Metro Services LLC debuted its Zone Finder Tool on the Alabama Special Needs Population Program website, www.alabamaspp.com. The new web-based tool allows people to locate a physical address in Alabama’s Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) footprint.

“We are very excited to offer this service,” said Vanda Holt, owner of Metro Services LLC. “As part of their emergency planning, residents should know their zones for home, work or anywhere they visit frequently in the CSEPP area.”

A six-county region in northeast Alabama is host to the Anniston Army Depot that is storing and incinerating a stockpile of aging chemical weapons. The CSEP Program has identified zones around Anniston Army Depot that could face varying levels of risk from a chemical accident. These zones include areas within Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah, St. Clair and Talladega counties. Free protective equipment is available to people who live in CSEPP zones. The type of equipment available is determined by which zone a person lives in. During a chemical accident, emergency management agencies would provide protective action information by zones.

The interactive tool is simple to use. A person enters a physical address in the Zone Finder Tool and geographical information is retrieved from a street layer hosted on a remote server. The physical address is located on a CSEPP zone map and quickly provides the zone information to the user. Mapping information is updated as it becomes available. The tool utilizes ESRI ArcWeb Services.

“The creation of the Zone Finder Tool was a collaborative effort between our company and Chris Williams at WideNet Consulting,” said Kelley Bell, information technology manager for Metro Services, LLC. “We’ve designed a tool for the CSEP Program that can help create a safer community.”