FREEHOLD - The Monmouth County Health Department's hazardous materials response system received high marks in a report by the New Jersey State Police HAZMAT audit team.

The report states that the Monmouth County Hazardous Materials Unit, organized under the Health Department, meets the standards established by the Department of Homeland Security for a Type 1 Hazardous Materials Response Unit. The report also said no major deviations from identified operating, training and staffing standards were noted by the survey team

"We are very pleased with their findings," Freeholder Robert D. Clifton, liaison to the Health Department, said in a press release. "Once again, we are receiving confirmation that Monmouth County is well prepared to handle an emergency - in this case, one dealing with hazardous materials. Let's hope we do not have to face a crisis, but we can take comfort in knowing we are prepared to do so."

Under state law, the Monmouth County Health Department is the lead agency to manage the county HAZMAT program.

"We started building the county HAZMAT system in 1980 in response to a need for the ability to safely evaluate and mitigate very dangerous situations involving chemicals," said Lester Jargowsky, public health coordinator of the Monmouth County Health Department. "Through the years, the Health Department established a series of interagency agreements with local agencies that had developed HAZMAT capabilities and wanted to be a part of the overall county HAZMAT system."

Agreements were signed with the Fort Monmouth Fire Department, the Howell Township Office of Emergency Management, the Middletown Fire Department's Special Services Unit, the Neptune Township Office of Emergency Management, NWS Earle Fire Department and the Southard Fire Department in Howell.

The chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear evaluators noted that "the Monmouth County HAZMAT team is experienced, well-trained and well-equipped," according to the report.

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