Can Rhode Island Effectively Respond to a Major Hazardous Materials Incident?
Christopher Harwood Deficiencies in trained response staff, dedicated response equipment, and inter-jurisdictional training puts the population and environment of Rhode Island at risk in the event of a release of hazardous materials. This thesis evaluates Rhode Island’s compliance with the requirements of Federal legislation, assesses the current capability of emergency response to hazardous materials, assesses the potential risk of a major incident in the state, and makes recommendations for improvement. A review of Federal laws and regulations shows Rhode Island to be out of compliance with the requirements to protect the public from hazardous materials incidents. A mail survey was conducted of response agencies in the Federal, State, Municipal, and Private sectors, which reveals deficiencies, particularly in the Municipal sector, which by both current practice and State protocol has primary responsibility for hazardous materials incident response. A computer model of a hazardous mat
