OXNARD : Only Heat Bothers Toxic Spill Drill

Emergency workers who rushed to Reichhold Chemicals Inc. in Oxnard were prepared for the worst during a simulated toxic spill Tuesday--but they didn’t count on near 80-degree heat.

Paramedics in “moon suits” were drenched in sweat inside their protective clothing as they “rescued” two employees supposedly overcome by toxic fumes. “It gets real hot in those suits,” said Wendy Haddock, coordinator of the drill for Community Awareness Emergency Response, a group of businesses and agencies working with hazardous materials.

“They could take off their boots and dump out the sweat,” said Haddock, also an administrator for the Ventura County sheriff’s emergency response office.

Other than the heat, the drill was without major problems. The “emergency” began at 9 a.m. when a forklift tipped over, rupturing a 55-gallon drum of epichlorohydrin, a toxic solvent additive, and causing two other drums to leak.

According to the scenario, the worker was pinned under the forklift. His cries for help were heard by two fellow employees, who rushed in and were overcome by the fumes.

Emergency personnel from the Oxnard and county fire departments, Gold Coast Ambulance, the Sheriff’s Department and the county Environmental Health Department rushed to the plant, which manufactures resin.

Rescuers put on protective clothing and brought out the two would-be rescuers, who went through a three-step decontamination scrub-down before they were taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center. According to the script, the forklift driver had died.

“It went fairly well,” Haddock said.

About 75 people participated in the drill, the first for CAER. Reichhold volunteered to be first, and other local companies have asked for similar drills, Haddock said.