Photo By Kelly White | Former U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity dispersion meteorologist, Michael...... read more read more
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – Michael Myirski wasn’t your typical meteorologist. Before retiring from the federal government in 2017, he spent 36 years helping the Army refine emergency preparedness weather capabilities into a sophisticated, state-of-the-art program.
With physicist Glen Whitacre, who retired in 1989, Myirski took on the Army’s challenge of estimating hazards associated with possible accidents at the eight U.S. chemical stockpile storage locations in the nation at the time. A key component is predicting how fast chemical agent could evaporate and the concentration of agent. The concept, called dispersion meteorology, involves “trying to understand the behavior of the atmosphere in the lowest levels near the surface, and how chemical agent will react and disperse in that atmosphere,” Myirski said.
Over decades this process evolved into WebPuff, which is used to help understand hazards and risk at the two remaining chemical stockpile sites in Kentucky and Colorado. Myirski has passed on responsibility to U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity (CMA) meteorologist Gabriel Rothman, who joined the team nearly a year ago.
It’s an important mission for the Army, well supported by CMA through the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, a partnership between the Army and Federal Emergency Management Agency. CSEPP helps communities around chemical stockpiles enhance emergency plans, provides chemical accident response equipment and warning systems, and teams with local, state, and federal emergency management officials to provide funding, training, guidance and technical support.
CSEPP didn’t exist when Myirski started his job just two weeks out of college in 1981, supporting emergency operators at chemical stockpile sites. He developed tools that understand wind speed, wind direction, turbulence, temperature, and solar radiation -- how bright the sun is throughout the day. Anyone performing calculations back then will remember the TI 59, a Texas Instruments handheld calculator with magnetic strips.
“Every time I wanted to run a program, I had to run a magnetic strip which contained the code into the memory, and key punch into my calculator things like the conditions of the weather at the time, wind speed, temperature, pressure, as well as the conditions of the chemical agent the depot was dealing with,” he said.
While the technology was a challenge, Whitacre and Myirski’s methodology was scientifically sound and served the purpose for CSEPP’s mission, so they knew they were on the right track. As technology improved so did WebPuff, which received its current name in the mid-2000s with the addition of a browser-based capability.
In the early 1990s, the Army began installing meteorological observing towers at each chemical stockpile location, and at least four towers in surrounding communities to better understand how chemical agent would move in the case of an accidental release.
“A plume could travel one direction for several miles but change course, so the network data from the towers became a game-changer, allowing for continuous real-time data,” Myirski added.
Determining how a plume travels is key to ensuring the community has the best possible emergency recommendation, whether it’s evacuation or sheltering in place. The capability is tested each year during a major CSEPP exercise that simulates a real-life chemical agent incident, which Myirski called the highlight of his career.
“The CSEPP exercises provide such valuable lessons to our partners and the community,” he said. “In my opinion, it’s the best thing we do.”
WebPuff relays information on projected chemical plumes based on current conditions and provides updates every 15 minutes incorporating the latest weather data. WebPuff provides sophisticated hazard analysis tools on a continuous basis in a user-friendly interface, and is freely shared with community (e.g. county and state) partners, representing bounds of improvement from its humble beginnings.
“There has never been a community emergency in association with the chemical stockpiles,” Rothman added, which he credits to the hazard analysis program Myirski developed, along with the rigorous controls, documented procedures and highly trained work force in place at the depots for chemical stockpile storage.
Today, along with Rothman, CSEPP’s hazard analysis program has a dedicated team of modelers, code developers, network engineers, trainers, meteorological technicians, and risk assessors. Rothman works with the team to monitor WebPuff hazard analysis activities daily, ensuring the availability of good quality data and information to support chemical operation planning and emergency preparedness activities at the sites.
In addition to protecting CSEPP communities, Rothman’s expertise is available when chemical munitions are recovered separate from the stockpile, in support of CMA’s Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate. It’s all part of how CMA and CSEPP work to keep our nation safe.
Rothman said he’s always watching for improvements and feedback.
“I look forward to building on to WebPuff’s hazard analysis capability and continuing its state-of-the-art legacy, all the while reducing the risk to the public,” Rothman said.
For more information, visit https://www.cma.army.mil.
| Date Taken: | 05.08.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 05.08.2018 14:38 |
| Story ID: | 276189 |
| Location: | ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 170 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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