|
The goal of this project, Application of Technology to Transportation
Operations in Biohazard Situations, was to develop a more comprehensive and actionable
understanding of the role of transportation agencies during a biohazard situation.
The documents and tools produced during this project are intended to help state
and local transportation agencies perform the roles expected of them during
all phases of a biohazard incident. Those roles can differ significantly from
the ones they typically perform during other types of emergencies.
As described
in the Background and Purpose section of this report, this project had six
components:
- Task 2, Literature Review, May 17, 2005.
- Task 3, Workshop Summary, August
3, 2005.
- Task 4, Transportation Biohazard Operational Concept, August 31,
2005.
- Task 5, Transportation Activities & Applications of Technology,
November 22, 2005.
- Task 6, Transportation Operations during Biohazard
Events Learning Tool, December 2, 2005.
- Task 7, Final Report, December 2,
2005.
Findings from each product are summarized
below. The full versions of these products appear in later sections of
this report.
1.1 Literature Review
The Literature Review provides background information
on biohazard agents and incidents; the vulnerability of different transportation
modes to
biohazards; existing programs, plans, and guidance related to biohazards;
and existing
emergency response models and tools that are applicable to biohazard
situations.
Important findings of the Literature Review include the following:
- Biohazards
differ greatly in their environmental persistence, contagiousness, and
incubation period. These differences have significant implications
for the role of transportation agencies in responding to a biohazard event.
- The
response to a biohazard release will differ significantly depending on
when the release is discovered. The response to a release that
is promptly
detected will be very different from the response to a biohazard
release that is identified only after people become symptomatic
(possibly weeks after the
release).
1.2 Workshop
Representatives of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation,
other federal, state, and local agencies, and transportation
researchers participated in a scenario-based biohazards workshop on July
18,
2005. Participants
discussed
the transportation-related needs of public health, law enforcement,
and other responding agencies under three different biohazard
scenarios. Workshop
participants
assessed whether transportation agencies were prepared to fill
those
needs. Some common themes that emerged from these discussions
include the following:
- Local, regional, and state planning and decision-making
processes should include transportation agencies so that they can provide
advice and recommendations
regarding the transportation-related aspects of the response
to a biohazard
incident.
- Transportation agencies need to more fully develop
agreements and protocols for working with law enforcement to enforce travel
restrictions,
curfews, and quarantines, and to support voluntary travel restrictions or “snow
day” conditions.
- Transportation agencies that use the services of private
contractors need
to consider addressing the use of the contractors’ assets
during a biohazard incident or other emergency in the
service agreements with those contractors.
- Emergency management personnel may
not be aware of all of the available transportation resources for communicating
with the public.
- ITS technologies could improve the performance of transportation
agencies during a biohazard event, but those technologies are not
currently available in all
areas.
1.3 Operational Concept
The Operational Concept describes the emergency management
framework and how transportation agencies fit into that framework. It
also outlines the
activities
that a transportation agency could be asked to perform during
all phases of a biohazard event. In particular, the Operational
Concept identifies
the following
types of public health response activities that are likely
to require support from transportation agencies:
- Distribution of mass
prophylaxis,
- Control of the affected area and population,
- Care of casualties,
- Emergency management operations, and
- Resource and logistics support.
This document can serve as a guide and
template for state and local transportation agencies as they prepare
their own operational
concept for biohazard
situations. 1.4 Technology Application Plan
The Technology Application Plan assesses the
activities identified by the Operational Concept and proposes communications
and ITS technologies that
can assist a
transportation agency in carrying out those activities.
The plan identifies five categories of ITS technologies that
can enhance
the capabilities
of transportation agencies during a biohazard situation:
- Surveillance
and detection (e.g., closed-circuit television cameras, roadway detectors);
- Communications
(e.g., mobile data terminals, computer-aided dispatch);
- Traveler information
(e.g., variable message signs, Highway Advisory Radio);
- Environmental management
(e.g., road weather information systems); and
- Traffic management (e.g.,
alternate signal control, signal preemption technology).
1.5 Learning Tool
The Learning Tool synthesizes the information and findings
from the previous tasks and presents them in an engaging format
suitable for distribution
via CD-ROM or the FHWA website. This tool provides
a way for transportation professionals
to learn about biohazards and the steps transportation
agencies can take to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover
from
biohazard incidents.
1.6 Final Report
In addition to the documents and tool described above,
this Final Report includes a set of recommended practices
for
state and local transportation
agencies,
recommendations to FHWA on how to assist state and
local transportation agencies, and areas for additional
research.
The
recommended
practices for transportation
agencies are organized by phases of the emergency
management process.
Key recommendations for state and local transportation
agencies include:
- Transportation agencies and other
providers of transportation services should increase employee awareness
of biological threats and train them on the
appropriate
actions to take in the event of suspicious
conditions, packages, or behavior in transportation facilities.
- Transportation
agencies should identify how existing their ITS and communications
technologies can be used in response to a
biohazard incident, and should also identify critical needs for additional
capabilities.
- Protocols and procedures to restrict mobility in areas that
may be contaminated due to a biohazard incident should be developed
and disseminated to transportation and emergency response officials.
- Adequate
communications links should be created among transportation agencies at
all levels (e.g., state, regional, and local) to handle needs
that may arise
in a biohazard situation.
- Contingency
plans should be developed in case contaminated transportation facilities
(e.g., traffic management centers, transit stations,
and air cargo facilities)
are closed for a long period of time.
Key recommendations
for FHWA to assist state and local transportation agencies include:
- Disseminate
this report and the Learning Tool developed under this project.
- Provide
assistance in developing operational concepts.
- Coordinate and promote emergency
response exercises that include biohazard scenarios and test the interoperability
of
ITS and other communications systems.
Key areas of additional research needs
include:
- How transportation agencies have responded to actual biohazard
events
and training exercises, including the role that ITS played.
- The optimal
implementation and use of key ITS technologies, including:
- Vehicle-based
data acquisition (vehicle probes),
- Real-time biohazard detectors,
- Remote data collection, and
- Digital technologies for geospatial, spatial,
and temporal imaging.
- Development
and testing of system interoperability, including functional requirements
and standards for system.
|
