The Environmental Emergency Response (EER) division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has many different responsibilities that must be taken seriously for the protection of the people and the natural resources of the state. Their biggest task is responding when there is an environmental emergency. Yet, they also work to prevent environmental emergencies by helping people and communities to understand the measures to prevent environmental emergencies. One of the great resources this group provides is training about preventing environmental emergencies. They work to help companies develop effective chemical accident prevention programs. They also help companies to form emergency planning committees so that if an emergency does arise, there are people in that company who know what needs to be done. The EER also work with the Missouri State Highway Patrol to provide equipment and facilities for the safe storing of drugs and other chemicals seized during a drug bust. Since many of the chemicals used in drugs labs are extremely harmful to both people and the environment, it is important that these chemicals are put somewhere where they will not harm people. Although this group provides resources to prevent emergencies, their main job is to take care of environmental emergencies when they arise. For example, recently a large number of fish died in a St. Louis area lake. EER workers took samples of the water to determine if some chemical had contaminated the fish\'s habitat. Yet, responders don\'t just deal with fish dying. Each year, people working for the EER team respond to over 300 emergencies including fires, leakage storage tanks, fish kills, traffic accidents, hazardous waste spills, and other incidents that may harm the state\'s natural resources. The safety of EER workers is important, though. As they respond to possible environmental emergencies, they must have the resources to ensure their own safety as well as have the resources to properly investigate the emergency. Each responder wears protective gear which will prevent that individual from getting harmed by the chemicals and other substances that will be handled. Another important tool for Missouri\'s EER workers is a ground-penetrating radar. One of its purposes is to locate underground utilities and other buried objects. That way, emergency workers will not accidentally cause more damage by destroying some underground wires for a utility. It can also detect subsurface soil disturbances. This can be helpful in determining how far the damage from the chemical spill or other incident has spread. Other resources such as the flashpoint tester are also essential for the EER team to do their job. This tool helps to determine the flammability of a liquid. Knowing the flammability of a liquid helps to assess the danger of a situation. For people living and working in Missouri, EER workers are an important part of protecting the state and the community. They are especially an important part of the lives of those who have to work around hazardous chemicals. Without the EER team, there could and would be more damage during environmental emergencies.
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