENT DETECTOR KIT H256A1 - GEOMET Technologies Inc. , Germantown, MD (301) 428-0898 cost $250.00. The chemical agent detector kit can detect nerve agents (G and V) , blood agents (AC and CK}, blister agents (H, HD, and CX), and Lewisite. CHEMICAL AGENT DETECTOR PAPER VGH, ABC-M8 - GEOMET Technologies Inc., cost $520.00. This paper detects liquids only, nerve agents (G and V) and blister agents (H). MINIRAE PLUS - Gen-el Industries, Denville, NJ (201) 627-8300, cost $4,000.00. The MiniRAE is a portable, hand-held, microprocessor controlled instrument designed for measuring the presence of photo ionizable chemicals in air at part per million levels. The MiniRAE can detect thousands of different type of airborne gases and vapors. Its response depends on the chemical type as well as the concentration. The MiniRAE does not distinguish one type of chemical from another, but displays a number indicating the total concentration of all photo ionizable compounds in the sample. PhD ULTRA MULTI GAS DETECTOR - Biosystems Inc., Middlefield, CT (203)344-1079, cost $2,500.00. The PhD Ultra is a portable, hand- held, microprocessor controlled instrument designed for monitoring up to four atmospheric gas hazards simultaneously. The PhD Ultra can be operated in either a "Diffusion" or "Sample-Draw" mode. The PhD Ultra uses highly specific, electrochemical toxic sensors that have been designed to minimize the effects of common interfering gases. Toxic sensors available for use in the PhD Ultra include hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (S02) , chlorine (C12) , hydrogen cyanide (HCN), ammonia (NH3) , nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (N02) . RADIOLOGICAL SURVEY METERS - Ludlum Measurements Inc., Sweetwater, TX (915) 235-5494 , cost $2,500.00. Ludlum 19 /iR/hr meters measure gamma radiation. An alternative to the Ludlum Model 19 is the Bicron Micro-Rem instrument. We recommend that every Region should have, at a minimum, a Ludlum Model 19 or Bicron equivalent. For more information on trade-offs and precautions between these instruments, please see contact provided below. Eberline and Ludlum make fine mid-range instruments which are capable of supporting multiple probes, such as the Eberline E-520 and Ludlum Model 14c. The recommended gamma probe is the Eberline - 2 - ------- HP-270 "Energy Compensated GM Probe" and the recommended pancake probes are the KP-21Q and HP-260 or a similar one made by Ludlutn. Ludlum 12 count rate meter measures alpha, beta, or gamma radiation, depending on probe. Eberline and Bicron also make good count rate meters. Recommended probes include the above GM and pancake probes and either an Eberline or Ludlum alpah scintillation probe. Recommended high range instruments include the Eberline RO-2A, and Ludlum makes a similar instrument. For weapon accidents, the Regions should consider the FIDLER probe (Field Instrument for Detection of Low Energy Radiation) to measure low energy gamma radiation. We recommend the FIDLER probe from Bicron, coupled with an Eberline ESP-2 which is a larger radiological instrument (calibrated according to HOTSPOT computer code). * The Radiation and Indoor Environments National Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, has offered free calibration services to the Region radiation programs. However, it does not perform calibration for EPA contractors. At a minimum, probes and instruments should be calibrated at one year intervals, records must be kept, and only alkaline batteries should be used in the instruments. Eberline, Ludlum and Bicron have on-line catalogs that can be accessed via Internet at the following web sites: » Eberline at http://www.eberlineinst.com; Ludlum at http://www/ludlums.com; and * Bicron at http://www.bicron.com. The on-line catalogs have detailed descriptions and pictures. All three companies are on GSA schedule. The Regions should avoid cheap quality equipment and not use old, unreliable Civil Defense equipment (CDV-700 and CDV-715) because it may be free. For more information regarding the radiological survey meters, please contact your Regional Radiation Program Manager or Gregg Dempsey, Director, 'Center for Environmental Restoration, Monitoring and Emergency Response, Radiation and Indoor Environments National Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV, (702) 798-2461, ------- ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT PORTABLE ISOTOPIC NEUTRON-SPECTROSCOPY CHEMICAL ASSAY SYSTEM (PINS) - EG&G ORTEC, Oak Ridge, TN (800)251-9750, cost $100,000,00. The PINS uses neutrons from a small moderated source. The neutrons pass through the wall of the container and collide with the atomic nuclei of the contents. The ensuing nuclear reactions produce gamma rays, which when appropriately detected and recorded, produce a gamma spectrum. The gamma-ray spectrum peaks are found at channel numbers corresponding to energies associated with specific nuclear deexcitations characteristic of the chemical element concerned. The relative heights of the peaks are related to the ratios of the elements inside the container. These energies are in themselves uniquely characteristic of the contents of the con- tainer, whether high explosive, nerve gas, or other. MINICAMS MODEL FM-30QO- CMS Research Corporation, Birmingham, AL (205)733-6900, cost $26,000.00. The MINICAMs is- a gas chromato- graph fitted with a flame ionization detector (FID), flame photo- metric detector (FPD), or a photo ionization detector (PID). The FPD is very selective for phosphorus and sulfur containing com- pounds, such as chemical warfare agents. ZELLWEGER ANALYTICS SPM - Zellweger Analytics, West Chester, PA (800)323-2000, cost $5,000,00. The SPM TAPEMETER uses a chem- cassette detection system to monitor for specific toxic airborne gases. There are a wide variety of compounds which can be detec- ted. Detection limits and sample time vary depending on the com- pound . GAS CHROMATOGRAPH/MASS SPECTROMETER (GC/MS) - Viking Instruments, Chantilly, VA (703) 968-0101, cost $155,000.00. The Viking SpectraTrak 620 is a transportable, multicomponent system consis- ting GC/MS and a data system housed in a rugged case. The Viking is based on the Hewlett-Packard 5971A mass selective detector. Tekmar model 4000 Dynamic Headspace Concentrator, a purge and trap unit with a Supelco* VOCarb 3000 adsorption trap, and an adapter allows air or soil gas samples to be introduced and analyzed for VOCs with typical detection limits of 2-10 ppbv. For information or technical advice on other than radiological survey meters, please contact Dave Mickunas, Environmental Response Team Center, Edison New Jersey, (732) 906-6913, or by E-mail. ------- |