> >Perhaps a decline in critical thinking skills?
I don't think that's the case. I can think of many engineered safety measures that have been used uncritically in labs (well beyond the design intentions) for many years (e.g. fume hoods). The lesson I see in the story is that how people react to emergencies involves perceptions of the situation which are outside the scope of what many emergency planners consider...
- Ralph
Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Chemical Hygiene Officer
Keene State College
ralph.stuart**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu