Pentagon employees get gas masks
by Michael Norris
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 28, 2003) -Distribution of gas masks began this week inside the Pentagon to military, civilian and contract employees as part of an effort to protect them from potential acts of terrorism.
Training on the masks is being handled by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency's Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear Directorate. CBRN now conducts two training sessions daily for groups of about 100 people, and officials said the training schedule will accelerate to four sessions daily in coming weeks.
Col. Mandy Lopez, head of CBRN, said the goal was to train and distribute gas masks to all 24,000 service members and employees in the Pentagon and leased DoD buildings in the National Capital Region by the end of March.
Glenn Flood, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, said some training would take place in organization offices in situations where it was hard for employees to leave the workplace.
"We will do house calls," he said.
After training is complete, Flood said new employees arriving at the Pentagon, Navy Annex, or one of 50 other buildings overseen by the Washington Headquarters Services would receive instruction on the use of gas masks as part of their overall job orientation. He said it would be up to the individuals thereafter to update training on computer programs that are being developed.
The masks being distributed are known as the Quick Escape 2000 Hood Masks, which provide the wearer about 60 minutes of protection from airborne toxins. There is no respirator or oxygen tank. The $150 mask is essentially a filtration unit, designed to temporarily protect individuals until they can be evacuated or quarantined.
"It's designed for protection from most biological and chemical agents," said Flood. "It gives people a chance to get to a safe area."
The mask was chosen because of its protection value and because it is easy to use, said Lopez.
Flood said the mask is the same one that has been distributed on Capitol Hill. As to distribution of gas masks at other military facilities, he said it was up to commanders to decide what protective measures to take on their installations.
In addition to distributing gas masks to the workforce it oversees, PFPA is also setting up caches of gas masks throughout the Pentagon and NCR-affiliated buildings for use by visitors who may be inside when a chemical or biological attack occurs.
The training sessions are being conducted by HazTrain, a contractor that provides environmental, health and safety training to businesses and the federal government.
At a Tuesday afternoon training session, Pentagon employees sat in alternate rows of the auditorium, so that HazTrain representatives could move across empty rows to assist employees in donning the protective masks and answer questions.
At the front of the auditorium, HazTrain's James Noe gave an overview of the gas mask, highlighting its features on an overhead projector. He advised the audience to loosen shirt collars and neckwear so the mask would fit well. Questioned whether one could wear eyeglasses with the masks, Noe said the mask could accommodate most eyeglass frames.
Audience member John Young, a photographer with the Army's Visual Information Division, said he thought the training was "good and necessary." It's something that has to be done, he said.
Flood said the timing of gas mask training isn't tied to immediate current events. The events of Sept. 11, 2001, played a part, he said, but so did a chemical scare on the Tokyo subway system several years ago.
Flood said the gas-mask training along with other security measures -- such as the recent reconfiguration of Route 110 away from the Pentagon, the change in placement of the Pentagon's Metro entrance, and establishment of a secure remote delivery facility -- were all on the drawing board before Sept. 11, 2001.
It's a matter of long-range enhanced security, he said. "It's the prudent thing to do."
(Editor's note: Michael Norris is a staff writer for the Pentagram newspaper at Fort Myer, Va.)
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