ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Room 372 in the Padnos Hall of Science will be the scene of a mock chemical spill on the Allendale Campus of Grand Valley State University. Grand Valley students and staff and area agencies will respond to handle victims and identify, contain and clean up the spill.
The mock chemical spill will take place Thursday, July 13, beginning at 6 p.m. The departments involved include Grand Valley's Department of Public Safety, Facilities Services, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and News and Information Services. The Ottawa County Hazmat Team, Ottawa County Sheriff's Department (Emergency Management Unit), Allendale Fire Department, LIFE EMS and Environmental Health Resources, Inc. are also taking part.
MEDIA NOTE: Media will have access to designated areas at the chemical lab and the decontamination area. Interviews can be conducted after the drill and possibly during the drill. Media should look for the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department communications trailer parked in front of Padnos Hall.
"This is a team effort," said David Cox, safety manager at Grand Valley. "This will be a chance for us to actively validate our current emergency plan with the county Hazmat team and improve procedures with the various public and private agencies responding to a university emergency."
Cox said the chemistry department is taking this initiative so students can be confident they will receive, in circumstances as safe as possible, the state of the art education that will be valuable for them now, as they enter the workforce and throughout their lives. Students from the Occupational Safety and Health Management program will be assisting.
For more information, contact David Cox at (616) 890-2307, or News and Information Services at (616) 331-2221.
