CI Boom 2014 Jan

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Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan
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News etc. digested by Alister William Macintyre
CI Boom 2014 Jan describes critical infrastructure disasters. What can be done to mitigate
such incidents are in my main analysis document.1 Last updated 2014 Mar 05
Version 1.46
Table of Contents, allow up to level 4 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 2 Tags......................................................................................................................... 3 USA cities ................................................................................................................... 3 Grand 2013 Disaster Totals ................................................................................................ 3 Cyber Security ................................................................................................................ 6 NY Energy Conversion................................................................................................... 6 ACEP 2014 Report Card..................................................................................................... 6 Disaster Preparedness C- for USA overall.................................................................. 7 CI disaster stories 2014 January ......................................................................................... 9 2014 Jan-5 Mn Propane Explosion ........................................................................... 10 2014 Jan-6 Fire Storm in Australia........................................................................... 10 2014 Jan-7 Canada Oil Derailment........................................................................... 10 2014 Jan-9 W Va chemical spill contaminates water ............................................... 10 2014 Jan-10 Erika NC Gas Line leak then explosion ................................................... 11 2014 Feb-13 Erika NC investigation results......................................................... 11 2014 Jan-11 Pipeline disaster drill ............................................................................ 11 2014 Jan-12 plane lands at wrong airport. ................................................................ 11 2014 Jan-12 Sewer Pipe busts in Hollywood Ca ...................................................... 11 2014 Jan 13 CRS report on US response to Oil and Chemical spills ....................... 11 2014 Jan 13 NTSB preliminary report on ND train boom........................................ 12 2014 Jan 14 NTSB preliminary report on Bronx derailment.................................... 12 2014 Jan 16 Methane Leaks in Washington DC and Boston MA ............................ 13 2014 Jan 17 NTSB report on plane landing wrong airport ....................................... 13 2014 Jan-20 PA Oil Derailment................................................................................ 14 2014 Jan-20 Omaha NE factory explosion ................................................................... 14 Jan-21 Omaha NE factory explosion summary via FEMA .................................. 15 2014 Jan 20 Madill Ok steel plant explosion............................................................ 16 2014 Jan 22 New Albany Ms bio-diesel explosion .................................................. 16 2014 Jan 22 Russia coal mine explosion .................................................................. 16 2014 Jan 23 ....................................................................................................................... 17 Jan 23 Quebec Senior Home Fire ............................................................................. 17 Jan 23 Ohio Gas Well explosion............................................................................... 17 Jan 23 I-94 pile-up Indiana ....................................................................................... 17 Jan 23 NTSB and TSB want higher standards for oil via rail....................................... 17 2014 Jan 24 Alaska Avalanches ................................................................................... 17
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/114094060/CI-Boom-Analysis
Critical Infrastructure disasters 2014 Jan Here is the main document: http://www.scribd.com/doc/114094060/CI-Boom-Analysis
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Jan-28 Alaska Avalanches summary per FEMA .................................................. 17 2014 Jan 25 Canada Pipeline Explosion....................................................................... 18 Jan-27 Canada Pipeline summary per FEMA....................................................... 18 2014 Jan 26 Guardian on Cities at the Brink ............................................................ 19 2014 Jan 27 GAO on Critical Infrastructure Protection ........................................... 19 2014 Jan 28 ....................................................................................................................... 20 Jan 28 druggies @ VT critical infrastructure............................................................ 20 Jan 28 CRS on CI recovery....................................................................................... 20 Jan 28 UK Fire Response Statistics .......................................................................... 21 Jan 28 Next Chemical Incident ................................................................................. 22 Jan 28 Gas Drilling can cause Birth Defects?........................................................... 22 Jan 28 Snow in South East USA................................................................................... 22 2014 Jan Atlanta Weather forecast day and before storm ................................ 24 Lessons Atlanta needs to learn from this stupidity ............................................... 25 2014 Jan 29 St Louis MO Explosion ........................................................................ 27 a familiar story ...................................................................................................... 27 2014 Jan 30 CSB Report on 2010 WA Refinery Disaster ........................................ 28 2014 Jan 31 Keystone Update................................................................................... 28 Continued in more documents .......................................................................................... 29
Summary
The following is also description in Scribd upload, of what is relevant to this time line segment. Events in 2014 Jan time line were in: Australia; Britain; Canada; Russia; USA. They include problems with: industry; natural gas; oil; pipelines; railroads; highway carelessness; and more.
Buildings need to be designed so that in the event of a power outage, people inside will
not be in total darkness. Exit signs need to have batteries so they can be lit when power down. This is a best practice which may need to be mandated by law, and inspected by local fire departments, when they check to make sure that fire extinguishers and smoke alarms are working properly.
Construction crews need an advance map of where gas lines and other critical
infrastructure exists, in areas where they are working, and have appropriate training so that they can avoid crashing into them. Almost every time line segment has incidents of them not knowing, leading to gas line rupture, and explosion, destroying one or more buildings.
Weather Forecasting has improved dramatically.
It does an excellent job of letting us know how serious weather is going to be, and where it is going to be, with predictions getting better and better as bad weather approaches an area. Government leaders need to know that when there is a special word like blizzard, tornado, storm, it has special 2 Critical Infrastructure disasters 2014 Jan Here is the main document: http://www.scribd.com/doc/114094060/CI-Boom-Analysis
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significance as to nature of severity, and what precautions ought to be taken. When the weather forecast says people should stay off the highways unless it is an emergency, then this is a good reason to close schools, offices, and other facilities. Unfortunately many government, and other, leaders are oblivious to what weather forecasts tell us.
Tags
12 Tags Fire, explosion, gas leak, train wrecks, keystone, Atlanta, ACEP, DC, Disaster preparedness, Winter Weather drivers, statistics, NTSB
USA cities
The following is an effort to: Identify cities which belong in the tags; Identify worst stories in this segment, t o be incorporated in overall big picture. USA cities, in this time line segment, where the incidents were rather severe, in terms of Disaster preparedness is very poor; numbers of people inconvenienced, hurt or killed; property damage. Atlanta GA = 6+ million people cars stuck in traffic jam for a day or more. Australia = hundreds of homes on fire Boston MA has 3,300+ gas leaks, but at concentrations less than in DC Minneapolis MN = 400-500 evacuated Quebec Canada Senior Home fire Washington DC has 5,900+ methane and gas leaks Winter Weather drivers US States with F grade for Disaster Preparedness: DE HI ID IL IN ME MT OH SC UT VT WA WI WY Other localities, which may belong in tags, in this time line segment include:. Canada oil derailments, and pipeline mishaps Charleston WV incident moved to separate segment. 300,000 people without safe water. Keystone Statistics
Grand 2013 Disaster Totals

Usually it is not until early the next year that we hear of totals from prior year, of disaster recovery expenses, weather and climate change severity, and other topics. Costs rise each year, not necessarily due to greater severity of weather, but because more and more people are living in dangerous areas, and building more and more expensive structures, so fragile that the predictable natural disasters will seriously damage them.

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There are flood prone areas. The people, who were living there, are persuaded to leave, so as to lower vulnerability costs. Other people move in to replace them. Sea levels are rising. How often has that happened in the history of our planet? Probably more people are living in expensive buildings along the coast line, than the last time that happened. There are places in the nation more vulnerable to tornadoes, earthquakes, storms. Are those events any more virulent, frequent, etc. than in the last 100+ years of recorded history? We are having some nuclear radiation incidents. That is new, in human history. There may also be some newly invented chemicals for the chemical industry to mess us up with. Certainly building infrastructure, which will fail if not maintained, has been done with an unprecedented intensity.
Watch the last 27 years of sea ice going away.2 Te National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB):3 found USA transportation fatalities increased by 3% in 2012 from 2011. Transportation fatalities in all modes totaled 35,531 in 2012, compared to 34,551 in 2011. Deaths on U.S. roadways, accounting for nearly 94% of all transportation deaths, increased from 32,479 in 2011 to 33,561 in 2012. Highway fatalities increased in all categories except buses, which are down from 55 fatalities in 2011 to 39 in 2012. Railroad deaths also increased 6% from 757 to 803. The vast majority of these fatalities were persons struck by a rail vehicle. Aviation deaths decreased from 498 to 449. Nearly 96% of aviation fatalities occurred in general aviation accidents (432), but they still represented a decrease from the previous year (448). In 2012, air taxi fatalities dropped from 41 in 2011 to 15. Marine deaths also dropped in 2012, from 803 to 706. The vast majority of the fatalities, (651), occurred in recreational boating.
2 3
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/watch-27-years-of-old-arctic-ice-melt-away-in-seconds-17099 https://www.ntsb.gov/news/2014/140214.html
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According to the Insurance Information Institute:4 Oklahoma was the nation's costliest state for natural-disaster claims in 2013 due to tornado spurred payouts, with $2 billion in insured catastrophe expenses. In # 2 place was Texas at $1.51 billion. No. 3 Colorado, hit by wildfires, with $907 million in losses. Research and Markets has announced addition of the "Pipeline Safety Market - Physical Security, ICS Security, Professional Services - Global Advancements, Forecasts & Analysis (2013 - 2018) report to their offerings.5 Pipeline safety includes: Maintenance and repair before it falls apart and goes boom;
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http://www.thesnaponline.com/statenews/x1708326022/Oklahoma-leads-U-S-in-2013-disaster-costs http://www.heraldonline.com/2014/02/18/5687351/research-and-markets-pipeline.html http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/v86ksl/pipeline_safety

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Training employees to recognize what the alarms and other instruments mean, and to react appropriately; Having appropriate alarms and instruments installed in the first place, with periodic inspection to make sure they are working correctly; Being truthful to communities, thru which the pipelines pass, regarding risks, so that there can be appropriate investment in first responder training, and zoning to limit exposure of schools and high density population, to where there may be a future explosion; Cyber security for SCADA and other technology needed to manage all this wisely; Supporting constitutional rights of the people to seek redress of environmental grievances, without allowing sabotage by extremists; Protecting the infrastructure from terrorists, and criminals.
Cyber Security
Each year, various organizations, tasked with combating security breaches, come out with reports on state-of-art, vulnerabilities, statistics etc. Here is the annual Verizon report on PCI (Payment Cart Industry) security. 6 Here is some commentary on it.7
NY Energy Conversion
Con Edison reported that owners of nearly 1,300 large New York City buildings converted from oil to natural gas in 2013. The number of large buildings making the switch has grown each year since the city passed its NYC Clean Heat regulations in 2011. That year, 309 buildings converted from No. 4, No. 6 and No. 2 oil. In 2012, 855 buildings converted, and last year 1,293 switched. Anticipating more growth, Con Edison plans to invest $1.73 billion on gas infrastructure over the next three years.8
ACEP 2014 Report Card

I do not know precisely when this was published.9 I found it, and downloaded it mid 2014 Feb. The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) published this 149 page US state by state (including Puerto Rico) report card comparison of access to quality health care, and disaster preparedness. Initially, my interest is in the disaster preparedness. They also did this in 2009, and compare how various states are doing today, compared to that earlier report card.
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http://www.verizonenterprise.com/pcireport/2014/ http://www.xbridgesystems.com/verizon-2014-pci-compliance-report-data-rest-vulnerable/ 8 http://www.naturalgaswatch.org/?p=2782 9 http://www.emreportcard.org/
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Disaster Preparedness C- for USA overall

This category represents 15% of the total ACEP grade and includes financial resources, state coordination, hospital capacity, and personnel data related to the capacity to respond to disasters. The ever-present threat and reality of natural disasters and man-made catastrophes require an effective response capability. Disaster preparedness efforts rely on ongoing collaboration of many entities at all levels of government and in all economic sectors. Emergency physicians, who have training and experience in managing mass casualty events and delivering lifesaving care, are integral to this process. Despite real and present threats, states continue to experience great variability in planning and response capacities. In many communities, capacity is already stretched to the limit, and hospital bed surge capacity, staffing, and resources are inadequate to respond to the extraordinary demands precipitated by any disaster.
The columns below are in pairs: a numerical ranking, then grade, in each of 6 categories: 1. Access to Emergency Care 2. Quality & Patient Safety Environment 3. Medical Liability Environment 4. Public Health & Injury Prevention
5. Disaster Preparedness 6. Overall
I was not able to copy the chart into a format as nice as in the 149 page report.
STATE RANK GRADE RANK GRADE RANK GRADE RANK GRADE RANK GRADE RANK GRADE
AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY
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41 F 28 C 31 D 43 F 15 C+ 44 D 38 F 46 F 9 B 44 F 18 C 42 D 48 F 14 B- 29 C- 26 D+ 24 C- 31 D+ 39 F 41 D 37 D- 48 F 36 D- 50 D42 F 32 C- 20 C+ 10 B+ 30 C- 23 C22 D+ 11 B- 1 A 17 B- 22 C 5 C+ 18 C- 18 C+ 32 D 8 B+ 29 C- 15 7 C+ 7 B+ 34 D 36 D- 38 F 20 C1 A 9 B 51 F 24 D+ 1 A 1 B49 F 17 C+ 28 C 30 D+ 16 C+ 27 C46 F 26 C 12 B- 31 D+ 32 D+ 29 D+ 44 F 16 B- 30 D+ 2 A 41 F 24 C43 F 45 F 3 A- 33 D+ 48 F 41 D 24 D 22 C+ 50 F 29 D+ 43 F 45 D 20 D+ 39 D 23 C 35 D 42 F 40 D+ 13 C- 27 C 27 C 14 B 14 C+ 11 14 C- 44 F 4 A- 18 C+ 26 C- 16 12 C 43 F 48 F 34 D 33 D 47 D
8 LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY
Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan 34 F 49 F 26 C 45 F 3 B+ 42 D 3 B 6 B+ 21 C 7 A- 49 F 3 B23 D 1 A 47 F 9 B+ 10 B- 10 4 B 5 B+ 40 D- 1 A 20 C 2 B32 F 33 C- 33 D 27 D+ 25 C- 46 D 15 C- 40 D 13 B- 6 A- 28 C- 12 16 C- 38 D+ 22 C 50 F 19 C 26 C6 C+ 20 C+ 45 F 46 F 8 B- 22 C31 F 50 F 10 B 39 D- 45 F 48 D 9 C 24 C+ 5 B+ 16 B- 7 B- 4 B51 F 48 F 15 B- 28 D+ 5 B 36 D+ 30 D- 10 B 41 D- 32 D+ 12 C+ 28 D+ 36 F 19 C+ 44 F 11 B 13 C+ 30 D+ 50 F 34 D+ 36 D- 25 D+ 34 D 49 D 17 C- 23 C+ 49 F 12 B 4 B 13 C 27 D 4 A- 24 C 23 C- 27 C- 13 C 8 C 36 D+ 8 B+ 38 D- 2 A 8 C+ 5 B- 15 B- 6 B+ 22 C- 51 F 7 C+ 40 F 37 D+ 17 C+ 40 D- 6 B- 37 D+ 35 F 21 C+ 35 D 3 A- 37 D- 32 D+ 2 B+ 3 A 43 F 21 C- 17 C+ 6 C+ 10 C 35 D+ 46 F 15 B 9 B- 18 C45 F 13 B- 7 B+ 51 F 46 F 33 D+ 21 D+ 47 F 19 C+ 41 D- 31 D+ 39 D+ 26 D 29 C 11 B 37 D- 11 B- 17 C47 F 42 F 2 A 49 F 21 C 38 D+ 28 D- 2 A 14 B- 4 A- 44 F 9 C+ 25 D 25 C+ 39 D- 13 B 40 F 33 D+ 29 D- 12 B- 25 C 19 C+ 23 C 18 C37 F 8 B 42 F 5 A- 50 F 35 D+ 11 C 30 C- 16 C+ 42 F 35 D 24 C19 C- 31 C- 18 C+ 20 C+ 39 F 21 C33 F 51 F 38 D- 47 F 47 F 51 F
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States flunking Disaster Preparedness: DE HI ID IL IN ME MT OH SC UT VT WA WI WY States with an A grade for this: DC ND State rankings from best to worst on Disaster Preparedness:
DC ND LA NY NV OK NE MO RI MD TN NH NJ IO AL FL PA AK MS MA TX CO VA AZ MI KS NC MN CT CA SD GA KY NM WV AR OR DE WI VT HI IN IL UT MT SC WY ID ME WA OH
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The report card has at least a couple pages on each state, explaining how the grade was derived. Some terminology in the ACEP report:
ATRA American Tort Reform Association CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention E-911 Enhanced 911 ED Emergency department EMA Emergency Management Agency EMS Emergency Medical Services EMTALA Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act ESAR-VHP Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals ESF-8 Emergency Support Function 8 Public Health and Medical Services Annex RN Registered nurse
CI disaster stories 2014 January

Here is an installment of my incident time line for my notes on Critical Infrastructure (CI) disasters. I collect info about many disasters, see what they have in common, then consider what improvements could be made in efforts to mitigate risk of high damage in the next similar incident, or even reduce the frequency in which they occur. My overall analysis and mitigation evaluation is in a separate parent document, from these incident time-line chunks.10 There seem to be many causes, for Critical Infrastructure disasters, such as: ignorance about risks, on the part of companies, government officials, and the general public; criminal negligence, more commonly unintentional than intentional; insufficient corporate reporting to local government what dangerous chemicals they have, so that zoning can avoid schools and high density population right next door; a lack of public education to get witnesses to promptly report leak odors; government safety and environmental regulations poorly communicated to where there is need to know them typically government inspectors visit a microscopic fraction of places they know about, and educate thru infraction notification, while there are many thousands of relevant places unknown to regulatory agencies; certain stupid behavior leads to totally avoidable disasters, but this happens piecemeal in community after community, different places which fail to learn from a million other communities, until it is their turn to experience the same type event.
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/114094060/CI-Boom-Analysis
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2014 Jan-5 Mn Propane Explosion

A propane explosion sent dozens of fireballs into the air behind the Rogers apartment building, leading to the evacuation of 400-500 residents, in the Minneapolis St Paul area.11
2014 Jan-6 Fire Storm in Australia

Apparently hundreds of homes were engulfed in fire. It is not clear from this one story what is going on, how this happened.12
2014 Jan-7 Canada Oil Derailment

According to U.S. Rail Transportation of Crude Oil: Background and Issues for Congress, February 6, 2014:13
Plaster Rock, New BrunswickOn January 7, 2014, 17 cars of a mixed train hauling crude oil, propane, and other goods derailed likely due to a sudden wheel or axle failure. Five tank cars carrying crude oil caught fire and exploded. The train reportedly was delivering crude from evacuated but no injuries were reported. Manitoba and Alberta to the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick. About 45 homes were
2014 Jan-9 W Va chemical spill contaminates water

Thursday Jan-9 night on the Elk River in Charleston, West Virginia's capital, there was a chemical spill, which has led to up to 300,000 people (at 100,000 customer sites) without access to tap water.14
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http://kstp.com/article/stories/s3269573.shtml http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/latest/a/20715088/two-minutes-to-disaster/ 13 http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43390.pdf 25 pages 14 In my Gas Boom notes, I am color coding key words to use in later News search for updates. http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201401100004 http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201401090044 http://www.wavy.com/news/politics/wva-national-guard-set-to-help-distribute-water_72963051 http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2014/01/10/4404043/ http://www.salon.com/2014/01/10/state_of_emergency_declared_in_west_virginia_chemical_spill/ http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/01/10/261282459/chemical-leak-causes-water-emergency-inwest-virginia http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/wva-gov-declares-emergency-chem-spill-21481911 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chemical-spill-contaminates-water-supply-in-wva/ http://www.msnbc.com/all/west-virginia-chemical-spill-water http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20140109/wva-governor-declares-emergency-after-chemicalspill-fouls-elk-river http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/01/11/261607496/hundreds-of-thousands-still-without-waterin-w-va http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/us/west-virginia-chemical-spill.html?hpw&rref=us&_r=0 http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/10/us-usa-westvirginia-spillidUSBREA0902T20140110?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/chemical-spill-into-wva-river-spurs-closures-runon-bottled-water/2014/01/10/a6ec518a-7a0e-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/west-virginia-water-emergency-nears-fifth-daywith-no-end-in-sight/2014/01/12/9d0959bc-7b88-11e3-9556-4a4bf7bcbd84_story.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537104/State-emergency-declared-West-Virginia-chemical-spillresults-tap-water-ban-300-000.html
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I put what we know so far, do not know, who to blame, etc. in a separate document uploaded to Scribd.15
2014 Jan-10 Erika NC Gas Line leak then explosion

A natural gas line leak of a 12-inch pipe beneath Sand Hill Road in Buncombe County, N.C., led to an explosion just before 4 p.m on Friday Jan-10 that sent flames 50-100 feet into the air, forcing evacuations and causing power outages. 16
2014 Feb-13 Erika NC investigation results

The N.C. Utilities Commission lists the cause of the rupture as excavation damage, and says a contractor in 2003 accidentally caused gouges in the 12 -inch transmission line while installing a smaller line nearby. Federal regulations require that such lines have to be 12 inches from any other line. This one wasnt. 17
2014 Jan-11 Pipeline disaster drill

Emergency responders, from 13 counties, attended seminars and education on how to deal with major pipeline disasters.18
2014 Jan-12 plane lands at wrong airport.

See more info in NTSB report Jan-17.
2014 Jan-12 Sewer Pipe busts in Hollywood Ca

A sewage line running directly under the Golden Globes red carpet busted Sunday afternoon, causing a huge stink!19
2014 Jan 13 CRS report on US response to Oil and Chemical spills

On January 13, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report: Oil and Chemical Spills: Federal Emergency Response Framework, which I downloaded for
study.
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CRS is like a Think Tank for politicians who do not know what the heck is going on, and need a rapid education in topics currently hot in Washington DC. These reports, like Inspector General (IG) and US Government Accountability (GAO) reports, can also be extremely educational to the general public. Unfortunately many of these reports need a
http://news.discovery.com/earth/chemical-spill-in-west-virginia-declared-disaster-140110.htm 15 http://www.scribd.com/doc/203973261/CI-Boom-2014-Jan-9-W-Va-Water 16 http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/x1186923010/Responders-prep-for-pipeline-disaster http://wlos.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wlos_breaking-gas-line-explosion-14707.shtml 17 http://www.naturalgaswatch.org/?p=2593 18 http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/x1186923010/Responders-prep-for-pipeline-disaster 19 http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2014/01/golden-globes-red-carpet-sewer-break/ 20 The 25 page report = http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43251.pdf I named my copy CRS Spill Response 2014 Jan. I found out about this report here: http://blogs.fas.org/secrecy/2014/01/usmcdrawdown/ CRS reports are available, but not distributed, to the general public, but FAS finds them, makes them available, and announces the links. FAS = Federation of American Scientists.
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translator from government geek to mainstream civilian understandability. However, for some topics, the effort can be worth while.
2014 Jan 13 NTSB preliminary report on ND train boom

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Issues a Preliminary Report on the Casselton ND, collision, fire, explosion, near Fargo ND, where a BNSF train, carrying crude oil, struck a derailed BNSF train carrying grain.21 Here is that report.22 After the collision, both train crews were able to get clear without injuries. Damage was estimated at $6.1 million. Parties in this investigation include: BNSF; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; Federal Railroad Administration (FRA); International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers, formerly known as the United Transportation Union; Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA); Trinity Rail Car. More Info about this, see: 2013 Dec 30 ND Oil Derailment
2014 Jan 14 NTSB preliminary report on Bronx derailment

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Releases a Preliminary Report on Metro-North Train Derailment, which occurred 2013 Dec 1, in Bronx, New York. The southbound train, with 7 passenger cars and one locomotive, had derailed on the Metro North Hudson line. 4 were killed, and dozens injured.23 Here is that report.24 The derailment occurred in a 6 degree curve whose speed was limited to 30 mph, but at the time of the derailment, this train was traveling at 82 mph. Initially, parties to this investigation included: Association of Commuter Rail Employees (ACRE); Bombardier Transportation; Federal Railroad Administration; Metro-North Railroad; New York Fire Dept; New York Police Dept;
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https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press_releases.html https://www.ntsb.gov/news/2014/140112.html 22 http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2014/Casselton_ND_Preliminary.pdf 23 https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press_releases.html https://www.ntsb.gov/news/2014/140114.html 24 http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2014/Metro-North_Bronx%202013_PreliminaryReport.pdf
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New York Public Transportation Safety Board; Teamsters Local 808.
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ACRE was removed, as a part to the investigation, Dec-3, due to a senior ACRE official making unauthorized comments about the investigation, to the news media. More info about this, see: 2013 Dec 01 Bronx passenger derailment 2014 Feb 18 NTSB Railroad Alerts
2014 Jan 16 Methane Leaks in Washington DC and Boston MA

Nearly 5,900 methane and other gas leaks have been found in ageing natural gas pipelines in Washington, D.C., where some manholes were found to have methane levels 10 times the threshold for an explosion, according to a study conducted by researchers from Duke University and Boston University.25 They also found 3,300 natural gas pipeline leaks in Boston Ma, but average methane concentrations were higher in Washington. Financial incentives and targeted programs among companies, public utility commissions, and scientists to reduce leaks and replace old cast-iron pipes will improve consumer safety and air quality, save money, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. According to the study, pipeline safety in the United States has increased in recent decades, but incidents involving natural gas pipelines still cause an annual average of: 17 fatalities $133 M in property damage; about $3 billion of natural gas losses. The study was published Jan-16 in the journal, "Environmental Science and Technology."26
2014 Jan 17 NTSB report on plane landing wrong airport

Jan-12, Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 landed at the wrong airport in Missouri. Jan-14, its flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) arrived at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) lab, for analysis.
According to the CVR, the Southwest crew was informed by air traffic control (ATC) that they were 15 miles from their intended target, which was Branson Airport. The crew responded that they had the airfield in sight and ATC cleared the aircraft for a visual approach and landing on runway 14 at Branson Airport. According to the CVR, the
25 26
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/d.c.-methane-leaks-threaten-explosions-climate-16964 http://pubs.acs.org/journal/esthag http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es404474x
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landing was uneventful and it was not until shortly after landing that the crew realized they had landed at the wrong airport. Jan-16, the two pilots and a Southwest dispatcher, who was riding in the jump seat, were interviewed by NTSB investigators. This was the first flight, for the Captain, into Branson airport. The first officer had flown into Branson, one time before, in daylight hours.
The pilots told investigators that the approach had been programmed into their flight management system, but that they first saw the airport beacon and the runway lights of M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport, located in Hollister, Mo., which they mistakenly identified as Branson Airport. They cited the bright runway lights at M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport, and the fact that the runway was oriented in a similar direction. They also informed investigators that they flew a visual approach into what they believed to be Branson Airport and that they did not realize they were at the wrong airport until they had landed. They confirmed that they utilized heavy braking to bring the aircraft to a stop and then advised the Branson Airport tower that they had landed at the wrong airport. Jan-17 NTSB released the above info. The investigation is ongoing. Future updates will be issued as events warrant. Follow the investigation on Twitter at @NTSB, on our website at ntsb.gov or by signing up to receive NTSB news releases at www.ntsb.gov/registration/registration.aspx. They also have RSS feeds27 but only for Google (dead) and Yahoo (brain dead).
2014 Jan-20 PA Oil Derailment

According to U.S. Rail Transportation of Crude Oil: Background and Issues for Congress, February 6, 2014:28
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaOn January 20, 2014, seven cars of a 101-car CSX train, including six carrying crude oil, derailed on a bridge over the Schuylkill River. No injuries and no leakage were reported, but press photographs showed two cars, one a tanker, leaning over the river.
2014 Jan-20 Omaha NE factory explosion

Grain elevator explosion and second floor structure collapse occurred January 20 10 am at the International Nutrition Inc. animal feed mill plant in Omaha, NE (pop 421,570) Fire is contained; no hazardous materials or chemicals. Combustible dust is one speculation as a possible cause for this disaster. Investigators were not certain if there was an actual explosion before the floor collapse at Omaha's International Nutrition plant, said Omaha Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim McCaw. "Some people have said they heard an explosion and some indicated they did not," McCaw said. "All we know for sure is there was a collapse."
27 28
http://www.ntsb.gov/rss.html http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43390.pdf 25 pages
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Nebraska Task Force 1, the Urban Search and Rescue team based at the Lincoln Fire & Rescue Department, has been deployed to Omaha. Lincoln is located about 50 miles SW of Omaha. 38 people were inside the plant when explosion occurred; all accounted for; 2 fatalities; 10 injured sent to hospital(s). Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha was treating four workers from the plant. Two of them were admitted, one with a collapsed lung and one with hypothermia. In addition, a firefighter was released after receiving stitches in his hand. Plant worker Nate Lewis said he felt fortunate to have made it out. Lewis, 21, told reporters that he was on the first floor when he heard the blast. The building went dark, so he used light from his cell phone to make his way across the production floor to safety outside.29 News sources, see footnotes.30
Jan-21 Omaha NE factory explosion summary via FEMA

FEMA Daily Operations Brief for Tuesday, January 21, 2014 Significant Events: Chemical Spill Charleston, WV (FEMA-3366-EM) Explosion International Nutrition Plant, Omaha, NE Colby Wildfire, CA FINAL FEDERAL OFFICES in Washington, DC area (NCR) are CLOSED; emergency and telework-ready employees required to work must follow their agencys policies, including written telework agreements Significant Weather: Artic airmass Eastern U.S. Seaboard Heavy Snow Storm Mid-Atlantic and New England Blizzard conditions Mid-Atlantic into New England (Gusty winds & low temperatures) Red Flag Warnings: TX, CO, NE & KS
29
It may be that safety regulations are stricter in other parts of the nation, or it may be that our ISO 9000 inspections suggested this improvement, but my day job has big EXIT signs above all exits, in which there is a battery inside the light, recharged by the public utility electricity, so that in a power outage, everyone inside the building can see where the exits are, unless theres serious smoke from some fire. T here are periodic tests, in case batteries need to be replaced. There are flash lights plugged into walls, where public utilities electric recharges their batteries, they detect loss of electrical power, and at that point turn on, shining torch light to illuminate their location. People can then go grab flash light, pull from wall socket, and fold the plug out of the way. I wonder if the locations of fire extinguishers should have similar lighting. 30 http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-omaha-plant-explosion-missing20140120,0,3191699.story http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/workers-seek-recover-body-find-collapse-21614827 http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/21/usa-explosion-feedplant-idUSL2N0KV17120140121
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Critical Fire Weather Areas: Southern Plains Elevated Fire Weather Areas: Central/Southern Plains Space Weather: No space weather storms occurred/predicted ne xt 24 hours FEMA Readiness: NE-TF1 (State activated) for Omaha, NE plant explosion Declarations: Major Disaster Declaration Request - VT
20140121 FEMA Daily Ops Briefing_0830.pdf
Current Situation Grain elevator explosion and structure collapse occurred on January 20 at the International Nutrition Inc. feed mill plant in Omaha, NE (pop 421,570) 38 people were inside the plant when explosion occurred; all are now accounted for; 2 fatalities; 10 injuries Cause of explosion is unknown Fire is contained; no hazardous materials or chemicals Recovery operations were suspended overnight but will resume today State Response NE SEOC not activated NE activated Urban Search and Rescue NE-TF1 to assist with recovery operations FEMA Response Region VII RRCC not activated; RWC remains at normal operations No requests for FEMA assistance
2014 Jan 20 Madill Ok steel plant explosion

In Madill, Oklahoma, two workers died when a large industrial furnace exploded at the Mid American Steel and Wire plant Monday Jan-20 4 pm. News sources see footnotes.31
2014 Jan 22 New Albany Ms bio-diesel explosion

At a company which converts chicken fat to alternative fuel, they had an explosion at 5.30 am Jan-22, with fire lasting hours, but no injuries.32
2014 Jan 22 Russia coal mine explosion

A methane gas explosion ripped through a Russian coal mine Jan-22 and killed two miners. Location: Dzerzhinsky mine in the Kemerovo region of Siberia. 33
31 32
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/21/usa-explosion-feedplant-idUSL2N0KV17120140121 http://www.wlox.com/story/24516296/explosion-at-bio-diesel-facility-no-injuries-reported 33 http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/gas-explosion-russian-coal-mine-kills-21624676
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2014 Jan 23
This is to help navigate Table of Contents (TOC).
Jan 23 Quebec Senior Home Fire

Severe cold weather hampers rescue efforts for a home for the elderly which caught on fire early Jan-23. As of Jan-24, 30 residents were still missing, presumed dead. 34 5 known dead. 20 residents were transported to safety.
Jan 23 Ohio Gas Well explosion

Large fire, gas well explosion, no injuries, in Boston Heights Ohio.35
Jan 23 I-94 pile-up Indiana

46 vehicles were in a pile-up on I-94 between Chicago & Detroit, half of them trucks. Visibility was mile due to the snow. That should have been adequate for vehicles to drive safely in the daytime, but 2 inches of snow, an hour, added to slick road conditions.36 20 people injured 3 killed
Jan 23 NTSB and TSB want higher standards for oil via rail
NTSB = National Transportation Safety Board of the USA. TSB = Transportation Safety Board of Canada. These two government organizations jointly issued a series of recommendations to address safety risks of transporting crude oil by rail.37 Crude oil shipments by rail have increased by over 400% since 2005, according to the Association of American Railroad's Annual Report of Hazardous Materials.38
2014 Jan 24 Alaska Avalanches Jan-28 Alaska Avalanches summary per FEMA
FEMA Daily Operations Briefing for Tuesday, January 28, 2014.
34 35
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/30-missing-quebec-senior-home-fire-dead-21650292 http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/oh-summit/richfield-police-large-fire-gas-well-explosion-inboston-heights 36 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304632204579340611101712996 http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/massive-pileup-on-i--kills-more-than-hurt/article_6384a4d490d3-5813-9ff2-1175b5633dd9.html 37 https://www.ntsb.gov/news/2014/140123.html 38 Association of American Railroads https://www.aar.org/Pages/Home.aspx promotes safety improvements.
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20140128 FEMA Daily Ops Briefing_0830.pdf39
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Avalanche near Valdez, Alaska

Current Situation
On January 24, a series of avalanches on Richardson Highway closed the roadway to and from Valdez and blocked the Lowe River; remains closed from mile post 12 64 Richardson Highway expected remain closed for at least 1 week A snow dam has blocked a portion of the Lowe River, but water is flowing under the snow pack; catastrophic failure of the snowpack is unlikely Valdez airport is open, state ferry system is operational, and sufficient supplies are available in the community State Response Alaska SEOC is Partially Activated Alaska DOT Maintenance Engineer arrived in Valdez on Jan 26 to assess the situation (waiting on results) AK SEOC remains in contact with Valdez, DOT/PF, NWS and other State agencies to coordinate any request for equipment or supplies, if needed FEMA Response NRCC is not activated; NWC remains at Watch/Steady State Region X remains at Watch/Steady State; Bothell MOC is monitoring No requests for FEMA assistance
2014 Jan 25 Canada Pipeline Explosion

TransCanada has been lobbying for the Keystone Pipeline, in which one of the arguments is that pipelines are safe. This is difficult to do when they occasionally blow up. 40 I believe the statistics are that pipelines are safer than rail or road truck. However, this is complicated by the amount of fuel which comes out in the different kinds of incidents. 41 This was a natural gas pipeline, not oil. Different risks are involved depending on whats in the pipeline, how old it is, the company operating it. In this case, there is the added problem that the natural gas is used to supply heating for thousands of people in the middle of winter.
Jan-27 Canada Pipeline summary per FEMA

FEMA Daily Operations Briefing for Monday, January 27, 2014
39
http://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USDHSFEMA/2014/01/28/file_attachments/265971/20140128 %2BFEMA%2BDaily%2BOps%2BBriefing_0830.pdf 40 http://www.naturalgaswatch.org/?p=2453 http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/pipeline-safety-in-the-spotlight-again-after-manitoba-explosion-1.1658074 41 I hesitate to call them accidents. An accident is when reasonable people could not have prevented it. If you have technology which needs periodic maintenance, and you let it fall apart, thats not an accident. The infrastructure is risky, only because the companies owning and managing it, do not want to spend the money to make it safe.
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20140127 FEMA Daily Ops Briefing_0830.pdf42
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Current Situation On Saturday, January 25, a natural gas pipeline rupture occurred in Manitoba, Canada south of Winnipeg; preliminary assessments indicate the possible cause of the explosion was a split in the pipe due to cold weather One of three pipelines returned to service; full restoration of service expected this afternoon An estimated 4,000 residents were with out gas service No injuries or fatalities reported Canada Response Canadian Rural Municipality of Hanover declared a state of local emergency Manitoba Emergency Coordination Centre is activated and checking on vulnerable populations Warming shelters were opened; number of occupants unknown No Canadian requests for federal assistance were received/expected State Response ND SEOC activated to a Level III (Monitoring); other States at Normal OPS ND Depart of Health activated / working with local public health; US DOT State of Energy Emergency for Midwest, South and East Regions Multiple States with Energy Emergencies for propane and home fuel deliveries FEMA Response NRCC is not activated; NWC remains at Watch/Steady State Region VIII RRCC activated to Level III (returned to Steady State at 8:00 p.m.) No request for FEMA assistance
2014 Jan 26 Guardian on Cities at the Brink

The Guardian of Britain has launched Cities: back from the brink to analyze the motivations and reality of rebuilding homes and communities after they have been torn apart by a natural disaster, like weather or earthquake. Consider recent history examples like New Orleans, Ishinomaki, Port-au-Prince, Banda Aceh, Christchurch and Galle.43 This is a different topic than mitigation advisable to avoid getting to the brink in the first place.
2014 Jan 27 GAO on Critical Infrastructure Protection

Jan 27, the US General Accountability Office (GAO) published a LETTER REPORT:44 Critical Infrastructure Protection: More Comprehensive Planning
42
http://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USDHSFEMA/2014/01/27/file_attachments/265558/20140127 %2BFEMA%2BDaily%2BOps%2BBriefing_0830.pdf 43 http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/jan/27/disaster-cities-tragedy-strikes-homes-communities http://www.theguardian.com/cities/series/cities-back-from-the-brink 44 http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-125
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Would Enhance the Cyber Security of Public Safety Entities Emerging Technology, GAO-14-125, January 27. The GAO did this study because 911 services are increasingly using interconnected data bases and Internet resources, which are susceptible to malware and hacker attacks. The GAO investigation found that five federal agencies (Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Commerce, Justice (DoJ), and Transportation (DoT), and Federal Communications Commission (FCC)) have to varying degrees, coordinated cyber security-related activities with state and local governments. These activities included (1) supporting critical infrastructure protection-related planning, (2) issuing grants, (3) sharing information, (4) providing technical assistance, and (5) regulating and overseeing essential functions. However, except for supporting critical infrastructure planning, federal coordination of these activities was generally not targeted towards or focused on the cyber security of state and local public safety entities involved in handling 911 emergency calls. In consequence of the GAO analysis, they recommended that the Secretary of Homeland Security collaborate with emergency services sector stakeholders to address the cyber security implications of implementing technology initiatives in related plans. DHS concurred with GAO's recommendation.
2014 Jan 28
Jan 28 druggies @ VT critical infrastructure
After two C&G Pipeline employees were arrested for allegedly running a small methamphetamine lab out of their Swanton home, a manager said all the companys employees at the St. Albans site have been drug tested. All tests of employees at Vermont Natural Gas Pipeline site in St. Albans returned negative results for drugs or alcohol. 45
Jan 28 CRS on CI recovery

CRS = Congressional Research Service FAS = Federation of American Scientists FAS / Secrecy project = info about US gov stuff which is open to the public, but not made easy for the public to access.
Thru FAS, we get access to a report published by CRS on 2014 Jan 28: Emergency Relief for Disaster Damaged Roads and Transit Systems: In Brief.46
45 46
http://www.naturalgaswatch.org/?p=2457 http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43384.pdf 13 pages http://blogs.fas.org/secrecy/2014/01/crs-perjury/
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Jan 28 UK Fire Response Statistics

On Jan-28 the British government published these statistics for April-Sep 2013.47 Britain consists of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This report is only on England. The statistics given are of numbers of people killed and injured in events to which fire dept responded, such as traffic accidents, without including any demographics, or $ insurance impact. Reasons are given for the downward trend, without differentiating impact of the different mitigation efforts. Nothing is included about mitigation not yet attempted, such as sprinklers in dwellings, or emergency lighting in stair wells. There were 140 fire fatalities in England in the six months from April to September 2013. This is 33% lower than in the same period of 2003 and lower than in any other year apart from 2012 and 2008, when there 128 and 119 fire fatalities respectively. 94, of the 140 deaths, were in accidental dwelling fires. There were 1,664 hospital non-fatal casualties in fires in England between April and September 2013. This is seven per cent fewer than in the same period of 2012. Local authority fire and rescue services attended 115,000 fire false alarms between April and September 2013, five per cent fewer than in the same period of 2012. The decreasing trend in fire casualties and incidents are the result of successful fire safety and prevention activity.48 Additional statistics are in the report, and more detailed analyses, such as on the causes and source of ignition of fire can be found in Fire Statistics Great Britain.49
47
621 k PDF 25 pages https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/275224/Fire_Statistics_Mon itor_April_2013_to_September_2013__final_.pdf 48 For example: smoke alarms and other building fire safety systems and features, audits and enforcement activity, fire safety campaigns and education and other advice. The 2008 publication Safer Houses gives a chronology of many of these developments webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090121135318/http://www.communities.gov.uk/publication s/fire/saferhouses. Ownership of smoke alarms has been a key factor. It increased from 25% in 1989 to 86% of households reported owning a working smoke alarm in 2008 (page 37, Table 2.3 of www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-statistics-great-britain-2011-to-2012) An assessment of the effectiveness of the Home Fire Risk Check program, in which fitting smoke alarms was a key element, can be found at webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121102193300/http://www.communities.gov.uk/publication s/fire/homefireriskcheckgrant. A recent development is the introduction of fire safer cigarettes by manufacturers to the new European standard. These were introduced from November 2011. 49 www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-andlocalgovernment/series/fire-statistics-great-britain
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Jan 28 Next Chemical Incident

The chairman of the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) had an op ed piece in the New York Times, speculating about the next possible major chemical incident.50 I hesitate to label these things as accidents. I believe an accident is when the event could not be avoided by reasonable intelligent human beings. That is not the case when an infrastructure is 50 years old, not getting any maintenance, even when problems are detected, or when there are alarms but no one is taught how to interpret them. We need comprehensive regulatory reform, which is time consuming. In the meantime the EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act, to take intermediate steps. Over the years, US corporate interests have fought back against such efforts.
Jan 28 Gas Drilling can cause Birth Defects?

An environmental study found that babies who gestated near natural gas wells had an increased chance of developing neural tube and congenital heart defects in utero.51
Jan 28 Snow in South East USA

As a driver in geography which gets some snow most winters, I have noticed that my fellow drivers seem to forget one season to the next, how to be safe on ice and snow, then over the first few days of each snow of the season, they learn again. This is combined with not paying attention to weather forecasts. When weather is decent, we dont need to, but when a serious storm is coming, not paying attention to forecasts, can be very dangerous. There are other similar national problems. Occasionally my city goes on a boil water or other alert. I almost never hear about it until it is over. I feel that when something very serious is happening, or about to happen, in a community, there needs to be better notification to the people, including the community leaders. The Atlanta lessons were, in many ways, a repeat of what happened in Raleigh NC in 2005.52 This SE USA winter crisis reminds me of the Indiana Fairgrounds incident,53 where weather forecasters gave good information in ample time, but local officials were clueless, about weather patterns which Indiana has been experiencing for the entire history of Indiana. The authorities may as well have been invaders from Mars, for all that they exhibited as understanding the weather patterns of their own state, and the science of weather forecasts. Storm ingredients arrived almost to the minute of when they were predicted, in almost the exact intensity predicted. There was ample time to get people to safety, but when the wind gusts arrived, at the start of the weather front, many people
50 51
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/opinion/the-next-accident-awaits.html?smid=pl-share http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/122/1/ehp.1306722.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306722 http://www.ringoffireradio.com/2014/02/study-natural-gas-drilling-can-cause-birth-defects/ 52 https://ams.confex.com/ams/36Broadcast/techprogram/paper_140430.htm 53 https://drive.google.com/#folders/0B9euafJH4bZMTA0YTM0YzktNTI0YS00NjVhLTg5NTItY2RiZjhiM2MzODkw
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were in harms way. Indiana State Police were using free aps for weather info. Well we get what we pay for. Free aps do not give up-to-the-minute latest info in the same detail as professional weather services. Same story in Atlanta and other cities. The winter storm arrived Tuesday afternoon, but it was first forecast to the Atlanta area in the wee hours of Monday. 54 Most of the community apparently ignored the forecast, and then they were stuck in traffic jams without the resources to stay there in perpetuity. Students stayed 2 nites in a row in school, because their rides could not get there. Neighbors offered sleeping accommodations to people stuck in transit. It was a nightmare for communities which had received clear warning in ample time in advance, to take appropriate steps to avoid it. Weather forecasting has become pretty good. We know in advance about serious wind chill, about how much snow will fall, risk of fog or flooding. 55 I heard that the same thing happened in 2011 in Atlanta, so people who have been living there a few years should know that their local authorities lack education, training, budget, whatever, to perform the same duties as other cities which regularly get snow. Thus the people, stuck in traffic for 20 hours, had not been paying attention to weather forecast, nor Atlanta history. Atlanta has some challenges which other cities do not have. Theres no mass transit system, so 6 million cars commute each day, thru the metropolitan area, with businesses which do not have staggered hours, so they are all hitting the highways at the same time.56 I visited Atlanta for some education a few years ago. I dont know if they still have happy hour, where many drivers get inebriated before driving home. Theres a lot of accusations by people regarding what the weath er forecast was, and the actions of the politicians. Some of the accusations are valid, some are invalid. 57 Heres another problem, which the Georgia governor articulated in his news conference.58 He was more afraid to be wrong in closing down the city, than he was of people being stranded in their cars. Until we can develop a system that keeps politics out
54
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/01/29/are-meteorologists-toblame-for-snow-disasters-in-atlanta-and-birmingham/ http://www.ajc.com/news/ap/general/snow-ice-send-souths-flagship-city-reeling/nc636/ 55 http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/img/photos/2014/01/30/bd/f7/snowfall.png 56 http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/us/atlanta-ice-how-it-happened/ 57 http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/24604526/state-gop-lawmakers-defend-deal-after-storm-fiasco http://aattp.org/jon-stewart-calls-georgia-out-for-snowstorm-ignorance-the-weather-channel-is-located-inatlanta/#sthash.RWMovaiG.dpuf http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/24604888/ga-emergency-chief-called-storm-weather-thing http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/01/atlanta_s_snow_fiasco_the_real_problem _in_the_south_isn_t_weather_it_s_history.html?wpisrc=burger_bar http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/politicians-guide-surviving-snow-storm-atlanta-edition/story?id=22298099 58 http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/us/winter-weather/
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of it and lets science and good judgment drive the decision-making bus, this kind of thing is going to keep happening.59 Here is a proposed solution: Send the city and state officials to reside in communities accustomed to such snow, to ride-along with snow plows, see what you need to wear to stay warn, drive behind snow plow to see how effective it is, watch people paying for salt sand etc. to learn what is needed, and what it costs. Have them attend a seminar by the national weather service, so they understand the info about weather forecasts what does it mean when they forecast some # of inches of snow, freezing temperatures, and have special names for weather events. Afterwards, they take tests to measure if they learned anything, and publish their grades for the voters to see if they are qualified yet, to manage a community getting a winter storm. Meteorologists do a pretty good job, but many people do not pay attention to their info, or fail to learn the basics.60 Warning = the bad stuff is imminent implement your emergency plan RIGHT NOW. Watch your area is at risk of the bad stuff in the near future now is the time to complete your emergency plan, how you will avoid getting caught in it. After many disasters, there are people who say those tornadoes came without warning. Or This storm was totally unpredictable. False statements. They were multiple weather alerts, predicting almost exactly how intense the trouble would be, and exactly when it would be. It was unpredictable or without warning, only to people not paying attention to the national weather services, or to people who rely on free aps whose weather predictions are at best, a day old. As the winter storm got closer to the area, the forecast got more precise. So people should pay attention to that improvement, and not rely upon last weeks vaguer estimates. Some complainers are citing other than the latest forecast, saying the NWS said the storm would only hit south of Atlanta. Yes, that was what was said long before the more precise forecast came out. And Yes, the snow fall south of Atlanta was worse than the snow fall inside Atlanta. In these events it is critical to watch the evolution of the forecast rather than a snap shot of it on a given day. Often, high -impact weather events are dynamic and rapidly-evolving.
2014 Jan Atlanta Weather forecast day and before storm

See this Snow Map issued PRIOR to the snow event by AthensGeorgiaWeather.com, a group of well-trained meteorologists out of Athens, Georgia. 61 They warned of black ice on Georgia highways.
59
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/01/29/are-meteorologists-toblame-for-snow-disasters-in-atlanta-and-birmingham/ 60 http://meteorologistandtheatlantasnow2014.blogspot.com/2014/01/an-open-thank-you-letter-toatlanta.html 61 http://www.athensgaweather.com/weather-blog/
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Travel was strongly discouraged. You should not be out driving unless it is absolutely necessary.
Here is text from the National Weather Service website on MONDAY at 4:55 am: CLAYTON-COBB-DEKALB-GWINNETT-HENRY-NORTH FULTON-ROCKDALESOUTH FULTON- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF... ATLANTA... CONYERS... DECATUR... EAST POINT... LAWRENCEVILLE... MARIETTA 455 AM EST MON JAN 27 2014 ...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON... Early on Tuesday morning well before the crack of dawn (3:39 am to be exact), the National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning with expectations of 1-2 inches of snow. Even for the mountain counties of Georgia, Winter Weather Advisories were issued. We suspect that some public and perhaps some policy officials may not fully understand that a Watch, Warning, or Advisory has very specific meanings.62 They are not just generic hey, be on alert or hey, get ready warnings. Here (below) are criteria NWS Atlanta uses since it is on their website (criteria can vary for different states or different regions of a state),63 "Winter Storm Watch Issued when the potential exists for 2 inches or more of snow in 12 hours, or 4 inches or more of snow in 24 hours. Also issued for potential of a quarter inch or more of freezing rain, or half an inch of sleet. In the North Georgia Mountains, the criteria are 3 inches in 12 hours or 4 inches in 24 hours. Winter Storm Warning Issued when a combination of snow, blowing snow, sleet, and/or freezing rain is likely to exceed warning criteria. Warning criteria are those detailed in the Winter Storm Watch. Winter Weather Advisory Issued when a combination of snow, sleet, and/or freezing rain is likely to have an impact, but is not expected to reach warning criteria."
Lessons Atlanta needs to learn from this stupidity

When a weather event is rare in some community, like a hurricane once in 5 years, or a winter storm once in 2 years, we can reasonably expect that local officials need to be reminded to pull out their emergency plans, for review, days before the storm arrives, not like New Orleans having their plans on computers inaccessible when the power outages from Katrina arrived.
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http://meteorologicalmusings.blogspot.com/2014/01/this-book-should-be-required-reading.html http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/ffc/pdf/snow_measurement_guidelines.pdf
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When you have a metropolis with many independently run communities,64 and here comes a weather crisis, you need to have a unified command structure to manage the coming crisis.65 I believe the homeland security anti-terrorism people already have one setup. Tap into that. Make sure that unified command has people there who both know what the weather forecast geek terminology means, and have access to the latest info. Understand what Watch, Warning, and Advisory mean. Also know that a Watch for a winter event has nuanced differences than tornado, hurricane, or other warnings. There are people surprised at how fast the situation got serious.66 They obviously dont comprehend that when the weather people have a special name for something, such as winter storm that means something potentially quite seriou s. Many storms first arrival is with a gust front like the one in the Indiana Fairgrounds Incident.67 This showed up clearly, on weather maps, as a thin blue line at the front of the storm, but the people in charge of safety at the fairgrounds had no idea what that meant. They did have people there who understood weather technology, but those experts were not provided access to the latest info directly from the weather service. Instead they were provided info from authorities who were brain dead on both weather terminology, and how to get latest weather info. There are places where tornadoes demolished buildings with lots of people inside. Some people in those communities said the tornadoes were a total surprise. Obviously those people had not been paying attention to the weather forecast which in advance provided alerts that the coming storm was of the kind that spawn tornadoes, and some had been sighted. When a person says This was a freak storm that is the same as saying I am an idiot, who does not understand weather forecasting, and does not pay attention to it. Fix your education. Weather forecasting is not rocket science. Decades ago it was not as reliable as it is today, but the science and technology has seen dramatic advances. Every citizen should understand the basics, just like we all should know how to read and write. When the weather forecast says people should stay off the highways unless it is an emergency, which the Atlanta weather forecast did say, then thats a real good reaso n to close the schools for the day, and for various businesses to contact their work force to arrange a day off. Watch evolving forecast not a snapshot seen several days ago. The forecasts change. When the storm is close, do not be relying on a free ap whose info, is at best, a day old.
64
Greater Atlanta comprises 28 counties with 140 cities and towns sprawled over an area the size of Massachusetts. 65 http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/31/us/winter-weather/ 66 http://dc.streetsblog.org/2014/01/30/atlantas-snowjam-disaster-how-much-was-sprawl-to-blame/ 67 https://drive.google.com/#folders/0B9euafJH4bZMTA0YTM0YzktNTI0YS00NjVhLTg5NTItY2RiZjhiM2MzODkw
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A government leader asked: Why would you buy 500 snowplows and salt trucks and have them sit around for 1,000 days, waiting for the next event? "68 Any official sharing that sentiment should learn from other states. A state truck can be used 365 days a year for an infinity of purposes, then when there is snow, mount a snow plow in front, and have salt or sand come out the back. Forecasting capacity in the 1-5 day window is decent, but as we get to local-to-regional scales and 1-24 hour time frame (the mesoscale), the processes are not as well represented in the models. Meteorologists know where improvements are needed. Budget cuts, travel restrictions, and other policy decisions hinder research and development that lead to improvements for citizens. Also, DHS is discouraging participation by volunteer storm chasers, by insisting on security clearances. We have challenges in how weather information is consumed, interpreted, or viewed by policymakers and decision-makers. This is ultimately the root of the Atlanta mess. The situation shows we still have challenges in communicating across the science-decisionmaker-public "gap." Yes, Atlanta has a problem with urban sprawl, and over-dependence on auto transportation, but that is what the suburban voters overwhelmingly want, when mass transit alternatives have been offered. Thats not the cause of this crisis. All people needed to do was: 1. Stock up on key groceries in the few days between weather watch and warning. 2. Stay home until the winter storm had passed.
2014 Jan 29 St Louis MO Explosion

There was a natural gas explosion Wed afternoon at a Soulard clothing design firm. A construction crew was installing fiber optic cable for the Stars Design Group in a threestory building at the corner of Shenandoah Avenue and Menard Street in Soulard when they hit a gas line after 1 p.m. Workers smelled gas and called 911. Firefighters called an immediate evacuation, saving dozens of people. A local business did not wait for the firefighters to arrive, they evacuated out a side of their building, away from the danger. They got out just in time. The gas company arrived just after the explosion, and stopped any more gas from reaching the fire.69
a familiar story
Gas lines should be on a city map, available to city engineers, 911, etc. so that when a fire or similar crisis called in, they know instantly if it is in proximity to what critical infrastructure. Also if any construction plans seek city approval, it is also known in advance if the plans are in proximity to gas lines. In either case, give rapid notification to the gas company. Gas lines should be clearly marked, in such a way that they do not get covered up by snow and ice in bad winter weather.
68 69
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/us/atlanta-ice-how-it-happened/ http://www.naturalgaswatch.org/?p=2484
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It should be illegal for anyone to cover up the gas line markers, such as with advertisements. Construction crews should be trained to recognize the markings. A construction company should not get a permit to do work in vicinity of gas lines, unless the company can show the city that this training has been done. The company, which owns the lines, should be notified, in advance, of any construction in proximity to their lines, so that their people can verify the safety.
News stories, after these events, rarely clarify elements of the above bullet points. The stories are reported as if this was an unavoidable accident.
2014 Jan 30 CSB Report on 2010 WA Refinery Disaster

CSB = US Chemical Safety Board The April 2010 explosion and fire at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Washington, which left 7 dead, was caused by damage to the heat exchanger, a mechanism known as "high temperature hydrogen attack" or HTHA, which severely cracked and weakened carbon steel tubing leading to a rupture, according to a CSB draft report. The draft report makes far-reaching recommendations to the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Governor and State Legislature of the State of Washington to more rigorously protect workers and communities from potentially catastrophic chemical releases. 70 Some people are questioning why it took so long for the 158 page CSB report to come out.71 The draft report is available at www.csb.gov for public comment until Sunday, March 16, 2014. Comments should be sent to tesorocomments@csb.gov. All comments received will be reviewed and published on the CSB website.72
2014 Jan 31 Keystone Update

Here is the latest report from the US State Dept about expected environmental impact. 73 According to news media,74 this 44 page report, issued Jan-31, 2014:
70
http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2014/01/csb-investigation-finds-2010-tesoro-explosion-resultedfrom-high-temperature-hydrogen-attack.html http://www.ogj.com/articles/2014/01/csb-issues-report-on-washington-refinery-blast.html 71 http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2022802925_tesoropublicxml.html 72 http://www.csb.gov/assets/1/19/Tesoro_Anacortes_2014-Jan-29_Draft_for_Public_Comment.pdf 73 http://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/documents/organization/221135.pdf I downloaded this 2014 Feb 04 calling my copy: SD (State Dept) Keystone 2014 Jan. When I get a round TUIT and read it, I will check to see if copyright permits me to also upload on Scribd. This is the executive summary. There are also 11 additional volumes. 74 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/keystone-the-pipeline-to_b_4716229.html http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2014/02/03/271113797/keystone-xl-pipeline-report-createspolitical-headache-for-obama http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/02/03/ten-key-numbers-in-the-keystone-xlpipeline-report/
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signals a greater likelihood that the pipeline project will be approved later this year by the administration. It contains many controversial claims and selective statistics. o 1950 construction workers would be needed. o If Keystone XL doesn't get built, oil extracted from Canada's tar sands will continue to be transported by rail, while the pipeline will have the same environmental effect, with less people killed. We already know there have been many spills from rail transportation, although individually so far they may not be as bad in aggregate as a pipeline rupture. It vividly illustrates the depth of confusion of US climate change policy. It self-portrays the US Government as a helpless bystander to climate calamity. According to the State Department report, we are trapped in the Big Oil Status Quo We Can Believe In. Here is a petition from the Sierra Club asking US leaders NOT to approve this pipeline. 75 Proposed path thru USA: Canada, Saskatchewan, Morgan; One pumping station on border of Canada & USA. USA, Montana, crossing I-94, and having a linkage from pumping station 14 to the Bakken Marketlink project, which will take a small portion of the oil. Just miss North Dakota, SW corner; South Dakota, crossing I-90, near Big Bend Dam to Witten electrical line construction to supply some of electricity the pipeline will need for pumping stations; Nebraska, crossing I-80, to Steele City; Connect to an existing pipeline thru Kansas connecting Steele City and Cushing; Oklahoma, Cushing; Texas to Houston and Port Arthur.
Continued in more documents

Time Line of these critical infrastructure disasters to be continued in related documents to be named: CI Boom 0 thru 199976 CI Boom 2000 to 200677 CI Boom 200778 CI Boom 2008 to 200979 CI Boom 2010 to 201180
http://www.newsweek.com/keystone-pipeline-would-save-6-lives-year-report-says-227950 75 https://www.causes.com/actions/1766506-a-petition-to-president-obama-and-secretary-of-state-kerry 76 http://www.scribd.com/doc/203317455/CI-Boom-0-thru-1999 77 http://www.scribd.com/doc/203688481/CI-Boom-2000-to-2006 78 http://www.scribd.com/doc/204262969/CI-Boom-2007 79 http://www.scribd.com/doc/206714326/CI-Boom-2008-to-2009 80 http://www.scribd.com/doc/206962922/CI-Boom-2010-to-2011
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CI Boom 201281 CI Boom 2013 Jan-Mar82 CI Boom 2013 Apr83 CI Boom 2013 May-Dec84 CI Boom 2014 Jan W Va Water85 CI Boom 2014 Jan86 CI Boom 2014 Feb87
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These other time line history segments shall be uploaded to the same SCRIBD Critical Infrastructure collection.88 Revision history will be maintained in the main parent document.
81 82
http://www.scribd.com/doc/204042682/CI-Boom-2012 http://www.scribd.com/doc/204889417/CI-Boom-2013-Jan-to-March 83 http://www.scribd.com/doc/204575461/CI-Boom-2013-April 84 http://www.scribd.com/doc/207356334/CI-Boom-2013-Mar-to-Dec 85 http://www.scribd.com/doc/203973261/CI-Boom-2014-Jan-9-W-Va-Water 86 http://www.scribd.com/doc/207503705/CI-Boom-2014-Jan 87 http://www.scribd.com/doc/208253102/CI-Boom-2014-Feb 88 http://www.scribd.com/collections/4108500/Critical-Infrastructure
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CI Boom 2014 Jan

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Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

Weather Forecasting has improved dramatically.

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

Grand 2013 Disaster Totals

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

http://www.thesnaponline.com/statenews/x1708326022/Oklahoma-leads-U-S-in-2013-disaster-costs http://www.heraldonline.com/2014/02/18/5687351/research-and-markets-pipeline.html http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/v86ksl/pipeline_safety

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

ACEP 2014 Report Card

http://www.verizonenterprise.com/pcireport/2014/ http://www.xbridgesystems.com/verizon-2014-pci-compliance-report-data-rest-vulnerable/ 8 http://www.naturalgaswatch.org/?p=2782 9 http://www.emreportcard.org/

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

Disaster Preparedness C- for USA overall

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

CI disaster stories 2014 January

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

2014 Jan-5 Mn Propane Explosion

2014 Jan-6 Fire Storm in Australia

2014 Jan-7 Canada Oil Derailment

2014 Jan-9 W Va chemical spill contaminates water

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

2014 Jan-10 Erika NC Gas Line leak then explosion

2014 Feb-13 Erika NC investigation results

2014 Jan-11 Pipeline disaster drill

2014 Jan-12 plane lands at wrong airport.

2014 Jan-12 Sewer Pipe busts in Hollywood Ca

2014 Jan 13 CRS report on US response to Oil and Chemical spills

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

2014 Jan 13 NTSB preliminary report on ND train boom

2014 Jan 14 NTSB preliminary report on Bronx derailment

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

2014 Jan 16 Methane Leaks in Washington DC and Boston MA

2014 Jan 17 NTSB report on plane landing wrong airport

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/d.c.-methane-leaks-threaten-explosions-climate-16964 http://pubs.acs.org/journal/esthag http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es404474x

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

2014 Jan-20 PA Oil Derailment

2014 Jan-20 Omaha NE factory explosion

http://www.ntsb.gov/rss.html http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43390.pdf 25 pages

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

Jan-21 Omaha NE factory explosion summary via FEMA

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

20140121 FEMA Daily Ops Briefing_0830.pdf

2014 Jan 20 Madill Ok steel plant explosion

2014 Jan 22 New Albany Ms bio-diesel explosion

2014 Jan 22 Russia coal mine explosion

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/21/usa-explosion-feedplant-idUSL2N0KV17120140121 http://www.wlox.com/story/24516296/explosion-at-bio-diesel-facility-no-injuries-reported 33 http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/gas-explosion-russian-coal-mine-kills-21624676

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

Jan 23 Quebec Senior Home Fire

Jan 23 Ohio Gas Well explosion

Jan 23 I-94 pile-up Indiana

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

Avalanche near Valdez, Alaska

2014 Jan 25 Canada Pipeline Explosion

Jan-27 Canada Pipeline summary per FEMA

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

2014 Jan 26 Guardian on Cities at the Brink

2014 Jan 27 GAO on Critical Infrastructure Protection

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

Jan 28 CRS on CI recovery

http://www.naturalgaswatch.org/?p=2457 http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43384.pdf 13 pages http://blogs.fas.org/secrecy/2014/01/crs-perjury/

Critical Infrastructure Disasters 2014 Jan

Jan 28 UK Fire Response Statistics