The brand new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles will be packed with 70,000 spectators for Sunday’s Super Bowl. In the days leading up to the game, the Federal Aviation Administration expects an additional 1,000 flights coming into the LAX and surrounding airports — bringing upwards of 50,000 more passengers. One report has as many as 100,000 visitors flooding the streets of Inglewood, where the stadium is located.
Getting ready for the game has been a six-year process. A big part of that process is security. And, of course, hazmat is a big part of security.
For the past 18 months, more than 40 federal, state and local agencies, including FEMA, have worked together on planning to protect the city.
“We’ve dedicated more than 500 individuals to this effort,” secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said at a news conference Tuesday at the Los Angeles Convention Center, UPI reported. “We are taking measures seen and unseen, ensuring safety of land, sea, air and cyber environments.”
For example, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration deployed a helicopter equipped with radiation sensing technology. And Customs and Border Protection will use a scanning device to X-ray vehicles around SoFi Stadium.
Of course, with 55 previous Super Bowls and countless other major events, like election-year political party conventions, emergency response knows the planning drill.
As far back as 2014 FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness was training local responders on handling hazmat and other emergencies.
“If a large-scale event occurs during the Super Bowl, a portion of the resources that would respond are here,” said Jim Rapp, emergency response specialist from the New Jersey State Police Hazardous Material Response Unit said of their training leading up to Super Bowl 48 in New Jersey. “Having the possibility for our agencies to work together to fine tune and hone our response capabilities is an opportunity to prepare and perfect our plan.
“Without preparedness you can’t respond and preparedness involves training and planning,” said Rapp. “Once the plan is put down on paper you have to make sure it is going to work. That is all part of the preparedness process. Training like this brings together the different players so they can see if their individual agency plans mesh with other agencies.”
One growing threat to hazmat response this year could be the truck driver protests. In Canada, truck drivers began protesting Covid vaccine mandates in late January with convoys. Yahoo News reports that similar protests are being planned for California as early as this weekend. This raises the potential for bad actors to use the protest as cover for a terror attack, generally raises the amount of hazmat in the area and limits mobility if they succeed in blocking roads.
And finally, hazmat may be getting a bad name, or good name depending on your view, by association as media reports show hazmat-suited officials clearing homeless encampments near the stadium.
Although thwarting human trafficking and counterfeit merchandise are top security priorities being talked about, protecting the ports and surrounding infrastructure from attack are also key — hazmat will have a big role if something goes wrong. And professionals in hazmat suits handling that type of emergency is something the public can take comfort in, regardless of how they may feel about displacing the L.A.’s homeless population.
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