LANL: Hazardous Materials Response Teams Put Their Skills To The Test

Seven teams competed to test their hazardous materials response expertise in the 28th annual Hazmat Challenge at LANL Mock scenarios involve dismantling a drug lab, curtailing a flammable leak from a tractor-trailer accident and addressing an Anthrax outbreak at a hotel. Photo Courtesy LANL

Seven hazardous material response teams from Tennessee, Oklahoma and New Mexico competed in carefully designed emergency scenarios at the 28th annual HAZMAT Challenge at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Created by the Lab's Emergency Management Division, teams compete to build skills and camaraderie, share knowledge and take home top honors.

Each team of five participating this year represented agencies from the Santa Fe Fire Department, Clovis Fire Department, Edmond Fire Department from Oklahoma, two teams from Los Alamos Fire Department, Laboratory HAZMAT, and Y-12 Fire Department from Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The challenge involved teams responding to simulated disasters including:

The competition is a professional development experience for teams in New Mexico and beyond. Hosted at the Laboratory, teams from across the country may register to compete. Photo Courtesy LANL

Each scenario was evaluated and graded by neutral experts in the field. Following each exercise the team was debriefed and discuss the aspects of the response and points are awarded.

This year the top three finishers in the technical challenge went to:

The obstacle course winner was Los Alamos Fire Department #2.

The host team, the Laboratory's Emergency Response, gained a wealth of knowledge from the scenarios and networking with other Hazmat Teams from around the nation.

"The challenge we face each year is to develop new scenarios, so work on next year's event starts immediately following this year's event," said HAZMAT Challenge organizer Christopher Barondeau.