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A monthly e-zine on crisis management brought to you by Judy Hoffman Quote of the month: "It's better to look ahead and be prepared than to look back and regret." -- From 1001 Things Your Mother Told You (and You Should Have Listened to!) ANATOMY OF A PUBLIC RELATIONS NIGHTMARE" (Note: Let me apologize right up front. This issue is longer than the usual ones, as I promised to try to keep them to a 2-minute read or less because all of you are busy people. But this situation has dragged on and on and there are important lessons to be learned. I hope you can bear with me this time.) Perhaps you remember reading about or seeing TV news clips in early October about a spectacular fire at a hazardous waste storage facility in Apex, NC owned by Environmental Quality Company (EQ). Thick dark smoke. Occasional explosions with accompanying fireballs. Reports of a yellow green vapor cloud and a smell "like a swimming pool" that made your eyes water. The subsequent evacuation of some 17,000 residents around the facility. Maybe many of you also saw a follow-up report the next day because firefighters opted not to pour water on it. The fear of spreading contaminated run-off or causing more problems because of chemicals that would react with water made emergency responders decide to just let it burn itself out. That took two days -- two days while residents couldn't retrun to their homes and businesses were forced to close their doors. Then it probably faded from your radar screen. I have a different perspective. In August we moved to Clayton, NC, about 25 miles from Apex. It was a huge local news story -- pre-empting all local programming for a while so people could get the most recent information and try to learn what they should do to protect themselves and their families. After the fire was out and people returned home, there were questions about what happened and why, what they were exposed to, what was being done by the company and to the company, etc. There were stories about EQ on the local TV channels and in the Raleigh newspaper every single day for the following two weeks. As I write this, there are still occasional pieces being aired and written. It was fascinating to watch this play out. I had a certain sense of "deja vu." But this time, fortunately, it was not me on the "hot seat" with the microphone in my face as the spokesperson for a chemical manufacturing company that made a very smelly chemical. (The day we caused the evacuation of 2,500 kids from some local schools still sticks vividly in my mind -- along with the following three weeks of difficult times and frequent news stories.) I thought it might be helpful to review the highlights of what happened in this recent incident. These things have a way of following a pattern, although each incident is slightly different. If you ever find yourself facing a similar high visibility situation, it should be helpful to know what to expect. What is That Strange Orange Glow in the Sky? October 5: Around 10 p.m. the 911 dispatcher receives the first call from a resident concerned about something he sees coming from the industrial park near his neighborhood. He reports a smell "like a swimming pool." Then the first of many "ka-booms" is heard, accompanied by a fireball. Emergency responders are alerted. Word begins to spread by word of mouth and knocking on doors that there had been a chlorine gas leak coming from one of the businesses in the local industrial park. A voluntary evacuation of people within a mile of the facility is ordered. If people refuse to leave they are told to "shelter-in-place" (shutting all means of bringing outside air into the homes). People are concerned. They can feel a burning sensation in their eyes and noses. But there is no panic. October 6: The Town Manager fields the reporter's questions, based on information he's receiving from the emergency responders. They've decided to not actively fight the fire because of concerns about spreading any contamination and fears of how water would react with some of the chemicals in this facility because they are not sure exactly what is in there. Thirteen local firefighters seek treatment for burning eyes/throat and difficulty in breathing. Many schools and businesses in Apex are closed. The company's local spokesperson issues a statement of regret about "this unfortunate incident." In response to an understandable question, he has no immediate information available about just what is inside the building. Later that day, investigations turn up information that: (1) Six months ago, the company was fined $32,000 because of an incident where it was determined that the company "failed to maintain and operate the facility to minimize the possibility of a sudden release of hazardous waste." One nail in the company coffin (even though an inspection conducted very recently found no violations). (2) In August of 2005, another EQ facility near Detroit, Michigan experienced a serious fire -- news clips of which showed huge flames and smoke. The second nail -- there's a bad history here, people are deciding. The company volunteers to put up evacuees in hotels at their expense. October 7: A photograph of the building gets wide coverage after the roof collapses and the caption says, "An aerial view of EQ Industries where pesticides and contaminated material are burning." A corporate spokesperson comes on the scene and begins answering questions, saying the company goal is to help authorities put out the fire and get everyone home. They have hired a private firefighting firm which specializes in this type of incident. Federal and state agencies begin sampling the air surrounding the facility and show "nothing alarming." (How many people are thinking that the EPA said the same thing about the air around Ground Zero in the days right after 9/11 only to have thousands of cases of serious respiratory illnesses showing up now?) The Mayor of Apex becomes the central figure for questions at news conferences. He is generally given high marks for staying calm and acting "Giulianesque." However, he voices frustration that he cannot get definite answers as to what burned in the fire because the company cannot provide him and the other agencies with a current inventory. The full alphabet soup of federal and state agencies arrive to begin their own investigations -- all of whom are stymied by not having the inventory. The first lawsuit is filed, seeking financial compensation for those "affected by potentially toxic fumes." Quite a few more follow suit. The company establishes a toll-free hotline for people with questions and concerns and so people can report claims for out-of-pocket expenses related to the evacuation. An editorial writer raises the question of who knew of the company's previous violations and questions why local officials were not informed. He also queries who was responsible for siting such a hazardous facility in an area that included some residences at that time and later allowed a lot of homes to be built near-by. Many of these neighbors claim they never knew such a hazardous facility was in "that quiet industrial park" down the road. October 9: Even as life begins to return to normal in town, the environmental activist group Greenpeace weighs in, warning that the "all clear" signal may have been given prematurely, before it is known what toxins are in the residue of vapors that settled on local cars, lawns, countertops and toys. Environmental clean up crews begin their investigation of how to proceed with their task. A huge ad from a local lawyer appears in the local paper: "Exposed to Toxic Chlorine? Evacuated? Property Damaged? Check your legal rights." The corporate spokesperson states that the company is innocent of any wrongdoing with regard to the fire. (Seems a bit premature to make such a categorical statement before the cause of the fire has been determined!) A 19-page listing of the chemicals that were likely on site on October 5th is produced by EQ, but it is full of inexplicable codes and jargon instead of being easily understandable. It raises a whole series of questions that cannot be easily answered, leading to frustration all around. October 13: Experts are saying they may NEVER know the cause of the fire. All of the evidence apparently was burned up, leaving "a pile of ash and some burned out barrels." The newspaper turned up a local source -- a chemical engineer who owns a company that developed chemical detection devices for the federal government. This "expert" provides a sensational quote that indicates that the inventory he saw included "every possible evil thing that one can imagine." A newspaper columnist writes an article under the headlline, "Almost Lost Apex This Time." October 15: An article appears that states that it isn't unusual for companies that handle hazardous materials to be right in the middle of communities without the residents knowing anything about it. Then they provide a listing of the ten other commercial facilities for handling hazardous waste that are located in NC. (I can only imagine the phone calls that some of these companies are receiving and the questions being asked of the local elected officials in these towns. A dramatic and frightening story often leads to the "Can it happen here?" line of questioning. ) The town retains the services of an environmental consulting firm to try to give them more definitive answers as to what was stored on site at EQ on October 5th. EQ communicates to the town that, among the materials, were arsenic, mercury, and lead -- materials that certainly do not make the local citizenry feel warm and fuzzy. October 17: A regular Town Board meeting starts off with the Mayor asking the public for comments/questions about the EQ fire. Approximately 200 people have come to the meeting -- standing room only. Many of them had their say -- expressing their frustration at not getting the answers they want and need about what caused the fire and what they and their children were exposed to as a result. They can't understand what is taking so long. They demand that the company not be allowed to rebuild on that site. The Mayor publicly states that he will do everything in his power to ensure that this will not happen. It rains all day. (Yes, this matters...read on.) The State approves the company's plans for the clean-up. In order to get this approval, the company had to conduct an investigation and demonstrate that it had planned for how they would handle it if there were an incident to occur during the cleanup. October 18: The clean-up work begins in the morning. At lunch time, all of the workers leave. A few minutes after noon, smoke begins pouring out of a 55-gallon drum. Emergency responders are called and dozens of people are evacuated from the four buildings surrounding the site. The general feeling in the community, fed by the media, is "There EQ goes again!" The source is found to be a single drum containing sodium metal solution. A hole in the drum had allowed rainwater to seep in. Sodium reacts violently with water. The situation is brought under control quickly, but it again fuels fear and anger among the citizenry. "How could this happen when they performed an investigation about how to proceed with the clean-up and they even admitted they knew there was this 'drum of concern' still on the site?" "Why didn't they leave someone on watch over lunch hour?" "Do these people know what they are doing?" The local company spokesperson had a very hard time answering these questions! The Mayor restates his position that EQ should not be allowed to rebuild on this site. October 19: Another columnist writes about the "cloud of fear" that hangs over Apex, especially when it comes to considering the children who play on those lawns and "suck in that air" while they wait for information of what was in the clouds of smoke on October 5th. The citizens are frustrated with the company and the regulatory agencies that are supposed to be protecting them. October 21: The president of EQ's parent company places a full page ad in the paper. It covers all of the bases: an apology for the inconveniences caused by both the original fire and the smoky incident in the barrel; a detailing of the extensive air monitoring program they have undertaken that has resulted in the pulling of more than one million samples which have shown no cause for alarm; the repeating of the toll-free phone line for questions and requests for assistance; and closing with a commitment to the future of the Apex community of which they have been a part for more than 20 years and a pleldge to win back their trust. All in all, a good effort. However two pages further back comes another ad from the local lawyer touting a "Second Chance Meeting to Say 'No' to EQ" and to find out the options for joining a class action lawsuit to cover injuries, loss of business, and evacuation costs. Where Will It All End? Your guess is as good as mine. I think I can see the writing on this wall. While there may never be a definitive answer of exactly what caused the fire on October 5th, it's likely to turn out to be either (1) human error of someone who did not follow the proper procedures or (2) a systemic error that allowed incompatible materials to be stored too close to each other or (3) a malfunction of some of the equipment or containers which could have been caught before something went terribly wrong. In any of these cases, the fire could have been prevented and it will be perceived by the public that it was EQ's responsibility. However much it would have cost to improve those procedures or obtain better equipment/materials or train the workers to do things right, that amount PALES in comparison to the costs they incurred for the clean up and may have to pay out in fines or legal judgments. This doesn't even measure the damage done to their corporate reputation -- both in NC and nationwide -- as this incident gets added to their corporate accident history. This is why I harp on "crisis prevention" in my workshops. Whenever workers or management are tempted to try to cut corners or trim costs, they should review carefully what the consequences might be. No one in their right mind wants to chance the kind of P.R. nightmare EQ has had to endure these past three weeks! Do what you can in the arena of crisis prevention to avoid pain and a drain on your resources. It's likely that you can pinpoint your greatest vulnerabilities. See what you can do to take action tomorrow to minimize the chance that this bad thing will happen or, if it does, to minimize the damage it will do to your bottom line and your reputation. ### Special Note: If you would like a free copy of my crisis readiness checklist, simply e-mail me with the word "Checklist" in the subject line and I will get it right off to you. (See again the quote at the beginning...) It will help you assess your preparedness for that day when something goes wrong. 'Til next month...KEEP COOL! Copyright (C) 2006 JCH Enterprises Click here to view other e-zines by Judy Hoffman. |
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