Fourteen teams are scheduled to participate in the 11th annual HAZMAT Challenge Tuesday through Friday at the Laboratory’s HAZMAT Training Facility at Technical Area 49. Participating teams practice technical skills and learn new HAZMAT techniques under realistic conditions in a safe environment and have a chance to network with other hazardous materials professionals.
The schedule of events includes July 31 as training and vendor day where teams have an opportunity to practice and familiarize themselves with the props and tools. Wednesday and Thursday (August 1 and 2), are the actual competition days and the last day, August 3, wraps up the event with an obstacle course and awards.
Employees and news media are invited to attend on the competition days to observe.
Old cars, trucks, tankers and rail cars are used in some of the props to mimic real-life hazardous material situations. The challenge simulates events such as chemical hazard identification, confined space rescue, off-loading material from an overturned tanker, a complex valve tree with several leaks, a rail car dome leak, an overturned tanker spill, and medical assessment of patients. The final event of the competition is the ever fun and popular obstacle course.
Teams participating in this year’s HAZMAT Challenge include the following:
• 64th Civil Support Team
• Carlsbad Fire Department
• Espanola Fire Department
• Farmington Fire Department
• Las Cruces Fire Department
• Los Alamos Fire Department
• LANL - HAZMAT
• Portales Fire Department
• Santa Fe Fire Department
• Houston Fire Department
• Intel Arizona
• Midwest City, Oklahoma Fire Department
• Moore, Oklahoma, Fire Department
• Norman, Oklahoma Fire Department
Sponsors for the 11th annual HAZMAT Challenge include
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Los Alamos Fire Department
• Environmental Protection Agency
• University of Oklahoma
• Intel
• 64th Civil Support Team
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
• UNM Center for Disaster Medicine
• New Mexico Task Force 1
• Trinity Beverage Company
For more information, contact Jeff Dare of Response Services (ER-RS) at 5-5511 or by electronic mail at darej@lanl.gov.
