Border Lines

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 1/1/1998

U.S. and Mexican chemical industry groups held an emergency-response drill in Laredo and Nuevo Laredo last month. In an effort to enhance emergency-response coordination on the border, the Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA) and its Mexican counterpart, the Asociacion Nacional de la Industria Quimica (ANIQ), created a scenario in which Mexican and U.S. trucks collided. The "collision" caused a fire and released toxic vapors that threatened both cities. Most of the planning, coordination, and execution were handled by local officials. According to CMA's Randy Speight, the primary objectives of the drill were to implement the appropriate response, test communications links, and establish relationships between U.S. and Mexican authorities.