Officials say county is one of the best prepared in the nation for biological and chemical disasters

In the wake of a recent FBI investigation that linked the anthrax spores that killed five and injured 17 across the country in 2001 to Dugway Proving Ground, Tooele County Emergency Management officials say the possibility of experiencing biological or chemical emergencies locally is minimal. Nonetheless, they claim the county is well prepared to handle those types of emergencies.

“Tooele County is one of the best prepared in the country,” said Wade Matthews, Tooele County Emergency Management public information officer.

A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that many areas in the United States are under-prepared to detect and react to biological or chemical attacks. Matthews said that fact can probably be attributed to lack of funding, considering it wasn’t until after the 2001 attacks that the Department of Homeland Security dedicated more federal funding to help smaller municipalities create emergency preparedness plans. Tooele County, however, has long since benefited from funding provided by the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP), which aims to improve emergency response capabilities in communities that surround chemical weapons stockpiles by helping to fund improved facilities, equipment, planning, training and exercises.

“In 1986, because of the building of the chemical weapons incinerator [at Deseret Chemical Depot], we had to get our ducks in a row,” Matthews said.

During Tooele County Emergency Management’s fledgling years, a reaction plan was formed, a command center was built and a director, planner and CSEPP program manger were hired. Various agencies all over the county — including police departments, fire departments, volunteer groups, and the health department — started participating in a wide variety of medical, management, and communications trainings, and collaborated to help the county prepare for and navigate through any type of emergency.

“A couple of years ago we had an anthrax scare,” Matthews said. “It turned out to be unfounded though. I think it was people hearing the news and getting scared.”

Police responded to that threat by calling in the assistance of hazmat members. The suspicious envelopes were removed and the area was cleaned up so normal activity could be resumed. The envelopes were sent to a lab in Salt Lake where it was determined that they weren’t contaminated, Matthews said.

Matthews said the county’s biggest threat isn’t biological or chemical, but rather nature.

“Our biggest threat for wide-spread damage is an earthquake. If we have one it’s going to be big,” Matthews added. “Biological and chemical threats are low. We just aren’t a big enough target [for terrorists]. We are too remote and rural.”

Matthews said the substances stored and tested at Dugway Proving Ground, although lethal, are not a risk to the county.

“We are aware of what Dugway has and know they have small quantities of those substances,” Matthews said. “Dugway has a fraction of a percent of the agent that Deseret Chemical Depot has.”

Although DCD has 3,873 tons of chemical agent still awaiting incineration, a majority of that agent is mustard — which Matthews said significantly reduces the risk associated with the facility.

“Mustard will not aerosolize,” Matthews said, pointing out that’s the only form in which mustard could pose a serious problem. “If there was an explosion or a fire, it’s likely that the agent would be burned up in the fire.”

Tooele County Emergency Management is in the process of constructing a new $4.5 million facility on the south side of the Tooele County Courthouse to improve its ability to respond to all types of disasters.

“The new facility will give us much more needed space, Matthews said. “It will make us better able to withstand different situations like earthquakes and flooding. We will have updated technology and it will better allow us to coordinate our support services.”

Next month is National Preparedness Month and the emergency management team will be working to promote the theme of “Encouraging Americans to get a kit, make a plan, be informed and get involved” through citizen participation in a mock disaster scheduled for Sept. 10.

“Those exercises prepare you for the real thing,” Matthews said. “It’s so much better than reading it in a book. You walk through a ‘what if’ scenario and see if you are able to respond appropriately. We try to have different scenarios because we don’t know what is going to come our way next.”

Jamie Belnap: jamieb@tooeletranscript.com