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A devastating agroterror strike could happen here!
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Members of the
FBI’s Hazardous
Materials Response
Team move from a
“contaminated?
area after collecting
evidence in an
agricultural-
terrorism training
exercise on a dairy
farm in the Seattle
metropolitan area,
September 2007.
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| Seattle Times Photo |
Whenever an armed force uses an essentially civilian resource as a tool of aggression, it becomes a terrorist act. Perhaps Sherman’s Civil War “March to the Sea?was fundamentally terrorist in nature; or the Russian Army’s “scorched earth?
policy in response to Napoleon’s invasion; or the eradication of Afghanistan’s principal cash crop, the opium pink poppy flower (a derivative becomes heroin). Perhaps it is a matter of perspective, whether one is giving or receiving?
The Western Institute of Food Safety and Security (WFISS), UC-Davis will offer introductory agroterrorism courses at three Florida locations. AWR-151 is the first of six WFISS agroterrorism courses, funded and certified by DHS. The course is Free and includes lunch.
AWR-151 Awareness - Understanding the Dangers of Agroterrorism
A 4-hour course ?builds awareness of the threat to our food supply, the economy and the ag infrastructure.
Potential Impacts
Recognition of Response and Recovery Resources
Response and Coordination Strategies for Local, State, Federal, and Private Entities
Identification of Individual Roles Within A Local Response Team
When and Where
June 17: Seffner (Hillsborough County) ?Registration at 7:30 AM, Workshop from 8:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
June 18: Belle Glade (Palm Beach County) ?Registration at 9:30 AM, Workshop from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
June 20: Homestead (Miami-Dade County) ?Registration at 8:30 AM, Workshop from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Sign-up
http://wifss.ucdavis.edu/agroterrorism/classes/classesbydate.php
mvicino@wifss.ucdavis.edu
Sponsors: Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Emergency
Preparedness and University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension: John P
Terry, Office of Agricultural Emergency Preparedness (850) 410-6756 terryj1@doacs.state.fl.us
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Franklin County Emergency Management
Hosts Animal Decontamination Training
By Haven B. Cook
On April 26, 2008, the Franklin County Emergency Management facility in Apalachicola hosted specialized training for dealing with animals coming out of a disaster area that might be contaminated with hazardous substances such as oil, chemicals or sewage. The training was organized and presented by the Big Bend Disaster Animal Response Team to help prepare members for incidents involving hazardous materials. The trainers included three individuals with extensive experience and education in hazardous materials:
- A Senior Health Specialist at Florida State University,
- A Biological Scientist with the Department of Health who specializes in the
health considerations of people living next to hazardous waste sites and
- a retired Fire Chief from Franklin County.
The training consisted of two hours of classroom lectures about hazardous material recognition, signs and symbols, hot zone/warm zone definitions, grey water containment, personal protective equipment, and the design and set up of decontamination stations for animals.
After lunch, training continued with two hours of hands-on experience washing dogs that had been “contaminated?by a variety of unidentified (but wholly organic) substances. Fourteen participants dressed out in protective equipment and entered the “warm zone?where the training scenario required them to decontaminate dogs rescued from an area flooded by a coastal storm surge. The dogs were washed in special containment bins designed to drain and capture all contaminated runoff.
Rescued dogs were actually adoptable and friendly dogs from the Franklin County Humane Society, which sponsored the training.
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Above: The team working together is Mary Ellen
Zydell and Bill Schmitt (of Big Bend DART). |
Above: This team is Susan and Todd Turner
(Franklin County Animal Shelter volunteers). |
| Thanks to Haven Cook for photos and story (850) 531-9759 hcook@fs.fed.us. |
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Boosting AgERT Awareness and Training
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“Just wanted to provide you with the AgERT (Agriculture Emergency Response Training) dates for the rest of this year,?writes Gordon Harman, APHIS Liaison to the Center for Domestic Preparedness. “We have openings.?
Class 08-09 June 8-13
Class 08-10 July 27- 1 August
Class 08-11 August 24- 29
Class 08-12 September 14-19
You may be eligible to train at FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, Alabama. CDP is the only federally chartered DHS Weapons of Mass Destruction training center. For additional information, visit http://cdp.dhs.gov.
Our June 8-13 class (including travel days) has an opening for a Veterinarian or experienced Animal Health Technician, notes R. Gordon Harman, APHIS Liaison to CDP at (256) 847-2350 office or (301) 332-8390 BlackBerry; harmanr@cdpemail.dhs.gov or Robert.G.Harman@aphis.usda.gov.
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Marianne Patton, left,
instructs emergency hospital
staff on how to handle a
patient injured by a dirty
bomb without contaminating
hospital staff and patients
during a recent training
session at the Center for
Domestic Preparedness in
Anniston, Alabama.
Photo courtesy CDP
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Through the Grapevine
"The [AgERT] course was outstanding, excellent in all respects and this is by far the
best course that I have attended at the CDP. The practical aspects of the training
were considerably better than similar courses that I have attended in the hazardous
materials ?fire-fighting arenas. All of the training and the exercises were tied
together."
Jim Overfield, Adjunct Science Professor
Volunteer Hazmat Technician and Firefighter, Kentucky
"I really enjoyed the AgERT course. The disease part was a good refresher and the
HAZMAT part, including wearing and functioning in the Level B and C gear, was very
enlightening, as was the day at Auburn University. I benefited from seeing how our
incident commander, who was a firefighter, communicated with and briefed the
team, and in general managed the response. It really gave a renewed appreciation
for our ‘traditional?responders."
James H. Wright, DVM, MPVM
Regional Zoonosis Veterinarian, Texas
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New Tool to Assist States with
Identification of Critical Agriculture Systems |
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The Food and Agriculture Sector Government Coordinating Council, in
conjunction with DHS recently launched what is known as the Food and
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Agriculture Criticality Assessment Tool (FASCAT) to help states assess and identify critical food and agriculture systems. With an acronym like FASCAT, it’s a name you’ll remember and hopefully a resource states will utilize, says Hallie Zimmers, APHIS?Interim State Liaison. Ultimately, this identification process will assist states in requesting grant money to support food and agriculture infrastructure.
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So what is FASCAT exactly? According to Zimmer, it’s an easy-to-use on-line
tool for evaluating a state’s food and agriculture sector. It helps prioritize key
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systems, and characterize the risks they face. Because food and agriculture issues are generally the responsibility of several agencies within a state, FASCAT can provide a common platform to support a multi-agency effort to evaluate infrastructure. In fact, each state’s Homeland Security Advisor (HSA) has been encouraged to initiate just such a multi-agency effort.
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FASCAT is the first step in a larger effort to implement “vulnerability
assessments?/i> and develop protective and mitigation strategies that allow
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states to focus limited resources on preventive, protective and response planning capabilities.
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Developed in coordination with the University of Minnesota’s National Center
for Food Protection and Defense, FASCAT is being tested in 20 states, but any
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state can use it. After a year, the University of Minnesota will analyze the data and update or modify the tool as necessary. Information related to FASCAT was recently shared with HSAs.
be found at www.dhs.gov/xgovt/editorial_0291.shtm.
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NASAAEP News
National Alliance of State Animal and Agricultural Emergency Programs
Notes from the Monthly Networking Conference Call ?May 14, 2008
A. September11-12, 2008 summit on companion animal issues:
1. A logistical planning committee was established by USDA APHIS Animal Care
and NASAAEP.
2. Location: The Maritime Institute, Baltimore, MD
3. A broader “focus group?will be established soon to provide input about
meeting content.
4. Travel days the 10th and the 13th. (APHIS Animal Care will provide travel and
lodging funding for one representative from each state. Each state will be
asked to identify that agency or organization that is the key contact for APHIS
Animal Care on companion animal issues and provide a representative for the
meeting.)
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B. According to Dr. Jimmy Tickel, North Carolina State University has developed a credentialed responder program for the entire junior year class in the DVM program at the College of Veterinary Medicine. The program is incorporated in the core curriculum for veterinary students, one
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| The Maritime Institute, Baltimore. |
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element in a semester-long class. The curriculum includes ICS 100, ICS 200, NIMS 700 (via independent study), biosecurity, HAZMAT awareness, PPE training, and two scenario discussions involving a foreign animal disease outbreak and a natural disaster.
Tickel says students ranked the initial offering very high. The NCSU program produces graduate veterinarians who are essentially pre-trained for veterinary medical reserve corps programs. It may also help generate interest in non-practice careers as well as food animal medicine.
* Thanks to Kevin Dennison, DVM, Colorado Veterinary Medical Foundation (303) 318-0447
KevinDennison@colovma.org for keeping us informed about this national effort.
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Suwannee County Holds Public Safety Expo
According to Johnny Wooley, Suwannee County Emergency Management Director, his county’s May 17 Public Safety Expo held at the coliseum complex in Live Oak from 10:00 am ?2:00 pm was a success. “We try to have some event each year prior to hurricane season, but this was our first exposition with an all-hazard public safety theme. So I think we had a good turnout,?Wooley said, “with between 200 and 225 people attending.?br>
The “all-hazard?focus was indeed broad, from hurricane warnings to forest fire evacuation planning. To help promote interest, the county’s public elementary schools held a poster contest the week prior to the Expo.
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| Images of the Suwannee County Public Safety Expo courtesy Kimberly Thomas, FPEM Assistant Director. |
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Broadcast Bulletins…And Response
A month ago, we individually received ?because we are part of the SART mailing list ?a Flash Email about a nuclear incident/training exercise. In response, many of us went immediately to the Florida SART web site member page and sent a response email to all Sunshine State SART members and participants. Our responses were primarily of the “I received your email?variety. As a consequence, many mailboxes were filled with such member notices, notices that simply indicated receipt of the Flash Email.
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Although this indicates beyond any doubt that we in the Florida SART program are an alert and responsive group, it would perhaps be best, suggests ESF 17 Coordinator Joe Kight, that we withheld such statewide responses to informational or test-only mailings…unless a response is specifically requested or one is involved as a participant in the exercise and then the response should go directly to an individual rather than to the entire SART community.
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IFAS?Carol Lehtola, a professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering/IFAS, publishes a monthly newsletter. It is posted at http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu/snn/snn-08-04.html and past issues are archived at www.flagsafe.ufl.edu. Plenty of great stuff!
Thoughts & Quotes (getting one’s attention for safety)
Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages
Trauma Intervention Programs
May is National Safe Digging Month
June is National Safety Month
NIOSH Pubs Now in Spanish
Africanized Honey Bees
Helmet Safety ?It’s That Time of Year
CPSC’s New Monthly E-Newsletter
New SART Training Materials ?First Aid for Cats & Dogs
Carol notes that three sites have special interest for members of the Florida agricultural community. They are:
Florida Ag Safety http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu
Disaster Handbook http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu
National Ag Safety Database http://www.cdc.gov/nasd
Carol’s motto is “Be Aware! Be Alert! Be Alive!?She can be reached at (352) 392-1864 x 223 or clehtola@ufl.edu.
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APHIS & California Hold Exercise
Testing National Veterinary Stockpiles
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APHIS?Veterinary Services staff and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) held an exercise March 17-19 to test the National Veterinary Stockpile (NVS), which provides animal vaccines and necessary equipment to states in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak. The exercise simulated a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak and tested APHIS?ability to deliver NVS materials and equipment while testing the CDFA ability to receive, store, stage, deliver, and recover NVS assets. CDFA also had the opportunity to test their Incident Command Structure.
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To make the exercise as real as possible APHIS sent four 18-wheel semi-trucks to the West Coast. Two trucks contained simulated shipments of vaccines and anti-virals, while the other two trucks contained equipment.
| According to Hallie Zimmers, APHIS?Interim State Liaison/Legislative & Public Affairs, the exercise was a success with both APHIS and California performing well. Most importantly, the exercise confirmed that APHIS could effectively distribute materials requiring refrigeration in a timely manner. An “after action report?will be available later this month. Please contact Zimmers if you’re interested in receiving a copy: (202) 720-0378 (phone) or hallie.zimmers@aphis.usda.gov. |
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APHIS?Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) and Canada’s Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) are finalizing guidelines to allow safe and continued trade if a potato cyst nematode, the pale cyst nematode or golden nematode, is found in potato fields in the US or Canada.
Previous guidelines (10/06) focused on table stock potatoes; the latest version requires surveys in seed potato fields.
The detection of golden nematodes in seed potatoes in Alberta (11/07) highlighted the need to strengthen protocols. Draft guidelines specify actions affected states/provinces can take to allow safe trade with minimal restrictions. Guidelines were recently shared with states and industry. The target date for finalizing the guidelines was 4/28/08.
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From 2007-08, APHIS?sampled 50,000 wild birds for the national avian influenza surveillance plan. Because wild birds must be captured, handled and swabbed, sampling them for avian influenza (AI) is time consuming and labor intensive. To optimize sampling, the APHIS Wildlife Services (WS) program has developed new techniques for discovering AI virus in water. Waterfowl that are AI infected shed the virus into water via their feces. Experimental and field studies have shown that AI can be detected in water samples.
In 2008, WS scientists hope to develop a sampling protocol and begin routine sampling of water in areas of suspected AI activity.
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Through the Grapevine
At the Governor’s 2008 Hurricane Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Division of
Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate warned that a major hurricane was
not a question of “if another hurricane will hit, but when…and the need to be
prepared to survive alone for a few days after the storm is more important than ever.
If we can’t do that, everything else we do will fall flat on its face,?he said. “If the great
Miami hurricane hits today, it will dwarf the cost of Katrina. The message is simple.
We’ve got to be survivors.?Fugate noted that estimates of such a hurricane disaster
could cost more than $160 billion.
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Alachua County Coalition
Promotes Low Cost Pet Sterilization Clinic
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SART's own Julie Levy, DVM, Professor at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine and president of No More Homeless Pets, is working with a coalition of Alachua County residents to open a clinic for low-cost pet sterilization. The goal is to reduce the local pet
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Thousands of animals that would make great pets await adoption - or euthanasia - at animal shelters in Florida.
R. Sapp Photo |
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overpopulation, which ultimately leads to euthanasia and more work for Alachua County Animal Services. At this time, local philanthropist Gladys Cofrin has pledged $200,000 to the effort and the Alachua County Commission will be asked to match a similar amount. County funds would be replenished with higher license fees for un-
sterilized
pets. The
total cost is estimated
to be
$500,000.
Levy notes that such
a clinic has
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Thousands of animals that would make great pets await adoption - or euthanasia - at animal shelters in Florida.
R. Sapp Photo |
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proven successful in counties similar to Alachua, which have large low-income populations, rural areas and many free-roaming animals. Additionally, the clinic would reduce the risk of rabies and dog bites. Alachua County Animal Services Director David Flagler notes that non-neutered male dogs are the most likely to bite. Animal Services could then spend more time on safety issues, nuisance mediation, cruelty investigations, education, and animal rehabilitation.
(Some notes as quoted by Cindy Swirko in the Gainesville Sun, May 15, 2008)
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About the SART Sentinel
Editor: Rick Sapp, PhD, Technical Writer, Florida Department of Agriculture &
Consumer Services, Division of Animal Industry [rsa5@cox.net]
Associate Editor: Joe Kight, State ESF-17 Coordinator, Florida Department of
Agriculture & Consumer Services, Division of Animal Industry
[kightj@doacs.state.fl.us]
The SART SENTINEL is an E-mail newsletter prepared monthly by Rick Sapp and the
members of the Florida State Agricultural Response Team. Past issues of the
Sentinel are archived on the Florida SART Web Site, www.flsart.org.
If you have a story or photo that you would like to have considered for publication in
The SART SENTINEL, please contact the Editors.
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