•Printings from Nov. 11, 1999 and since then have additions and changes on pages 22, 23, and 25.

 ••On pg. 22, the paragraph on Sanitation now reads:

Sanitation is a big issue in a disaster.  Home toilets might be unusable, and “going in the bushes” is not very smart if you want to avoid disease.   Even latrines can cause problems.  In densely populated areas, improper handling of human waste can be a source of epidemic.  In the event of a disaster, you should stop flushing your toilets and using your drains immediately until notified by the city that it is all right.  Even if your water is running, flushing toilets and using drains can cause sewage to back up into your homes.  The best thing is to collect waste in a safe way, such as in a porta-potty lined with a plastic bag (or in a home toilet emptied of water, sanitized, and then lined with a heavy duty garbage bag) taking care to cover the waste between uses to keep flies and other pests away from it.  Then find out what the city wants you to do with it.  They will be working to get sewage facilities up and running and will let you know as soon as possible where and how to dispose of the waste.  They might have you bring it to central dumping holes or tell you that itís safe to use your home toilets.  They might tell you to bury waste in a trench in your yard.  IF it is necessary to bury the waste, it should be buried several feet deep in the ground, poking holes in the plastic bags with a pitch fork or other tool to aid in composting.  Cover each layer with dirt to keep off insects.  If you will be burying the waste, it is best to collect and bury solid waste separately from wet waste.  Check with your city sanitation dept. and emergency preparedness dept. now to see what they want you to do in a disaster.   We donít want to do anything to contaminate our drinking water supply.  Coordinate things in advance with your cities so that you can educate the people in your neighborhoods properly.

 ••Page 23, "How to Use 55 Gallon Water Barrels" now has these two additional paragraphs and the following changes in part 5 "NEW VS. USED":

It is also recommended that you pour a whole gallon of chlorine bleach into each empty barrel after washing it out, roll the barrel around some more, and then let it stand for 2 days with the bleach in it.  Then dump out the bleach and RINSE THE BARREL OUT REALLY WELL.
It is important to know that even tap water has some bacteria in it, and so unless your containers and water are 100% purified when first storing, bacteria will multiply over time if exposed to light and heat.  They will multiply even more if they have sugar to eat, which they do with if your barrels are used and any pop syrup remains in them.  Do your best to sanitize all your containers and treat your water before storing, and then if you think your water might not be safe enough to drink later, treat it or purify it again before using.

5. NEW VS. USED:  The pop taste is very slight in used barrels, but lessens each time you rotate your water.   Some used barrels are translucent white.  Supposedly, NEW and BLUE barrels grow less algae.  BE SURE YOUR BARRELS ARE MADE OF FOOD-GRADE PLASTIC and have only had edible food in them before.  New barrels, although more expensive, might be safer since they have nothing in them for organisms to feed on.
 

••Page 25 now brings up two things:

Does iodine in a commercial water purifier really kill viruses or bacteria when their exposure to the iodine is over such a brief period of time (less than 1 second)?

If there is a worry, you could treat the water with iodine (for a long enough period of time), or with chlorine bleach, or boil the water.  Then, if desired, you can make a carbon filter yourself from activated charcoal to take out the bad tastes and many harmful chemicals.

•To be more specific and accurate about the founding of the CERT program, future editions will clarify that the CERT program was developed and implemented in the city of Los Angeles in 1985.  FEMA made CERT a national program in 1993.

 •Copies of the booklet printed before May 14, 1999 have an error on pg. 34.

 "Pwdrd. Milk lbs. (# of gal. your family uses per wk) X 32.5 = # lbs. per person per year"

 should read:

 "Pwdrd. Milk lbs. (# of gal. your family uses per wk) X 32.5 = # lbs. per family per year"

 •Editions of the booklet prior to the March 13th edition need to have to first 2 paragraphs of page 33 replaced with the following:  (Just print the following paragraphs and tape them into your booklet.)
 
 

       There is some controversy over whether you should turn off your gas in the event of an earthquake.  Questar Gas recommends that you only turn it off if you smell gas from a leak or if your house is severely damaged and uninhabitable.  According to Questar, there are two main reasons for this recommendation:  1) it could take many weeks or months for them to relight everyoneís pilot lights, which during the winter could cause severe hardship; and 2) Code states that if your gas is turned off in a disaster, it must be turned back on by someone qualified to do so.  Many people know how to relight their pilot lights, but Questar says that this could be dangerous since it is more complicated than just knowing how to relight the pilot light;  and if an accident happens from your doing so, your insurance will have an out via the Code.  On the other hand, in a severe earthquake where homes are being destroyed, an aftershock can be as bad or worse than the original quake, and if the aftershock damages your home enough to cause a gas leak inside your home, you could have an explosion.  We recommend that everyone have a gas wrench attached to their meter so that the gas can be turned off immediately if needed without having to search for a crescent wrench in a disaster.  It would also be wise to mark your gas meter with a tag that tells that the gas is turned off if it has been, so that no one will come along and turn it back on when meaning to turn it off.  Questar recommends that you “stop, look, listen, and smell” to test for a gas leak.

 **We have noticed that the turn-off valves on many gas meters are so tight or old that it is almost impossible to turn them .  This is terribly dangerous.  Although the gas wrench offered below is probably strong enough to break the seal, your arm might not be.  Please have someone get your gas meter turn-off valve loosened up:  the muscle-man or Amazon of the house, a friend, or someone from Questar.  If you do it yourself, be careful not to turn the gas all the way off.  Just move the valve enough to get it loose (an eighth of a turn or less).  If your valve won't budge and you're nervous, call Questar.