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Non-Tech : The Y2K Newspaper -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Ounce who wrote (127)	10/22/1999 10:50:00 AM
From: Bill Ounce	Respond to of 198

Computerworld -- Survey: Most smaller chemical firms not ready for year 2000 Yikes! This looks like what the "doomers" have been saying for the past two years... computerworld.com By Patrick Thibodeau WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate's Y2K committee today released a survey that showed an alarmingly high number of small chemical manufacturing, handling and transportation firms haven't completed their Y2K repair work, creating the potential for a year 2000-related catastrophic event. The survey, conducted by the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center at Texas A&M University in College Station, found that 86% of the small and medium-sized chemical handlers and manufacturers -- firms with 200 or fewer employees -- aren't prepared for Y2K nor have they coordinated contingency plans with local emergency officials. Of those firms, 4% said Y2K presents the potential for a catastrophic event, while 30% said economic disruption was the worst possible scenario. Committee co-chairs Sens. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) said they would be urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Environmental Protection Agency to alert state emergency officials of the findings. A U.S. Chemical Safety Board official also urged action by large manufacturers to check on the readiness of their supply chain and customers. "Responsible stewardship," said Jerry Poje, a board official, requires large companies "to be doing the greatest degree of outreach possible to small and midsized enterprises who may be linked to their product streams." Most small chemical manufacturers use batch processes that can be controlled and turned off. But the survey also looks at a wide variety of companies that may handle dangerous chemicals in large amounts. Water treatment facilities may have substantial quantities of chlorine, while food handlers may have large stocks of ammonia. While federal officials have said they were confident of the steps being taken by large chemical companies, they had little information on the readiness of small chemical makers and handlers. This was the first scientific survey of chemical makers and handlers of this size -- an area that until now federal officials said they had little data on. Regarding the potential for a disaster, the survey report said that "While a very few isolated catastrophic events involving loss of life or destruction of property are possible, the most likely scenario of a severe Y2K failure could be compared to a localized 3-4 day power outage following a storm." The survey focused on firms in New Jersey, Kansas, California and Texas.

To: Bill Ounce who wrote (127)	10/22/1999 10:57:00 AM
From: Bill Ounce	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 198

news.com -- United States stockpiles overseas Y2K crisis supplies news.cnet.com "Strategically located stockpiles of food, blankets, and emergency supplies are at capacity level," Richard Nygard of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) told the House International Relations Committee. USAID, which responds to humanitarian crises, has been nudging U.N. agencies and U.S. private groups to prepare for worst-case scenarios, though they are already stretched thin worldwide, he said. "The uncertain impact of Y2K could place major additional demands on our agency and on other donors of humanitarian aid," said Nygard, USAID's chief information officer. In separate testimony the national intelligence officer for science and technology reiterated the U.S. assessment that Russia, Ukraine, China, and Indonesia were among the "major countries most likely to experience significant Y2K-related failures." [...]