NCJ Number
196475
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 29 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2002 Pages: 54,56,60
Date Published
August 2002
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article discusses how the hazards of transporting shipments of hazardous chemicals, petroleum, and other materials daily across the country are being addressed by the use of computer software in emergency communications.
Abstract
HazMat Trucking Enforcer, based in Pennsylvania, is a step-by-step computer software communications approach meant for ready use by any law enforcement officer to determine whether a shipment complies with Federal regulations, and hyperlinks a warning to the appropriate U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations full text, pictures, and tables. The Enforcer, which fits on a vehicle laptop, offers RegScan, which contains current mandatory and voluntary regulations and advises on regulatory exemptions. It also makes available the North American Emergency Response Guide (NAERG), put out by the U.S. Department of Transportation, for response to full-scale incidents by second and third-tier responders, as well as first tier responders. MaxResponder, which provides a searchable chemical database, and iHAWK, which is used in the field to provide plume outlines for community-specific response, are also described. Palmtop Emergency Action for Chemicals (PEAC), used to provide database information about chemicals and protection, is described. It is noted that the use of software is now invaluable and critical to making it easier for officials to enforce hazmat regulations, for reducing the exposure of danger to emergency response personnel to hazmat incidents, and for strengthening the incident command system and the community as a whole.