EPA Region 7 Emergency Response Program Conducts Readiness Exercise

By Mary Peterson (Lenexa, Kan., May 2, 2013) - Personnel from EPAs Emergency Response Program participated in an event designed to exercise skills using various pieces of equipment to navigate and locate objects, and to transmit information back to the Mobile Command Post staged at Shawnee Mission Park, Kan. From the command post, teams mobilized to specified locations in the KC metro area and performed tasks as directed through a variety of communication tools including email, cell phone, and satellite phone. Teams were then scored on each task in terms of accuracy, completeness, and timeliness. Exercises like this are necessary to maintain a constant state of readiness to respond to major spills and disasters. Each year, EPAs Emergency Response Program conducts several exercises to build and maintain proficiency in a broad range of response capabilities. Communications capabilities are a key component of every exercise so that in a real event EPA can respond quickly and deliver timely information to the media and to the public. For information about On Scene Coordinators: http://www.epa.gov/osweroe1/content/nrs/nrsosc.htm