2005-070 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Surface and air transportation disruption ; • Human health and safety ; • Psychological hardship ; • Economic disruption ; • Disruption of community services ; • Fire ; and • Toxic releases . A community' s vulnerability to hazardous materials accidents depends on three factors . These are 1 ) The major transportation routes that pass through the communi ; 2 ) The hazardous material generators located in or near the community ; and 3 ) The resources in terms of people and property are in an area of possible impact from a hazardous materials release . Overall , Indian River County has a moderate vulnerability to impact from hazardous materials releases . There are relatively few major generators within the County, and those that do exist are generally away from major population centers . An area of high vulnerability for hazardous materials accidents is the City of Vero Beach , due to the transportation network ( both highway and rail ) that passes through the area . 4Z12 Risk Assessment At the time of publication , no data were available to determine the loss in Indian River County due to power failure . 4 .2 . 4 Transportation System Accidents Florida has a large transportation network consisting of major highways , airports , marine ports , and passenger railroads . The heavily populated areas of Indian River County are particularly vulnerable to serious accidents , which are capable of producing mass casualties . With the linear configuration of several major highways in Indian River County , such as interstate highways and the Florida Turnpike , major transportation acc dents could occur in a relatively rural area , severely stressing the capabilities of local resources to respond effectively . Installing cameras on interstate highways and major trans ortation routes can assist in monitoring movement throughout the County, as well as pr vide for quicker response to traffic system accidents as well . A notorious example is tha crash in the Everglades of ValuJet Flight 597 on 11 May 1996 , which resulted in 109 fatalities and cost millions of dollars , severely taxing the financial and public safety resources of Dade County ( FDCA , 2001 ) . Similarly , a major transportation accident could involve a large lumber of tourists and visitors from other countries , given Florida ' s popularity as a vacation destination , further complicating the emergency response to such an event. In the past , wil land fires in Florida have forced the closing of interstate highways , creating tremendous impacts on the transportation systems . As a major industrial nation , the U . S . produces , distributes , and consumes large quantities of oil . Petroleum- based oil is used as a major power source to fuel factories and various modes of transportation , and in many everyday products , such as plast cs , nylon , paints , tires , cosmetics , and detergents ( EPA , 1998 ) . At every point in the proc uction , 4-57