Train Wreck and Cholorine spill - Case Study Example

The tragic accident caused the death of nine people and displaced more than 5,000 from their residences, thus permanently altering the community. Although the eventual death toll was surprisingly low, the study shows that locals’ response to the emergency situation had significant gaps and it also emphasizes on the need to transform major organizations’ practices especially in handling hazardous materials. This case study, therefore, seeks to evaluate decision making processes in regard to no-notice evacuation during emergency situations, as well as, determining long-term effects of the chlorine disaster on organizations dealing with transportation.

Overall, the case study attempts to highlight the necessity for improvement of evacuation procedures and recovery of transportation (Dunning & Oswalt, 2009). There are several specific issues emerging from the chlorine spill case study. For instance, operation concepts of rail transportation emerged, like the importance of keen train control, as well as, installation of automated warning technologies. The other outstanding issue in the study was the local community’s lack of information about emergency procedures to adopt in case of a chlorine spill, despite the fact that the hazardous material was transported across the town each day.

The public’s need for transportation to their jobs following the evacuation was also a principal concern and so was provision of documents about transportation infrastructure, in order to foster recovery. Overall, evacuation concerns were the most outstanding in this case. For instance, locals did not know whether to seek shelter or completely leave the town, they also had no information about the safest routes to follow, or the best way to behave and collaborate with emergency workers, in order to avoid being affected by the hazardous material. The