Chemical Emergency Service Capabilities & Constraints Along the U.S.-Mexico Border by Amy T. Mignella. Copyright NLCIFT 1997.
Excerpted chart. Contact natlaw@natlaw.com to order the study.
U.S. Border HAZ-MAT Rresponse Capabilities
(all figures are approximate)
| Location | Equipment Budget
Estimate (‘96 - ‘97) |
Number of Calls
(‘96 - ‘97) |
Population/Maquila Numbers In Vicinity | Geographic Area |
| San Diego County | $150,000 | 461 (plus 600 complaint
calls) |
3 million/800* | 4269 sq. miles |
| Imperial County | $25,000 | 300 | 137,000/(no update avail.) | 4284 sq. miles |
| Yuma County
(3 locations) |
$6,600 | 37 | 128,000/(no update avail.) | 5500 sq. miles |
| Tohono O’Odham Reservation | $50,000-60,000 | 20 | 20,000/(no update avail.) | 4450 sq. miles |
| Santa Cruz County | $0 | 42 | 29,500/(no update avail.) | 1600 sq. miles |
| Cochise County
(3 locations) |
*$30,000 | 40 (plus 60 compliance calls) | 112,000/(no update avail.) | 64,000 sq. miles |
| El Paso County | $ (no update available) | (no update available) | (no update available) | 1000 sq. miles |
* The county has approximately 8,000 businesses permitted for hazardous materials.
| Location | Equipment Budget Including Vehicles
(‘94-’95) |
Number of Calls (‘94-’95) | Population/Maquila Numbers In Vicinity | Geographic Area |
| San Diego County | $520,000 | 659 | 2.7 million/616 | 4269 sq. miles |
| Imperial County | $230,000 | 333 | 137,000/154 | 4284 sq. miles |
| Yuma County
(3 locations) |
*$30,000 | 41 | 116,000/50 | 5500 sq. miles |
| Tohono O’Odham Reservation | $100,000 | 21 | 19,000/? | 4450 sq. miles |
| Santa Cruz County | $5,000 | 35 | 29,500/73 | 1600 sq. miles |
| Cochise County
(3 locations) |
*$30,000 | 24 | 106,000/35 | 64,000 sq. miles |
| El Paso County | $150,000 | 85 | 650,000/320 | 1000 sq. miles |
* Annual operating funds estimated at approximately $3,000 -$7,000
Conclusions
The data provided above indicates significant emergency service limitations along the U.S. side of the U.S./Mexico border. Vehicle expenditures were included where they occurred within the two year time period indicated because vehicles are the central part of any haz-mat
team. Assuming even a team of two individuals are trained and available to respond to a spill incident, they can only do so adequately with an appropriately equipped vehicle.
The cost of the vehicle included in the San Diego County budget figures exceeded $100,000; in other instances, haz-mat vehicles have been created at a significantly lower cost by converting standardized vehicles using staff labor during slow response periods. While this has been successful, equipping the vehicles still requires significant financial expenditures as some monitoring equipment devices can exceed $25,000 each. In addition, budgets must allow for replaceable equipment such as protective gloves and suits, etc. which increase in cost depending on the protective value; that is, a Class A response requires more expensive replaceable equipment than does a Class B.
Multiple factors make these issues critical. Large populations exist in most counties and, in some, geographic factors such as distance and terrain make response times very slow. Furthermore, backup services for the more remote communities are often more than an hour away. Mexican communities are even more poorly situated, lacking almost any haz-mat emergency equipment, although some joint U.S./Mexico personnel training has been conducted.
Finally, this information must be considered in view of government trends toward cross-border response programs. Requiring existing response teams to expand to service even larger population bases will not be feasible without sufficient equipment capabilities. Baseline equipment needs must be met before services will actually be adequate to protect public health and the environment from damage from chemical releases.