WORKSHOP EQUIPS THOSE FACING DISASTERS WITH SKILLS 
NEEDED TO SAVE LIVES, DOLLARS


	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., July 20 -- A train carrying deadly
chemicals derails near Lake Shasta, CA, potentially affecting 25,000
people. A North Carolina warehouse, filled with pesticide, catches
fire; smoke and fumes could reach 400,000 people. Millions of
dollars are needed to clean a newly discovered hazardous waste site,
such as the kepone disaster in Virginia.  How should such sites be
managed to protect the public and to document damages that can
secure clean-up funds?
	These are three of the case scenarios on-site managers --
those people who must respond quickly and make key decisions
following a chemical spill or other emergency -- are contemplating
this summer as participants in training programs that can save both
lives and dollars.  Supported in part by the federal Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the workshops for middle- and senior-level
managers involved in emergency response, waste site investigations
and remediation are directed and taught by George Moein, head of the
Hazardous Materials Management Institute at the University of
Virginia.
	The programs, being held in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and
Colorado, sharpen the decision-making skills of those who have to
deal with life-threatening situations or crises that could involve
millions in expenditures.  With EPA funding that started in 1992 and
continues through September 30, the training sessions help those
facing crises make Õon-the-spot decisions,Ó said Moein, who was with
the federal agency for 22 years before joining U.Va. in 1992 to
direct the institute that is part of U.Va.Õs Division of Continuing
Education.  The institute is a national nonprofit organization
dedicated to promoting training in all areas of hazardous waste and
emergency-response management.
	There are about 12,000 oil and chemical spills, leaks,
emissions and other accidental releases of dangerous materials each
year in the United States, and response to such incidents consists
of several phases, Moein said.  The first is to notify proper
authorities about potential risks to people in the area.  
	Although another phase is cleaning up the site and disposing
of hazardous materials, a critical step in the clean-up is
determining who will pay for the damage.  ÕWho pays often depends on
what information was gathered during the entire process.  So even
while every effort is being made to protect human life, every effort
must simultaneously be made to document the scene,Ó Moein said.
	For more information on environmental disasters or training
of emergency-response managers, leave a message for Moein at (804)
982-5273.  He checks his voice mail frequently.

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July 19, 1995