Scratchgravel Road (Josie Gray Mysteries #2)(78)

“What’s inside them?” Otto asked.

“Sludge. Radioactive byproducts. The waste is safe inside the concrete, but you know the immense damage that can be wrought by a mudslide. If the slide gains momentum as it comes down the mountain, and picks up debris along the way, it will act like a bulldozer by the time it hits the plant. My greatest fear is that it will pick up those metal barrels and they’ll have the force needed to tear down the silos and certain buildings in their path.”

She stopped, and no one spoke for a time.

Finally Diego broke the silence. “Our current disaster plan does not sufficiently prepare us for a mudslide of the magnitude that we’re facing. Mudslides have never been a serious risk until now. In the past, heavy rains have funneled to the east of the plant due to the natural contours of the land.”

Sandy broke in. “It’s the mountain range behind the plant. Specifically, Norton’s Peak. Our pilot’s been flying over it the past two days. It’s crumbling. And there’s a great deal of mud and debris coming with it. We have concrete barriers in place, but the response won’t be enough if we have an actual slide.”

Diego said, “I’d like to list the major issues we’re facing, and then we’ll prioritize.” He turned to Josie. “Finally, we’ll come up with a command group and dole out responsibilities.” He glanced around the table and received nods.

Over the next twenty minutes the engineers made a list of key areas that had to be protected. They also agreed they needed the helicopter back in the air to monitor the flow. Once the list was generated, they prioritized and starred the situations that had to be dealt with immediately. Finally, Sylvia took the list and put it into a table format and they began listing agencies and key personnel that needed to be called for information or manpower.

One of the engineers walked to the back of the room to call the helicopter pilot, who was fueled up, ready to fly, but on hold waiting orders. He was told to take two other engineers to fly the area and collect information to share with Mike Ramey, one of the engineers at the table. In his early twenties and fresh out of graduate school, Mike wasn’t quite smiling with excitement, but he was obviously glad to be a part of the response group.

“Let’s get a camera up there too,” Mike said. “We can get a live feed in here to monitor what they see from the air.”

Sandy gave him a thumbs-up and he left the table to get it set up.

Diego was saying, “Our number-one goal is to shift that slide so it moves around the plant, not through the middle of it. This was part of our emergency plan, but we hadn’t seen it as an immediate threat. The flows have always taken place east of here, but something broke loose in the mountains with the foot of rain we received this week. Everything has shifted course.”

“Wouldn’t it be faster and more reliable to organize a quick-response team to move the material? Why not get as many flatbed trucks and semis—every truck we can find—to move those barrels to higher ground?” Josie asked.

Diego stared at Josie for a moment and she assumed he was choosing his words carefully.

He pursed his lips and ran a finger between his neck and shirt collar as if trying to stretch the fabric. “The barrels are not in moveable condition. We’ve held off on the waste in the barrels because we’re close to a better solution for storage. They were better off stationary than moving them twice,” he said.

“So what you’re saying is that the barrels are corroded to the point that we can’t move them?”

“That’s correct.”

“What happens if they’re moved in the mudslide?” she asked.

“The barrels in the back third of the parking lot were placed there first. They’ve received the most weathering. They are what we’re most concerned with. The metal on some of the barrels has weakened. They are not leaking. There’s no groundwater contamination. However, I would not feel comfortable moving them without precautions.”

“We don’t have the time to move them safely,” Sandy agreed.

“How do you divert a wall that could weigh hundreds of tons by the time you figure in the momentum of the moving debris?” Otto asked. “I’ve seen news footage of people trying to divert mudslides, and they usually end in disaster.”

Sylvia raised a finger and held a phone receiver against her chest. “Mr. Paiva?”

He nodded for her to continue.

“Department of Transportation is sending a team. They should be here in thirty minutes. Environmental Protection Agency is flying in a team as well, but they’re about an hour out.” Paiva thanked her and she put the phone back to her ear.

He continued. “We’re in agreement. We’ve all seen the slides in Japan where entire interstate systems were wiped out in a matter of seconds. Those massive structures didn’t even slow the mudflow.” He glanced at Sandy, who took over the conversation.

“Fortunately, we’re not facing a mudslide of that magnitude. It is the location of this slide that is our concern. We’re thinking our best bet is to go down, not up.”

Josie said, “In other words, dig a trench instead of building a wall.”

Diego nodded. “Have you had any experience using explosives to divert mudslides?”

Josie and Otto both shook their heads no.

“We have the explosives. But we need an explosives expert to develop a plan.”