And well they should. Major chemical plants are just a few miles away from this Putnam County, WV, school. Barges carry plant products up and down the nearby Kanawha River.
Tanker trucks run along a busy interstate.
Railroad tank cars loaded with chemicals zip through the area. The possibility of a chemical accident is not lost on the Putnam County board of education or Poca High Principal John T. Cunningham . Other county schools are also located near one or more chemical sources. One form of help is feedback from drill monitors. Monitors attend only one of the three annual drills.