AN APPROACH FOR DERIVING EMERGENCY PLANNING ZONES FOR CHEMICAL MUNITIONS EMERGENCIES

The selection of an emergency planning zone (EPZ) for hazardous materials is often a difficult technical as well as a political task. This paper describes a method used in the United States to establish EPZs in the Army's Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program. A rationale for a zoned based approach to emergency planning for hazardous materials is developed. The method presented integrates risk analysis data with meteorological, topographical, demographic, and political concerns. The method is then applied at the Tooele Army Depot in Tooele, Utah. Although the analysis concerns chemical weapons, the process is relevant to other hazardous material problems.