06-12-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Anoka County Multi-Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan 104 Fixed Facility Hazardous Materials Incident is any occurrence of uncontrolled release of materials from a fixed site that poses a risk to health, safety, and property as determined in the EPA's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. These materials are classed identically to those specified in the section on transportation accidents. A variety of hazardous materials exist in fixed facilities throughout Anoka County. They range from flammable liquids stored or used to fuel vehicles through exotic biological agents. Some materials are particularly lethal even in small amounts, while others require strong concentrations with prolonged exposure. Radiological Incident is defined as the unintentional exposure to materials that emit ionizing radiation. Nuclear power plants are a significant potential source of ionizing radiation. The health and environment impacts from the Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl, Russia disasters illustrate the potential hazards from nuclear power plants. Other sources of ionizing radiation include medical and diagnostic X-ray machines, certain surveying instruments, some imaging systems used to check pipelines, radioactive sources used to calibrate radiation detection instruments, and even some household fire detectors. The graphic below provided through the Environmental Protection Agency Identifies the proliferation of facilities and sites in Anoka County that inventory or process hazardous materials. 4.3.2.3 Illegal Methamphetamine Labs Illegal domestic labs that produce methamphetamine (meth) are dependent on supplies of the precursor ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. Sometimes it is smuggled in quantity from Canada and Mexico, but may be readily purchased over-the-counter in the form of the decongestant Sudafed and other pseudoephadrine-containing cold tablets. Depending on the method used, meth is “cooked” using the cold medicine and other easily obtained items such as coffee filters, lye, battery acid, matchbook striker plates, iodine, lithium batteries, and Coleman fuel. The process of cooking meth leaves behind a hazardous coating on walls, floors, and in ventilation systems. State law requires meth-contaminated property be quarantined until clean up operations have been completed and the property tested by a certified contractor as safe for habitation. Cost for cleaning and certifying a 1,200 square foot house is about $9,000. In hotels, rooms adjacent, above, and below must also be certified as safe.