Decontamination Exercise Planned for

Downtown Waterloo, Iowa

The Waterloo Police and Fire Departments, The Black Hawk County Health Department and Black Hawk County Emergency Management in cooperation with the Waterloo Post Office will be exercising emergency preparedness plans on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 with a full scale drill focused on exercising decontamination procedures in the event of a bioterrorism or industrial contamination event. The media are invited to attend the drill, which will include full decontamination and medication components. Role-players will come from various local, state and federal agencies practicing emergency response plans should an actual incident occur in the future.   Drills are held periodically in an effort to ensure the public’s safety and help emergency responders practice and perfect their skills should a contamination event occur.

The August 30 event is only a drill but streets will be closed, equipment and vehicles in place, and a potential crime scene sectioned off. Therefore, we are asking the public’s cooperation to keep the areas of Sycamore Street clear from East 1^st Street to East 3^rd Street in Waterloo. The Waterloo Post Office and the Bus Depot will remain open during the drill for normal operation.

A media staging area will be available on East 2^nd Street, starting at Sycamore Street and going northeast. The Black Hawk County Health Department will have a Point of Distribution for mock medication set up inside the Waterloo Water Works on Sycamore Street. The Fire Department will exercise a mock decontamination site as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and other agencies exercise contingency plans in the event of a bioterrorism threat.