In April, 2010, The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) collaborated with the Chemical Security Analysis Center
(CSAC) and sponsored a series of 1 & 2 ton atmospheric releases of Toxic Inhalation
Hazard (TIH) materials, specifically Chlorine and Ammonia in the Utah desert at Dugway
Proving Ground. These tests were conducted in order to determine the Nation's vulnerability
to TIH's in transport near sensitive populations and areas.
In both 2015 and 2016, Subject Matter Experts (SME) in hazardous materials emergency
response designed and conducted experiments at Dugway during the Department of Homeland
Security’s (DHS) research on catastrophic releases of chlorine named the “Jack Rabbit
Program”. Emergency Response SME’s worked collaboratively with project scientists
to assure meaningful outcomes during releases of 7 to 20 tons of chlorine. The overall
objective for the SME’s was to answer questions for the emergency planning and response
community regarding planning for, tactical and operational considerations of, and
public protection actions during a catastrophic chlorine release or a release of any
other TIH material in any jurisdiction.
In August of 2017 key contributors to the Jack Rabbit (JR) Project, environmental
systems researchers, plume modelers, Hazmat SME’s, and atmospheric scientists were
invited to Utah Valley University (UVU) to formulate conclusions based on the JR data.
The Final Report - The Jack Rabbit II Project’s Impacts on Emergency Responders includes
the outcomes that should be used for training and educating the nation’s emergency
responders and planners.
In the coming years 2022 – 2025, the UVU Team of SME’s will again be involved in the
Jack Rabbit III Program. JR III will focus on planning, protection, and response to large scale releases
of Ammonia, similar to the earlier experiments involving Chlorine. We look forward
to providing the nation’s emergency preparedness community with important outcomes
from the program.
The Jack Rabbit Program
Utah Valley University
Emergency Services
Email: [email protected]
Jack Rabbit I
Jack Rabbit II 2015
Jack Rabbit II 2016
Jack Rabbit Analysis and Reports
Responder Training
