Smith's Lawn Care Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Case Description:

Dauphin School District recently began construction of a new elementary school building within one-half mile of Smith's Lawn Care, a suburban Harrisburg buisness providing fertilizer and pesticide application services for residential and small commercial lawns. At a public School Board meeting, a group of parents expressed some concern over the safety of their children in the new school due to the proximity of Mr. Smith's facility and the potential of fire or explosion and the subsequent release of toxic fumes that could reach the school. One mother asked: "In the event of such a crisis, will the school be supplied with sufficient provisions for the children until the environment can be decontaminated?" An older gentleman stated that he had seen the Toxic Inventory Report for Smith's Lawn Care Company that had been filed with the county and that there are toxic chemicals there similar to the "nerve gas" used by the Germans in World War I. Following the next morning's newspaper report on the meeting, the phone at Smith's Lawn Care Company was busy with calls from alarmed customers and neighbors. The next day's mail contained a request from the School Board for Mr. Smith to appear at a special public meeting to address concerns over the "toxic chemical threat" posed by his Company's operation.

• Facility
• Chemical Inventory
• Workplace Safety

Study Materials:

• Chemical Spills
• Fire Prevention and Control
• Risk Communication
• Powerpoint presentation

Assignments:

One group will be assigned the responsibility for making a presentation containing the following elements:

A brief synopsis of the case description
A detailed analysis of the facts presented in the case description
A list of the issues emerging from the analysis
A broadly stated strategy for addressing the issues
A detailed action plan for implementing this strategy
This group should also prepare a report using the format that follows and submit hard copies along with appropriate attachments to on the date shown in the course schedule.

Download *Format* for Preparing Your Case Report