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October 09 Issue - Employee Monthly Magazine Lab’s training facility leads state in emergency, terrorism, and hazardous materials response
Emergency responders compete in a damming and diking exercise involving an overturned tanker. Photo courtesy of Emergency Operations More than a decade ago, when few Americans were thinking about recycling or reusing, the Laboratory’s emergency responders came up with a novel idea: build their own state-of-the-art training facility using recycled and donated props. Until then, they’d trained at the California Specialized Training Institute near San Luis Obispo, California. The west-coast facility was chosen “because the Lab was under University of California management at the time, and CSTI had one of the best curricula in the country,” said Bill Flor of Emergency Operations. Realizing that having a facility of its own would save the Lab time and travel expenses and allow responders to train on a more regular basis, Emergency Response group members began searching for likely training props in the Lab’s salvage area. “It’s amazing how many things came out of the Lab’s junkyard,” Flor said. They also solicited donations from anyone they could think of. Santa Fe Railroad donated a railcar, which responders promptly turned into a training prop outfitted with chlorine, acid, liquid propane gas, and general service domes. With the help of dedicated employees and summer interns, the fledgling training area slowly grew into the Emergency Response Training Facility—the only training center in New Mexico certified by CSTI. “It was a real labor of love,” Flor said. “Everyone pitched in.” Spread out over several acres at Technical Area 49, the facility boasts a training classroom, an explosive blast pad, robotics operations areas, and various props, including a semi van, a tanker trailer, a transuranic waste transportation container, a cryogenic tanker trailer, a confined space entry trainer, and other decommissioned vehicles, said Jeff Dare of Emergency Response. The props can be modified to create scenarios that mimic real-life situations, such as those involving improvised explosive devices, suspicious packages sent in the mail, booby-trapped buildings, and clandestine drug labs. The center really comes to life in late summer, when the Lab holds the annual Hazmat Challenge. “The Challenge is an event where you can have fun and forget you are learning at the same time,” Flor said. “For the past 13 years, Hazmat teams from New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma have participated to network, practice technical skills, and learn new Hazmat techniques under realistic conditions in a safe environment.” The scenarios get better each year as teams provide feedback and coordinators incorporate lessons learned and contemporary Hazmat issues, he said. The center also has seen its share of bomb technicians. The Lab alternates with Sandia National Laboratories to host the Robot Rodeo sponsored by the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators. During this event, bomb squads from state and local police departments, Air Force bases, and national laboratories compete by using robots to handle a variety of dangerous tasks. In addition to being a contest among teams of bomb technicians to see who is best versed in using robots to safely remove explosives, the event gives bomb squads throughout the state the opportunity to become familiar with the newest robotic equipment. 
Team members take turns decontaminating each other after completing an exercise. Photo by LeRoy N. Sanchez The training center provides a wide range of hazardous materials training and exercises to local and area emergency responders, according to Chris Rittner of Emergency Response. It also offers field support to various explosivesrelated Lab programs, as well as training to Department of Defense personnel and local law enforcement bomb disposal teams and K-9 explosive detection teams. Providing training for emergency crews from the Lab, Los Alamos County, and Bandelier National Monument, as well as from surrounding communities, leads to a more effective response in case of an emergency, Dare said. “Training together builds community and trust. If an emergency situation happens, we don’t have to waste time sizing up one another’s skills and capabilities,” he noted. “It’s a fantastic facility,” said Los Alamos Fire Chief Doug Tucker. “Hazmat situations can be incredibly complicated. Getting hands-on training on actual props is the best training we could get to learn how to respond effectively to such situations.” — Tatjana K. Rosev Hazardous Materials Response training courses and exercises
• CSTI Hazmat Technician and Specialist Other Headlines
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