Resources from UC-managed national laboratories at work in hurricane relief
Berkeley National Laboratory relief news and information
Berkeley National Laboratory to host scientists impacted by Hurricane Katrina
Quantifying Katrina's impact at Los Alamos - Prior to landfall, the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC) and the DOE Office of Energy Assurance were activated to provide impact predictions for Hurricane Katrina. Both analyses assumed a strong Category 4 hurricane. The NISAC report was provided to the Homeland Security Operations Center for posting on the Homeland Security Information Network portal for local, state and regional assistance and consideration. Los Alamos will provide ongoing analyses as flooding and restoration in the hurricane's aftermath continues.
Toxin-detection plane - The Airborne Spectral Photometric Collection Technology (ASPECT) plane, a one-of-a-kind emergency response tool operated by the U.S. EPA and the Los Alamos lab, has been deployed many times for emergencies across the country, carrying chemical and radiological detection equipment to alert first responders and civilians in the path of toxic plumes from fires, railcar derailments, truck rollovers and plant explosions. It is currently being used to assist response efforts in the Gulf Coast region.
Airborne hazards - At the Livermore National Laboratory, the Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center has been placed on alert to provide airborne hazard predictions for potential fires and toxic chemical releases in the affected areas. What-if plume model predictions have been conducted for planning for potential consequences from smoke from a fire in New Orleans, a hydrogen chlorine tank car on the edge of New Orleans, and an anhydrous ammonia industrial storage facility on the Louisiana coast.
Communications - Livermore employees have also gone to New Orleans to help set up emergency communications and wireless networks. The lab's technology allows high-bandwidth communications including voice, streaming video and data. Its Micropower-Impulse Radar (MIR) technology will also be deployed to assist search and rescue crews in locating hurricane victims. This same technology was deployed in the days following the September 11 attacks in the World Trade Center rubble.
Livermore's Biodefense Knowledge Center is providing computational tools that are being used as a "central control" for handling and tracking requests for assistance, and as infrastructure for information sharing between the Department of Homeland Security and several national labs. The center also has produced an awareness bulletin regarding exposures of pathogens and chemicals.
Search and rescue - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory firefighters are currently participating in search and rescue efforts. They are members of the FEMA California Task Force and will be in the disaster area at least 14 days. Also, one of the lab's employees is a reserve in the National Guard whose unit has been called up to participate in search and rescue. More on Livermore lab's assistance in recovery efforts
New tooth enamel dating technique could help identify disaster victims