Case Studies
Transportation
Case Study: Port Newark, NJ - US Coast Guard
Sabre CHEMGEN ClO2 Generator at Port Newark, NJ Incident
Project: Uncharacterized Biological Threat
The Solution: Emergency Response and Shipping Container Decontamination
Background
Sabre was mobilized to the Port of Newark in Newark, NJ in the fall of 2004 following receipt by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) of an anonymous tip concerning several cargo containers aboard the Rio Pueblo cargo ship, then bound from South America to Canada. The substance of this tip was that these cargo containers, filled with chilled lemons, also contained an unspecified bio-warfare agent (BWA).
A team of Sabre scientists, engineers and fumigation specialists arrived at Port Newark within 24-hours of mobilization to assist the USCG and USEPA. The team brought with them all required equipment and supplies to fumigate the cargo containers with ClO2 gas if deemed necessary by the USCG following completion of assessment activities.
Initial cargo assessment activities included biological sampling of exterior container surfaces and openings, as well as sampling of unidentified liquids found dripping from the containers. Screening of each container was also done using appropriate equipment to detect possible chemical or radiological warfare agents. Finally, an x-ray scan of each container was done and drug sniffing dogs were used to assess the containers for illegal narcotics.
No indications of a BWA or any chemical or radiological warfare agent was identified during initial cargo screening activities. However, again out an abundance of caution, the USCG ordered that the lemons be fumigated with ClO2 gas in situ within the cargo containers and disposed of thereafter in accordance with all Federal, State and local laws and regulations governing solid waste management.
Upon receipt of instructions to fumigate the cargo containers, Sabre promptly developed a project RAP, SAP and HASP that described in detail how the ClO2 fumigation process would be carried out in a safe and efficacious manner inside the cargo containers. Following approval of these documents by the USCG and USEPA, the containers were each fumigated with ClO2 gas under conditions of application known to be effective against anthrax spores, the most resilient of all known BWAs. The treated cargo was then disposed of in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.