Introduction

The Emergency Management Center (EMC) has conducted applied research and assisted in the development of emergency planning capabilities for a variety of agencies including the U.S. Department of Energy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of the Army, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the National Weather Service. We work closely with other researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and collaborate with a number of other organizations including the Center for Environment, Technology, and Development at Clark University, the Hazard Assessment Laboratory at Colorado State University, the Natural Hazard Research and Applications Center at the University of Colorado, as well as the Energy, Environment, and Resources Center and the Transportation Research Center at the University of Tennessee. A full list of group activities and publications is available on request.Research

The EMC conducts a wide range of applied research related to disasters. This has included evacuation feasibility studies; public response to warnings; evacuation of schools, hospitals, and nursing homes; definition of emergency planning zones for hazardous materials accidents; post-disaster audits of responder and organizational performance; effectiveness of warning systems; an evaluation of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program; an assessment of the impact of sea level rise on coastal hazard mitigation; development of criteria for reentry into contaminated areas; accident detection systems; and atmospheric dispersion models.

Emergency Plan Reviews

The EMC has developed methodologies for reviewing emergency plans in general and against specific criteria. A plan review system has been developed as part of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP). We participated in reviews of Commercial Nuclear Power Plant plans including one for the Three Mile Island Reactor. We have also helped review plans at Army Depots storing chemical weapons. In addition, we have assisted in reviewing plans at a variety of facilities with hazardous materials. Emergency Plan Development

The EMC in collaboration with SE Technology developed the Planning Guidance and the Technical Planning Standards for the CSEPP. These represent the current state of the art in emergency preparedness and emergency systems. We have prepared or revised over 40 plans and implementing procedures for communities in the CSEPP program. We are in the process of developing a planning guide for FEMA on community warning systems for hazardous material accidents. Also under way is a planning guide for protective action planning and decision making.

Training

The EMC has developed the training plan for CSEPP. In addition we have developed training courses, job aids, computer based training modules and training videos for FEMA. This has included training for emergency medical technicians, a chemical awareness course, a course on risk communications for emergency managers, a curriculum on using models in protective action planning and train-the-trainer general curriculum. Some of these materials have been adopted for use by the New York Transit Authority to train employees to respond to a terrorist incident involving chemical weapons in the wake of the Tokyo subway incident. We currently are developing a multi-media laboratory to support training development, including CD-ROM development and audio and video workstations. Training provides a vehicle for transfer of research and applications technology to the end user in state and local government.

Exercises

Working in conjunction with the Emergency Planning Group at ORNL we have developed the exercise plan for the CSEPP. In addition we provide support for planning, conducting, and evaluating emergency exercises. Currently we are working to develop quantitative tools for assessing exercise performance.

Automation/Modeling

The EMC has developed the Emergency Management Information System (EMIS) which is a state of the art client-server computer system for managing information in an emergency. In addition, we have developed PADRE, the Protective Action Dose Reduction model to aid planners in developing Protective Action Guides for chemical weapons accidents, and D2 for MAC and WIN, an atmospheric dispersion code for chemical weapons accidents that run on Macintosh and Windows Operating Systems. We specialize in developing multi-platform applications using object-oriented programming.

Public Education Information

We have extensive experience in developing public education materials for emergency management including question and answers, brochures, and multi-media presentations. A source book on risk communication for emergency managers and a guide on preparing emergency warning messages were recently published.

Environmental Impact Assessment

We have conducted pioneering work in the assessment of the social and psychological effects of hazardous technology including nuclear power and chemical weapons. Currently we are developing an approach to analyze demographic impacts of environmental alterations using a GIS approach. This will be used to estimate populations at risk, identify high vulnerability groups and assess environmental justice issues.