• General. To properly develop this Hazardous Material Emergency Preparedness Plan the Washington County LEPC considered many factors, made certain assumptions to ascertain what hazards exist within the County and might be potential hazardous material incident causes or locations.
  • Factors. Two principle areas were considered in the hazards analysis (1) possible causes and (2) environmental concerns.
    • Possible Causes.
      • Facilities. Washington County has 35 facilities which produce, use or store Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS), of those 35 facilities, 11 are Water Treatment plants. 28 Washington County facilities produce, use or store Hazardous Substances.
      • Transportation. Within the County there are also four means of transportation used for transporting chemicals across the County.
        • Highways. A combination of State, Federal, and Local highways are utilized by numerous types of truck tankers to move Hazardous and Extremely Hazardous Substances through the County. There are 28 miles of Federal highways, including 17.6 miles of I-77, 248 miles of State highways, 343 of County and 853 of Township roads within the County.
        • Railroads. There are approximately 42 miles of railroads within the County all of which are used to transport chemical products. The main line goes along US Route 50/Ohio State Route 7 and is parallel with the Ohio River.
        • Pipelines. There are an estimated 200 miles of pipelines which cross the County and which transport various types of hazardous substances.
        • Rivers. The Ohio River is estimated to have 100 barges in a 24-hour period which haul both EHS and Hazardous Chemicals along the entire southern border of Washington County, which is approximately 60 miles. Additionally there are an estimated 21 barge unloading areas/fleeting harbors on the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers. The Muskingum River runs through the County for about 34 miles, but does not handle barge or hazardous cargo traffic.
    • Geographical and Environmental Concerns and Assumptions
      • Washington County consists of hilly terrain with many farmable valleys. Much of the soil is sandy and highly absorbent. The Muskingham River passes North to South through the County while the Ohio River forms the southern and eastern County boundary. Both rivers are fed by many streams. Veto Lake and many small lakes in the County. The Wayne National Forest occupies a portion of the County.
      • The majority of the County is rural area however there is a sizable urban area in Marietta, Belpre, and Beverly. The majority of EHS facilities are located in the vicinity of the Ohio River in the area between Marietta and Belpre.
      • Assumptions were made that chemical incidents would most likely occur on a transportation route, probably highway, and that fixed facilities would be a lesser threat and that protection of the population and the environment would depend on quick, planned response by emergency responders, facilities, and others.
  • Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) Facilities. Ohio Revised Code 3750.04 requires that detailed information be provided on all public and private facilities which produce, use or store EHS materials. . . .
  • Hazardous Analysis. The Committee has determined that the most probable cause for a Hazardous Materials accident or incident in Washington County would be as follows:
    • A transportation accident involving a truck-tanker.
    • A transportation accident involving a railroad tank car.
    • An accident at a Facility.
    • A transportation accident/incident involving a pipeline.
    • River barge accident/incident.
  • Additional Facilities at Risk. The Committee has determined that should a chemical accident/incident occur at an EHS facility that other facilities could be at risk due to their close proximity. Any time there is a chemical release the possibility must be considered that a chemical could cause a fire, explosion or the release of dangerous gases that could effect nearby facilities that do not use or store EHSs but could be at risk.
  • Emergency Response. At the time of the publication of this Plan, Washington County did not have the capability to effectively fight a hazardous chemical incident due to the lack of equipment required for the firefighters and the present training level of the firefighters. The County Fire Department will respond to a Hazardous Materials alarm and will accomplish as much as their training and equipment permits them to do.
  • Outside Assistance. In the event of a Hazardous Materials incident the following [steps] may be taken:
    • Fire Service. Fire Department will notify the following agencies and request whatever assistance may be required from the State Fire Marshall, the Ohio EPA, private contractors, and other response agencies.
    • County EMA Office. Will notify the Ohio EMA Field Coordinator (or the Ohio EMA Duty Officer) of the incident/accident, adjoining county's EMA Offices and others as needed. Additionally, the OEPA, SFM, OSP, ODOT, and other agencies as the need dictates.