Florence, Ariz.-Pinal County could be an accident waiting to happen, with frequent rail and heavy interstate traffic carrying ammonia, sulfuric acid, or other hazardous chemicals across an area big enough to fit into four Delawares and have room to spare. And, according to county communications director Heather Murphy, there isn’t any let-up in store, with Union Pacific planning to extend a new double track between Texas and California that cuts through Pinal. “That’s why it’s important for us to be prepared by creating believable scenarios that test our readiness for any emergency,” Murphy explained. She said a recent exercise was designed to do just that by developing a multi-phase rail-related scenario that had ammonia leaking out of a rail tanker, other derailed cars spilling sulfuric acid, and several chlorine-loaded tankers posing additional hazards. County Emergency Management Director Lou Miranda said the recent run-through was a table-top exercise to go over plans, policies, and procedures. “We had a phenomenal turnout,” Miranda commented following the six-hour exercise. “With more than 70 people in attendance, we had great representation from multiple agencies and jurisdictions.” In January, he disclosed, “we’ll be getting closer to the real thing, putting participants into their own emergency operation center and running the same kind of exercise for a much longer duration.”
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