Choose one on the two question in which to provide a response.
1.) Conduct brief research online to identify an example of a critical incident, emergency or disaster involving a chemical plant or facility in the U.S. or another country in the last few decades. Provide a brief overview of the incident, including what caused it, the hazards it posed, the impacts or consequences that occurred, who was deemed responsible, and what penalties (if any) were imposed on that entity. Also, analyze lessons learned in terms of mitigation, preparedness, response. If this was an incident involving an American facility since CFATS was implemented, what conclusions could be drawn regarding CFATS compliance or enforcement?
2.) One of the assumptions listed in the original 2010 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review concerning the security environment was that “there is a danger of complacency as major crises recede.” Do you believe this actually happens—that Americans become complacent after even catastrophic or traumatic events such as the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina? Why or why not? Is there a difference between emergency responders and the general public in this regard? Did the experiences of Superstorm Sandy or the Boston Marathon Bombing reduce complacency and revive our national commitment to preparedness, or had a high degree of complacency already resurfaced leading up to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, Michael, Florence or Dorian making landfall? Have we as a nation already begun showing signs of complacency regarding terrorism, the ongoing Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires in the western U.S., or hurricanes? What would you propose be done to prevent or limit this backsliding into complacency? How, if at all, does the problem of complacency affect or relate to the concept of resilience?
