Instructions
Oxidizers and
explosives have been used as weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). For this
assignment, you are the lead incident commander for Star City Fire Department,
which is responding to an explosion at the Regional Federal Building in
downtown Star City. In preparing to respond to this incident, you noted that it
appears to be eerily similar to the 1995 terrorist incident at the Murrah
Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Information relevant to this case
study incident is provided below.
Star City is a metropolitan city with a population of
750,000 people.
The ambient temperature today at 3 pm was 75Β° F, with
winds blowing at 10 mph from the northwest to the southeast.
The Regional Federal Building in Star City is located
in a congested downtown area with an interstate freeway passing within 200
yards southwest of the Regional Federal Building.
Approximately 1,550 people work at or visit the
Regional Federal Building on any given weekday.
The explosion incident at the Regional Federal
Building occurred today (Wednesday) at 3:17 pm. There are 43 fatalities
and 132 injuries resulting from this incident.
The building alarm to evacuate workers and visitors
from the building was sounded immediately.
The Regional Federal Building, which does not have an
onsite Emergency Response Team (ERT), has a Security Department of 10
professionals who handle routine security concerns and emergencies.
The fire departmentΒs first responders arrived on
location at 3:28 pm, and you assumed your lead incident command duties.
Assuming that
the explosive blasting agent used for this Star Ci
ty incident is ammonium
nitrate/fuel oil (ANFO), address the questions below in your case study.
Describe the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
classification (e.g., DOT hazard class, UN number, shipping description,
type of blasting agent) and the properties/hazards of the hazardous
materials comprising ANFO.
Explain how you, as the lead incident commander,
should respond to this Star City explosion incident. Although this is not
a transportation incident, determine the appropriate Emergency
Response Guidebook (ERG) guide number for ANFO, and discuss what
ERG information will help determine how to respond to this incident.
Discuss how your emergency response actions would
differ if this incident involved a dirty bomb comprised of dynamite and
cesium-137 instead of ANFO. What are the acute radiation effects of a
single whole-body dose of 4.2 Gy of cesium-137? List two reasons why
terrorists have not yet used dirty bombs as WMDs.
Your response
must be at least two pages in length, not counting the title page and
references page.
Also, make
certain your assignment is formatted in essay form, as it should not contain
extensive bulleted lists of information or data. All sources used, including
the textbook, must be referenced.
Paraphrased and
quoted materials must have accompanying in-text and reference citations in APA
format. A minimum of two sources, one of which must come from the text Beyond
the Dirty Bomb, should be used to help answer the question about why
terrorists have not yet used a dirty bomb. Please adhere to APA Style when
creating citations and references for this assignment.