CAMEO Still Making Appearance as First Responders Face Hazmats

Who are the first responders facing chemical leaks and refinery explosions? You, as an environmental journalist, may roll up to the disaster scene not long after the firefighters. Shouldn't you have good tools?

CAMEO is an emergency-response hazmat information system that has been carried on some fire engines for a long time. It is free and publicly available, and reporters can get it, too. It stands for Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations.

CAMEO is a suite of applications that includes information about the hazards of various chemicals, as well as map overlays that may show how close a spill site is to the nearest nursery school or retirement home. It was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It includes ALOHA software, which models dispersion plumes of various gases and explosion potential of select vapor clouds. It is linked with the MARPLOT mapping app, which makes it easier to know if — say — a hospital is downwind of a toxic release.

This is hefty software. You will need a serious laptop. You can download it here. Information about training opportunities at specific times and places (as well as general instruction resources) are available at that link.