Metro announces improvements to existing procedures for responding to suspected hazardous material incidents

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) is making further improvements to its existing procedures for responding to any potential future hazardous materials incidents. These improvements, issued in the form of interim Standard Operating Procedures, will be communicated to all Metrorail and Metrobus personnel beginning today via Special Orders.

The changes in Metro's hazardous materials handling procedures are partly a result of a recent meeting of Metro Safety, Transit Police, and Rail personnel with officials from local fire departments: Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Fairfax County, Arlington County, and the City of Alexandria.

During that October 12th meeting, Metro and fire officials reviewed existing procedures Metro already had in place for handling hazardous materials incidents in its rail system. Immediately following the meeting, Metro issued interim procedures to its Rail Operations Control Center (OCC) personnel based on that review.

Since then, Metro officials have been conducting a thorough, comprehensive review of their Metrorail and Metrobus hazardous materials response procedures to ensure all possible scenarios have been anticipated.

That internal review resulted in some additional improvements for responding to any hazardous materials incidents, should they occur, in the Metrorail or Metrobus systems.

Those additional improvements are outlined in three Special Orders that are being distributed to all Metrorail and Metrobus employees today. The Special Orders create an interim Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for responding to reports of unknown substances in the Metrorail system; a second interim SOP for responding to known, confirmed hazardous materials in the rail system; and a third interim SOP for responding to reports and/or confirmed incidents on Metrobuses.

"In our discussions with the fire officials, and in our own internal discussions, we identified some areas where we believe we can improve our response to suspected or confirmed hazardous materials incidents in the future, should they occur," stated James Gallagher, Metro's Deputy General Manager for Operations.

"These are not sweeping, major changes, but simply some improvements that will help our front line operating personnel do their jobs better," Mr. Gallagher added. "These changes will help to make a safe Metro system even safer."

For the most part, the changes Metro is implementing focus on how personnel in the Rail Operations Control Center will coordinate the movement of trains in the event of a suspected or confirmed hazardous materials incident on a train (either in a tunnel or above ground), along the tracks, or in a Metrorail station.
For example, in the event of an unknown substance on a Metrorail train, Metro officials will stop the train at the next closest station, shut down the train's ventilation system, offload all passengers, and take the train to the closest railyard for assessment and evaluation. [Metro officials essentially followed that procedure at the October 9th incident at its Southern Avenue station in Prince George's County.]

If conditions on an underground train lead Metro's first responders and/or fire officials to believe that a substance or material is indeed hazardous, rail supervisors will stop the train, shut down the its ventilation system, evacuate the next closest Metrorail station, bring the train with the suspected material slowly into that station, offload the train of all passengers, and have fire department hazardous materials personnel conduct a full assessment at that station.

If the train is above ground when the hazardous substance is first discovered, the train will be stopped in place and assessed by fire department officials where it is stopped, or at the next closest station if that next station is also above ground.

Metro also improved its procedures for responding to unknown material in a Metrorail station. If an unknown substance is discovered or reported on the platform, Metro officials will discontinue service to that station, and allow the train to pass through the station while the material is investigated. If the substance is reported at the mezzanine level, the entrance to that station will be closed.

If Metro officials believe that a substance in a station is hazardous, supervisors will evacuate and close the station, and order all trains in both directions not to enter that station until the substance can be fully assessed by fire department personnel.
As for Metrobus, any unknown or confirmed hazardous substances will be handled in a similar manner: the passengers and the driver will be evacuated from the bus at the place where the substance is detected or reported. Metro Transit Police and/or fire department personnel will then make an assessment of how the substance should be handled.

"Our number one priority is the safety of our customers and employees," said Metro's Chief Safety Officer Fred Goodine. "When confronted with a situation, safety concerns always take precedent over anything else. At the same time, we must act responsibly and always be cognizant of how the actions we take will impact our system and our customers."

In addition to the new interim hazardous materials response procedures being distributed today, Metro officials also have implemented numerous additional safety and security enhancements since September 11th (see attachment).

Safety and Security Improvements at Metro [As of October 23, 2001]

• Interim Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for responding to suspected releases of hazardous materials on a train, a right-of-way, in a rail station, and on a Metrobus have been implemented, effective today. A companion training program for all rail employees will be implemented before October 31, 2001. Additionally, Metro's Office of Safety will reinforce the new procedures with random readiness checks of Metrorail and Metrobus employees.

• Metro's Operations department has implemented a new daily "sweeps" program to ensure safety and security inspections of both revenue and non-revenue facilities.

• Metro Transit Police and all Metro employees remain on high alert; additional uniformed and plainclothes officers remain deployed throughout the Metro system, wearing bright orange safety vests to make them more visible to customers.

• All trash containers and recycling bins have been removed from revenue areas, and Metro staff is researching procurement cost and turn-around to replace existing containers with explosive-proof models. Also, bicycle lockers and newspaper vending boxes have been moved or removed from station underpasses.

• Evacuation plans have been reviewed and updated for all non-revenue facilities. Emergency evacuation drills are being conducted to evaluate facility evacuation plans and employee response.

• Metro has improved its mailroom procedures for handling packages. Transit Police have conducted training sessions (including written guidelines) with mailroom employees, and Metro's Medical Services Office has conducted informational briefings and issued personal protective gloves to all mail handlers.

• Security at Metro's Jackson Graham Building (JGB) headquarters will be improved in several ways. All Metro employees will be required to use electronic access gates at JGB, in addition to presenting photo identification, which must be worn around the neck. The back doors and lobby access stairwell will be locked, and security has been relocated to the front of the building during off-hours. Also, non-operating employees will be asked to wear high visibility vests to-and-from work. A permanent security booth with barriers will be set up at the automobile entrance of the JGB as well as at other Metro facilities.

• Metro will continue to include a weekly column in its "Metro Weekly" employee newsletter to advise and remind its 10,000 employees of safety and security issues and practices.

• "Bomb Threat" assessment checklists have been distributed to employees for use in reporting suspicious or unattended packages or phone-in threats.

• Metro has requested $190 million for additional security detection, protection, and security enhancements.