Excerpts:

PAULSBORO [New Jersey]… In reports following the 9/11 attacks, authorities acknowledged deficiencies in communication, coordination and procedures in responding to the World Trade Center site that ultimately added to the death toll.

From that tragic day, the need for first responders to be on the same page both in technology and response methodology was amplified to emergency workers across the country.

… The morning started with comments from a representative from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as well as one from Honeywell. The company is the world’s largest producer of hydrogen fluoride, the substance featured in the exercise.

… Tom Butts, Gloucester County’s Director of the Office of Emergency Response, noted that the county is home to several chemical and petrochemical plants. Though strides have been taken to secure the facilities themselves, Butts feels the danger to the public exists more so on the roadways and rails where tankers regularly move potentially dangerous substances….

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