Hazardous Materials: Fixed Facility *

Description:

Chemical Hazardous Materials—Fixed Facility: Uncontrolled release of hazardous materials from a fixed site.

Radiological Materials—Fixed Facility: A radiological release occurring at a nuclear power plant, or in association with hospitals, industrial facilities, and research labs which may cause impaired thyroid function, whole body, and bone marrow contamination from absorption or ingestion of contaminated food.

Secondary Effects:

In the State of Maine several hundred chemical spills and thousands of petroleum spills occur each year. Although few injuries and remarkably no deaths have occurred over the last several years, the likelihood of injury and death remain a real possibility. Additionally, the loss of private and public property through contamination is a concern. The potential loss of public property and public safety resources, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and mobile response equipment and of hospitals through contamination remain critical as these resources are minimal at the municipal level and lessening the availability of any of these resources may create an emergency. Beyond the loss of private and public property, there are environmental effects that increase the possibility of the loss or reduced value of land thereby creating an economic loss or quality of life loss to the citizens affected. Economic losses may include loss of jobs either through temporary or permanent closures and reduced property values.

Radiological may include pollution of the air and under more severe circumstances, contamination of soil and water with radioactive materials. A peacetime nuclear accident may require an extensive response calling for activation of detailed emergency plans dealing with alerting and warning, evacuation and shelter, provision of emergency services, radiological monitoring and testing, and public information.

Vulnerability:

Maine has about 1,500 facilities that report their storage and use of hazardous materials. About 400 facilities report having extremely hazardous chemicals on site. In addition, there may be as many facilities that do not report the presence of hazardous materials they have on site and, therefore, public safety responders are less aware of the risks associated at these facilities. There are several thousand facilities that maintain hazardous waste storage areas that may contribute to the risk. Jurisdictions with hazardous materials manufacture, processing, and storage sites; and hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal sites are at risk.

Maine has several locations that use radioactive materials in the production of electricity, the provision of medical care, in research efforts, in manufacturing and in defense. Each of these locations requires transportation of radioactive materials to replenish supplies or remove wastes. There are two nuclear power plants that emergency planning in Maine must consider. Twenty communities in Washington County are within the fifty mile Ingestion Planning Zone of Point Lepreau, New Brunswick, Canada, and twenty-one communities in York County are within the Ingestion Planning Zone of the Seabrook Nuclear facility in Seabrook, New Hampshire.

Mitigation:

Mitigation of this hazard is achieved through effective emergency planning at the local level to include identification of facilities that store and use hazardous materials and waste and by coordinating these plans with those facilities that pose the risk. Once identification is done and, through the planning process, training and equipping first responders, educating the public and effective zoning/land use regulations at the local level can be put in place to minimize the risks associated with any potential release.

It is important to continue to develop, update and test chemical and radiological emergency response plans and maintain equipment and trained personnel in risk areas to protect the populations. These plans include the assistance and cooperation of MEMA, State Police, Bureau of Health, Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture, Department of Environmental Protection, and the Executive Department. All persons involved with the transportation, handling, storage or use of radiological materials must have adequate training, appropriate protective equipment and effective procedures to follow in handling and responding to these hazards.

* An occurrence of this hazard could possibly be initiated by a deliberate act.

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MAINE PREPARES

Hazardous Materials: Fixed Facility *

Description:

Secondary Effects:

Vulnerability:

Mitigation:

MAINE HAZARDS