Local officials feel prepared
to handle bio-hazardous situations
By Ian Clift
Senior Writer
Purdue officials are well prepared for a potential
biohazard.
"I think we have a better than average response
capability in this area. I don’t like to boast, but we probably
have more responders than (Tippecanoe County)," said Tom Cooper,
fire safety specialist at Purdue.
Cooper is one of five members of the Tippecanoe
County Bomb Squad and has trained the Purdue Fire Department to respond
to biological threats.
Cooper said there are 27 firefighters at Purdue
trained in hazardous materials response according to Occupational Safety
and Health Administration requirements. This gives the squad the capability
to operate in fully encapsulated chemical protective suits.
Many people within the radiological and environmental
management area have been trained to respond as well.
"When it comes to hazardous materials response
we probably have more people than the Tippecanoe County Emergency Management
Hazardous Materials Response Team," said Cooper.
Robert Golden, biological safety officer, said,
"I make people aware of how to handle biomaterials."
Staff and faculty who use bio-hazardous agents
on campus have been informed to keep their doors locked, question people
who have been in their labs and report any missing biohazard agents
to the environmental health department.
Most of the biohazards found at Purdue are classified
as Class 2, which means they are of moderate potential hazard to people
and the environment.
"Most of the things you can (find on campus)
are food borne type pathogens," said Golden. "(They) would
cause food poisoning type symptoms."
Agents such as anthrax are classified as Type 3
biohazards and may cause serious or potentially lethal diseases.
"There are three different types of anthrax
infection," said Golden. " The worst type is the type that
infects the lungs, which is what happened to the fellow down in Florida.
The fatality rate is close to 100 percent."
Cooper said, "There has been a lot of concern
this last week about things that may arrive in the mail.
"If you don’t recognize a piece of mail
or it looks like it didn’t come from the regular mail system then
the first step is that you can call the Purdue Police."
A police officer may be sent "and if they
feel the need for further investigation they may send us over to look
at it," he said.
X-rays can be done through the bomb squad to determine
the contents of the package.
If a bioagent is suspected, the immediate area
will be evacuated, said Cooper. "We will go in, in the level A
suits (chemically protective suits) according to the criteria that we
have been given by the state fire marshals office."
Samples may be taken and the package will be sealed
and removed.
Proper steps include advising public health officials
and the Center for Disease Control.
Airborne exposure to a biohazard is what worries
people the most, said Cooper. "If a (biohazard) is put in an envelope
or something of that nature, the likelihood of it being a threat from
an airborne state is probably rather low," he said.
"This is a novel thing," said Cooper.
"There are no real hard and fast guidelines yet on how to handle
these types of things."
The CDC’s National Pharmaceutical Stockpile
program may be deployed in order to supply a disaster area, including
those caused by possible biological or chemical terrorist activity.
The stockpile supplements the initial response from university, county
and state emergency personnel in the event that a biohazardous threat
occurs.
Antibiotics for anthrax and some other biological
agents can be immediately available to inflicted areas, similar to what
occurred in the Boca Raton, Fla. anthrax case.
Cooper believes a national strategy is needed.
"If you had asked this question a few years ago you would have
gotten blank looks," he said.
A national strategy, Cooper says, effects what
happens at the local level. "Our strongest ally is our human resources
and our knowledge base," said Cooper. "We are very well prepared
in that area, there are very few cities that can turn to scientists
that are not only leaders in their own state, but in the United States
and in the world.
"As a responder, I feel very blessed in that
regard."
|
