Pennsylvania: HURRICANE AGNES Packaged disaster hospitals (66)__ Hospital reserve disaster units (14). Technical assistance: Physicians.- Sanitary engineers. Sanitarians_ Public health advisers. Total estimated utilization of medical stockpile supplies New York: Packaged disaster hospitals (3). Located at: Binghamton, Hospital reserve disaster units (2). Located at: Albion and Reserve depot supplies and equipment. Technical assistance: Sanitary engineers__ Public health advisers. Total estimated utilization of medical stockpile supplies Virginia: Packaged disaster hospitals (4). Technical assistance: Sanitary engineers. Epidemiologist... Public health advisers.. Maryland: Packaged disaster hospitals (2). Ohio: Packaged disaster hospitals (3) _ _ _ Florida: Reserve depot supplies and equipment_ Mr. ROBISON. I have no further questions. REASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES Mr. MYERS. Thank you. Dr. Sencer, at last we have seen one agency being phased out and responsibility being consolidated. As to what is being done, only history will say whether we are right or wrong. Will any of the programs be actually terminated that you presently have, or will all the responsibilities be assigned to other agencies? Dr. SENCER. Some of the programs will have to be terminated. The community preparedness program as currently constituted, working with communities, developing training programs for nonmedical personnel to help them in coping with disasters, and preplanning for what to do in the face of a disaster will have to be phased out. We have worked for many years with the State agencies and we believe that they should be able to take this on as a local responsibility. Mr. MYERS. Will civil defense assume this responsibility then, local communities? Dr. SENCER. I think that in many of the local communities this will have to be something that we would hope the health departments would pick up. This is not just a civil defense emergency sort of thing, but natural disasters, which more appropriately fall within the purview of the official health agencies rather than the civil defense agencies. Mr. MYERS. How long will the complete phaseout take? Dr. SENCER. We will be out of business by the end of fiscal year 1974. We may have some material that we will still have to phase out, but we will not be requesting any more funds after that. We will be able to carry over funds if we have not completed the phaseout by the end of 1974. MEDICAL STOCKPILE DISPOSAL PROGRAM Mr. MYERS. You earlier stated that you sold most of the saleable materials. Those remaining will have to be junked, is that right? Dr. SENCER. No; there are many things that people will use if they do not have to pay for them. They are useable materials, but it will cost us money to determine the condition of the materials. Mr. MYERS. What is the estimate of the value? Do you have any of the materials left? Dr. STREICHER. Of the stockpile material, we have assurances that there will be $24 million sold, which leaves approximately $47 million. Some of that is definitely usable. Mr. MYERS. Is that current inventory value or what it costs to put it into the inventory? Dr. STREICHER. Acquisition. Mr. MYERS. There has been no depreciation on inventory? Mr. MYERS. What is the realizable value if you were to sell this material? Dr. STREICHER. I think our current estimate is a penny on the dollar. Is that right? Dr. SENCER. Right. Mr. MYERS. Your acquisition cost to put this in the inventory— repeat that. Dr. STREICHER. Our total value as of December 31, 1972, was $70,762,000 in depots. This is excluding HRDI units and the PDH's. Mr. MYERS. Estimated saleable value is $700,000? Dr. STREICHER. On 10 cents on the dollar that would be $700,000. Mr. MYERS. It would almost pay to load it up in a truck and get a bulldozer and bury it all? Dr. STREICHER. I don't know if we could get an impact statement. Dr. SENCER. The point is that with the various things we would have to do about incineration or burying in relation to the Environmental Protection Administration's regulations, it might be even more costly than trying to find ways to dispose of it. Mr. MYERS. Who is going to take this material now? Who will accept it? Dr. SENCER. This will go either to other Federal agencies or official State agencies, through the regular surplus property channels. Mr. MYERS. Why can't you turn it over to them and the receiver beware? It is his responsibility. Dr. SENCER. I think you would find it difficult under those circumstances to find anyone who would be willing to take it. They would have the problem of transporting it. The material in the depots is in rather inaccessible places, places where the people who might want it would have to spend considerable amounts of money to get it from there to their headquarters. I can give you a list. [The information follows:] Emergency health-Medical stockpile inventories, depot system Category of items: [As of Dec. 31, 1972] Purchase price of depot inventories Pharmaceuticals: Aspirin, tetracycline, insulin, penicillin, etc. $14, 010, 858 Hospital supplies and equipment: Operating tables, sterilizers, cots, litters, etc.__. Surgical Supplies and equipment: Surgical gloves, hemostatic forceps, sutures, fever thermometers, etc.. Surgical dressings and textile products: Roller bandages, blankets, surgical sponges, adhesive plaster, etc.-Intravenous solutions and transfusion supplies: Dextrose solutions, injection sets, saline solutions, blood recipient sets, etc. Dental supplies: Tooth extracting forceps, dental operating chairs, cartridge syringes, mouth examining mirrors, etc. -Laboratory supplies and equipment: Blood grouping serum, microscopes, urine test paper, etc.- X-ray equipment: X-ray machines, radiographic paper, processing machines, lead-impregnated gloves, etc.. Water supplies: Storage tanks, water pumps, garden hoses, water-sterilizing bags, etc. Electrical supplies and equipment: Generators, batteries, power cables, lamps, etc. _ Maintenance and houskeeping supplies: Alcohol stoves, paper bags, brooms, etc__ Total_ 13, 444, 763 12, 878, 667 19, 884, 096 4, 174, 953 353, 810 707, 619 3, 325, 810 495, 333 1, 273, 714 212, 286 70, 761, 909 LOCATION OF STOCKPILE Mr. MYERS. You have 12 depots, is that correct? Dr. SENCER. Yes, sir. Mr. MYERS. Is all of that material within those 12 depots? Dr. SENCER. $70 million is, yes. These depots are in Prairie, Miss. Bastrop, Tex.; Clearfield, Utah; Stockton, Calif.; Spokane, Wash. Neosho, Mo.; Dixon, Ill.; Wampum, Pa.; Boyers, Pa.; Watertown Mass.; Shelby, Ohio; and Williamsburg, Va. TRANSPORTATION Mr. MYERS. What in the budget is the figure, transportation o things, $201,000? Item 22. Dr. SENCER. I don't have that page. Mr. MYERS. That is under direct obligations. Dr. SENCER. This has to do with the transportation of medical stock pile material. Mr. MYERS. What is the difference there? You have on page 4, $101. 000, and in the justification we have $201,000. Dr. SENCER. I guess we have different pages. Transportation of things is the movement of the equipment. Mr. MYERS. They both say transportation of things, but there is a $100,000 difference. Dr. SENCER. We have to clarify that for the record. [The information follows:] EXPLANATION The President's budget contains an estimate of $201,000 for the transportation of things and the congressional justifications reflect an estimate of $101,000 for the same item. The difference is due to the refinement of program requirements between the time the President's budget was prepared and the time the congressional justifications were finalized. The amount stated in the congressional justifications represents a more valid requirement for phasing out the program and will be used primarily for the emergency shipment of medical stockpile material. TERMINATION OF PROGRAM Mr. MYERS. The thing that I question is that you are going to spend $6 million here and there will be some costs associated with termination and liquidation of the program and your facilities. I am sure a large proportion of the $6 million is for disposal of this material and supplies that may not be worth anything at all, or maybe we can let somebody else handle that. Have you made any investigation whether someone could accept it! Dr. SENCER. Yes, sir. Mr. MYERS. With whom? Dr. SENCER. Secretary Weinberger presented us with that same question in one of our management conferences with him when this first came up. We have investigated this, but it is a question of either keeping it in a warehouse, where you have to contínue to pay rent, maintain the staff to protect the integrity of the facility, or else go through the surplus property mechanism. |