Nov 22, 2004 - 23:16:02 CST
North Dakota's National Guard is forming a special unit to handle accidents and threats involving radioactive and germ weapons and hazardous materials, its commander said.The unit, called the 81st Civil Support Team, will be based in Bismarck and have 22 members from both the Army and Air National Guard. It is part of a Defense Department effort to establish groups that can quickly respond to hazardous materials accidents, and incidents involving weapons of mass destruction.
The North Dakota Guard's commander, Maj. Gen. Mike Haugen, said the group will have specialized equipment, and undergo more than 800 hours of additional training. It will take about a year for the group to be certified, he said.
The group will respond to incidents involving chemical, germ or radioactive weapons, or hazardous materials, Haugen said.
At present, the Guard civil support team closest to North Dakota is in St. Paul, Minn. Members responded to a January 2002 train accident near Minot that spilled anhydrous ammonia, a chemical farm fertilizer that gives off deadly fumes. One man was killed, and hundreds were injured.
Haugen said he often mentioned the incident while lobbying to have a unit based in North Dakota. The Minnesota team's work won widespread praise, he said, with one qualifier: "They should have been here six hours earlier."
"I think that's part of the impetus to put them in state. We can't wait for a team to be flown up," Haugen said. "We need it there, and we need it now."
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