[ RadSafe ] Radiation warning broadcast in error

[LNMolino at aol.com]

Posted on: Friday, August 3, 2007

Radiation warning broadcast in  error

By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Staff Writer

The National  Weather Service is changing its procedures for sending out 
radio messages  after an operator mistakenly sent out a radiological hazard 
warning  yesterday while trying to transmit the weekly emergency broadcast  
test.

"Even if this happens once every 10,000 years, you don't want  it to happen 
again," said Jeff Powell, weather service lead  forecaster.

Some radio stations caught the error before putting the  message on the 
air, state civil defense spokesman Dave Curtis  said.

But many didn't, and the message also appeared as a crawler on  Hawai'i 
televisions. At least 50 people called civil defense after hearing  or 
seeing the warning about 11:30 a.m. yesterday.

A radiological  hazard warning is sent out when radioactive materials have 
been released.  Powell said the warning appears just below the emergency 
broadcast test  message on a scroll-down menu in the software that the 
weather service uses  to transmit messages to stations. The software has 
been used for at least  five years.

Powell said once the message in the software is selected, the  operator is 
asked to confirm that the message should be sent out.

But  that fail-safe did not work yesterday.

Powell could not remember an error  of this kind ever happening before. In 
January, the weather service  accidentally sent out a tsunami warning. But 
at the time a tsunami watch was  already in effect and a warning was 
anticipated.

The warning was  quickly rescinded.

To make sure an incorrect message is not sent out  again, Powell said NWS 
will require two people to oversee message  transmissions.

Technicians will also rearrange the menu bar in the  weather software to 
make sure the emergency test message does not fall near  any other 
warnings. The weather service has dozens of messages to choose  from, many 
of which appear only on weather radio.

Curtis said civil  defense officials will be talking with the weather 
service to make sure the  changes are enough to prevent future errors.

Emergency messages,  including warnings and watches, are transmitted by the 
weather service to  the state civil defense agency, whose computers then 
automatically send them  to radio and television stations. Once the 
messages get to stations, an  operator must manually play the message or 
decide not to play  it.

Reach Mary Vorsino at  mvorsino at honoluluadvertiser.com.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Aug/03/ln/hawaii708030337.html/
?print=on

Louis N. Molino, Sr.,  CET
FF/NREMT-B/FSI/EMSI
Owner and President of LNM Emergency Services  Consulting Services (LNMECS)
Freelance  Consultant/Trainer/Author/Journalist/Fire Protection  Consultant

LNMolino at aol.com

979-412-0890 (Cell  Phone)
979-690-7559 (IFW/TFW/FSS Office)
979-690-7562 (IFW/TFW/FSS  Fax)
979-985-5383 (Home Phone)

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