Hazardous Materials and Train Derailment Emergency Planning Guide for School Districts and Community Colleges - Volume 3: Threat and Hazard Assessments

Planning for hazardous materials (hazmat) emergencies can seem like a daunting task. Lack of familiarity with the topic may lead to apprehension, reluctance, and avoidance from not knowing where to start. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration teamed up with Texas A&M Transportation Institute to release the Hazardous Materials and Train Derailment Emergency Planning Guide for School Districts and Community Colleges. This four-volume guide provides best information, suggestions, and templates that districts can adapt to their own situation. The guide provides best practice recommendations to help districts develop a robust hazmat emergency plan or further enhance existing plans, policies, and procedures. The following volumes make up the lineup of the guide: Summary for Planning Leaders Volume 1: The Planning Framework and Process Volume 2: Project Ideas for All Phases of Emergency Management Volume 3: Threat and Hazard Assessments Volume 4: Emergency Plan Templates Volume 3 answers the question, "What is my risk?" and offers guidance on using information about the risks in your district to improve readiness and planning. During interviews with school officials across Texas, a common problem identified was that school districts lacked information regarding the threat of hazardous materials to their schools. Some districts depended on local emergency management to provide them with relevant information about hazmat risks. Emergency managers are one source of information on hazardous materials. Fire departments and Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) are another. Districts are highly encouraged to use these resources in identifying their risks. However, not all districts and jurisdictions may be able to get help with up-to-date or accurate information about their risks. Volume 3 focuses on the potential sources of hazardous materials risks to schools, describes the 3-3-3 model used as a basis for planning and response, and provides specific examples and step-by-step instructions for districts to assess their risks independently. Because the focus is on proximity and quantity, and the guide identifies some of the most significant potential risks affecting most school districts, the procedures described do not require technical knowledge or an understanding of hazmat. Instead, the focus is on where the hazmat is in proximity to a school and less on what it is. The response to any major external incident nearby a district facility will either be to STAY (shelter in place) or FLEE (evacuate). Additionally, Volume 3 contains appendices providing detailed instructions that districts can take to conduct a potential threat and hazard assessment for hazardous materials risks in their district without external support, including: 1. Appendix A -- instructions on how to identify active rail lines and measure their distance to district facility property lines. 2. Appendix B -- similar to Appendix A but for pipelines. 3. Appendix C -- instructions for assessing roadway hazmat transportation risks using basic information and an understanding of the most common hazardous materials to help with planning decisions. 4. Appendix D -- instructions for identifying industrial, storage, oil/gas, and other hazardous materials facilities in proximity to district facilities. 5. Appendix E -- outlines how to identify hazardous materials and explains the more common classification system for hazmat.