Member Pipeline - Member Services & Information - Update (MU05-16)
| To: | Members & Affiliates |
| From: | National Office |
| Date: | October 20, 2005 |
| Subject: | NACWA RELEASES DECONTAMINATION WASTEWATER GUIDE |
| Reference: | MU 05-16 |
| Attachment: | Planning for Decontamination Wastewater: A Guide for Utilities (PDF) |
Printer friendly versionThe National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) is pleased to provide you with the latest in its series of publications focusing on the protection of wastewater infrastructure assets. Planning for Decontamination Wastewater: A Guide for Utilities is the first national publication to explore the potential impacts of wastewater generated during the response to, and cleanup of, a chemical, biological, or radiological (CBR) terrorist attack. Wastewater security efforts to date have been focused largely on protecting the physical plant, its knowledge base, information technology and employees from a direct attack. Equally, if not more likely, is a scenario in which a wastewater utility is challenged indirectly by a terrorist attack on other targeted community assets.
Planning for Decontamination Wastewater: A Guide for Utilities (Guide) was developed by NACWA under a cooperative agreement with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Guide is intended to increase the level of awareness within the wastewater community and provide guidance on how to ensure that wastewater infrastructure is protected in the event of an attack. In addition to this printed publication, an electronic version of the document is available for download on the NACWA security page (http://www.nacwa.org/advocacy/security/).
NACWA’s Pretreatment & Hazardous Waste and Security & Emergency Preparedness Committees oversaw the effort to develop the Guide. Given the role that pretreatment personnel have played in past decontamination wastewater incidents, NACWA encourages its utility members to share and discuss this document widely within their organizations. Many of the pre-planning steps outlined in the Guide may be included in your agency’s Emergency Response Plan.
What Is Decontamination Wastewater?
The primary purpose of the Guide is to ensure that managers of
wastewater utilities are cognizant of the pre-planning necessary to prevent,
detect, respond to and/or recover from the impacts of decontamination wastewater
containing CBR substances. In the context of this publication ‘decontamination
wastewater’ is defined as wastewater generated as a result of cleanup or
decontamination activities performed after a terrorist attack with CBR
substances. For example, during the anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001,
hazardous materials workers tasked with cleaning up the office buildings that
had been contaminated – along with their equipment – were washed down after
exiting the buildings. This decontamination wastewater was collected and
transferred to 55-gallon drums for storage. In several cases, this wastewater
was pretreated and discharged to the sewer. With large incidents, however, such
containment may not be practicable and this wastewater would likely end up in
the sewer system untreated.
Decontamination wastewater may also be generated away from the site of an attack and therefore may not be under the control of first responders. For example, hospitals in many communities have built large shower facilities for use after a terrorist attack with CBR substances to decontaminate victims. These showers are often directly connected to the sewer system and would likely be a source of decontamination wastewater.
Overview of the Guide
While efforts to preserve the life, health and safety of attack
victims and first responders will always be the top priority, the Guide
provides information on pre-planning steps that can help to minimize the
discharge of decontamination wastewater and its impacts. The first chapter
provides an introduction to the Guide, its purpose and guiding principle.
The remaining chapters are summarized as follows:
Chapter 2 begins with an overview of the types of CBR substances that may be used in a terrorist attack. The chapter continues with a discussion on how decontamination activities in response to such a malevolent incident may result in CBR substances entering the wastewater system through contaminated runoff or other means (i.e., decontamination wastewater).
Recognizing that the response to, and management of, a terrorist incident will rest primarily with state and local emergency management agencies and first responders, Chapter 3 provides important elements for effective planning, communication and coordination between utility staff and those persons in command at a CBR incident. Using the concepts presented in Chapter 3, utility managers can minimize the impact of CBRs on their wastewater systems and employees through joint planning, preparation and cooperation with local emergency personnel.
Chapter 4 presents a summary of tactics and equipment that may be employed to prevent decontamination wastewater from entering the sewer system, or minimize the amount that does enter. This chapter also includes methods used to reduce the adverse impacts of chemical and biological substances in decontamination wastewater on wastewater operations and facility personnel.
Chapter 5 emphasizes the importance of a knowledgeable workforce in mitigating the effects of decontamination wastewater on the utility. Tips for keeping up-to-date with information on security and emergency response are included. Examples of training courses are presented, along with a discussion on the benefits of engaging in training exercises, especially in joint exercises with emergency management agencies and first responders.
Chapter 6 provides a review of ongoing and recently completed research that may provide useful information to wastewater professionals looking to mitigate the risks of decontamination wastewater. Suggested research projects may help close the current knowledge gap by providing new information on the transport, fate and impacts of CBR substances that enter a utility’s sewer system through decontamination wastewater.
The Guide is not intended to provide comprehensive guidance to utilities on handling decontamination wastewater. Instead, it is intended to help utilities inform their key employees of the potential impacts associated with decontamination wastewater, outline the basic actions utilities might want to take to plan for such an event, and provide Internet links and references to other sources of more detailed information. In the coming weeks the security section of NACWA’s website will be updated with additional links related to the Guide, which will be added to on an ongoing basis.
NACWA would like to extend special thanks to the following individuals for their contributions to this effort: Guy M. Aydlett, Director of Water Quality of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, Va.; Theresa Pfeifer, Industrial Waste Coordinator of the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, Denver, Colo.; Chris Ferrigan, Utility Program Coordinator of the City of Boca Raton Utility Services Department, Boca Raton, Fla.; and Debra McCarty, Chief, Wastewater Treatment of the Philadelphia Water Department, Philadelphia, Pa.
If you have any questions on the Guide or decontamination wastewater issues, please contact Chris Hornback, NACWA’s Directory of Regulatory Affairs at 202/833-9106 or chornback@nacwa.org.
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER PROTECTING WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS… National Association of Clean Water Agencies (2005) This work is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the written permission of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), which is the owner of the copyright. This work contains information on the planning and preparation for crisis and extreme events, and the protection of wastewater utility assets, the environment and human health. This work necessarily addresses problems of a general nature. Local, state, and federal laws and regulations, protocols and procedures should be reviewed as they apply to particular situations. Knowledgeable professionals prepared this work using current information. There is no representation, expressed or implied, that this information is suitable for any particular situation. NACWA has no obligation to update this work or make changes to any of the information discussed in this work. NACWA’s publication of this work does not replace employers’ duties to warn and properly train and equip their employees and others concerning health and safety risks and necessary precautions. Neither NACWA nor its contractor, CH2M Hill, Inc., assumes any liability resulting from the use or reliance upon any information, guidance, suggestions, conclusions, or opinions contained in this work. |