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Earth Tech mobilized a peak of 104 emergency response specialists to Palestine, Texas to assist with the massive recovery effort following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
Under our emergency and rapid response (ERRS) contract with USEPA Region VI, Earth Tech assisted USEPA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in finding, packaging and transporting shuttle material to designated collection points. Earth Tech provided support efforts at one of the four main collection centers set up to receive material for identification, collection and transfer to Barksdale AFB in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Earth Tech's mobilization began Sunday, February 2, 2003, just hours after the shuttle exploded while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. We initially deployed three emergency response trailers and 10 staff members to the scene, all arriving ahead of the required response time. Subsequently, we deployed 30 additional recovery staff – 23 from Earth Tech and 7 from team subcontractors – who arrived at the operations command center on Tuesday, February 4. Earth Tech continued to mobilize people over several weeks, peaking at 104 staff deployed during the 3-month response.
Earth Tech followed USEPA protocols for collection and transportation of debris. Crews performed three main functions: collection of material from county centers, wrapping material found by US Forest Service grid searchers and providing Level B response to materials containing hydrazine.
