I just HAVE to find out more about this. I possibly smell a sick day coming...

Link

Federal Agencies Pick Oklahoma City As Test Site

Harmless Gases To Be Released

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Federal agencies will release harmless gases in Oklahoma City this summer to test how chemical and biological weapons would work in a terrorist attack.

"The goal of this program is in domestic terrorism preparedness," said Jerry Allwine, a scientist with the Environmental Technology Division of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "It's important to the protection of the homeland against chemical and biological threats."

The $4 million test is a project of the U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense. It will also involve the University of Oklahoma meteorology department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The study is scheduled for July and will use sulfur hexafluoride and perfluorocarbon tracer gases. Allwine said the gases are innocuous and are used to inflate athletic shoes and tennis balls. They have also been used to study atmospheric conditions since the 1960s.

Details of the study were discussed at Tuesday's Oklahoma City city council meeting.

"I think it will do a lot to understand our atmospheric conditions -- especially since we're in tornado alley," Councilwoman Willa Johnson said. "When I first saw this item, that it involved gas, I started reading about how this works. And I now feel fine about it."

City Manager Jim Couch said the study will help Oklahoma prepare better for an emergency and also improve officials' understanding of how to measure air quality. Mayor Kirk Humphreys predicted that Oklahoma City's strong winds would quickly scatter the gas.

Allwine said Oklahoma's geography makes downtown Oklahoma City the ideal place to build computer models that will simulate how gases disperse in urban areas.

"It's a very flat and very well-defined urban area with tall buildings," Allwine said. "There's also a very consistent wind from the south."

He said it was the second time such testing has been done in a U.S. city. Allwine said an earlier limited study was conducted in Salt Lake City.

Oklahoma City's study will also use weather balloons and several weather stations that have already been installed downtown.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2002

Answers

I believe that the .mil has already been experimenting with the gasses. Too bad they won't share the research!

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2002

Hey, if that stuff really IS harmless, then I can think of no other place (I'd rather be if there IS a gas attack. And, because there has been testing and preparedness done in OK, it's doubtful the villains will attack there.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2002

Old Git,

It's not like they are going to be handing us all gas masks! ;)

I have a feeling that it will be just like the test they performed here in the state either last fall or early this spring where they would not release their findings. The excuse they used was that it would give out to much information to the terrorists.

I did find out that the test didn't have near the results they had hoped for, and were actually much worse than anyone ever dreamed was possible.

Just cause they test, doesn't mean they have their desired results. It may open their eyes as to just how bad things really are on another front. But this state is SO broke that even if they did identify something that could be done, there are no funds to do it. Heck, we've had 3 budget cuts in the last 3 months which have slashed about 25% of our total budget thus far for the fiscal year. We aren't even half way into our year yet. We may get hit with more severe cuts, possible days without pay, and as a last resort layoffs. Not to good if the state is handing people their pink sheets.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2002

I wonder if they did a deal with the Feds, you know, we let you do this test here and you provide us with $X.

I still think it's a deterrent, though, just don't tell the bad guys about the budget.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2002

Old Git,

A deterrent? Oklahoma City? PLEEEEEZE. Have you ever been here?

I mean, I could understand if they did it in say Dallas, Atlanta, or Chicago. But OKC? Hell, even the cows try to escape this place.

The 'downtown' area isn't really that large. There are maybe 4 or 6 really good sized buildings down there, but nothing like the buildings you'd see in Charlotte or Nashville, let alone the larger cities.

I personally think that it is the base being so close by.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2002

ROTFLMAO! Nope, never bin there! Yep, the base would make you a juicy target. Charleston has nice Navy facils too. Aaargh! Durham doesn't have ANYthing worth crippling.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2002