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Philadelphia 1999 Meeting
The Transportation External Coordination (TEC) Working
Group held its 15th semi-annual meeting July 14-15, 1999 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Over 150 members, participants, and observers representing
state, tribal, and local governments, regional groups, industry and professional
organizations, and the Department of Energy (DOE) met to address a variety of issues
related to DOE’s transportation activities for radioactive materials. A number of
Departmental programs with transportation components were represented, including: the
Office of Environmental Management (EM); the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste
Management (including the Yucca Mountain Project Office) (RW & YMPO); the Office of
Naval Reactors (NR); the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP); and the Office of Defense
Programs (DP).
Welcome and Meeting Overview
Participants were greeted by Philadelphia Fire
Commissioner Harold Hairston and by Director of Operations and Training for the
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, Jon Bahnweg.
Commissioner Hairston emphasized the continued need
for ongoing training and exercises:
- He noted that the World Trade Center and Oklahoma
City bombings raised the importance of continuous training for emergency services; as a
result Philadelphia is now more prepared to respond to a terrorist and/or a radiological
emergency.
- The City now has 40 fire companies supplied and
trained to use radiological detection equipment and a total of 99 fully trained HAZMAT
personnel.
- Philadelphia is addressing HAZMAT training for the
medical community because the City also operates the EMS system.
Mr. Bahnweg reiterated the importance of training
and exercises to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:
- As the Governor’s designee for advance
notification for high-level shipments, he expressed a keen interest in DOE and private
shipments of materials such as spent nuclear fuel.
- In Pennsylvania there are 5 nuclear power plants and
9 reactors; the State has upwards of 860 licensees.
- Pennsylvania has 25 ‘at risk counties;
there are 71,000 firefighter and 24,000 fire departments and large numbers of state police
that need to be trained to respond to a transportation emergency.
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