About 3:45 a.m., eastern daylight time, on July 14, 2001, at the ATOFINA Chemicals, Inc., (ATOFINA) plant in Riverview, Michigan, a pipe attached to a fitting on the unloading line of a railroad tank car fractured and separated, causing the release of methyl mercaptan, a poisonous and flammable gas. About 4:09 a.m., shortly after the Riverview Fire Department chief arrived on scene, the methyl mercaptan ignited, engulfing the tank car in flames and sending a fireball about 200 feet into the air. Fire damage to cargo transfer hoses on an adjacent tank car resulted in the release of chlorine, a poisonous gas that is also an oxidizer. The fire was extinguished about 9:30 a.m. Three plant employees were killed in the accident. There were several other injuries; most of the injured were treated for respiratory symptoms and released. About 2,000 residents were evacuated from their homes for about 10 hours. Two tank cars, railroad track, and plant equipment (including hoses and fittings) were damaged in the fire. The major safety issues identified in this investigation are the adequacy of ATOFINA.s procedures for unloading tank cars containing hazardous materials and the adequacy of Federal regulations and oversight for cargo transfer operations involving bulk containers transporting hazardous materials. As a result of its investigation of this accident, the Safety Board makes safety recommendations to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Occupational Safety and Health //ministration.
National Transportation Safety Board Hazardous Materials Report: Hazardous Materials Release from Railroad Tank Car with Subsequent Fire at Riverview, Michigan, on July 14, 2001
2002
60 pages
Report
No indication
English
Air Pollution & Control , Public Health & Industrial Medicine , Railroad Transportation , Transportation , Transportation Safety , Transportation & Traffic Planning , Police, Fire, & Emergency Services , Railroad cars , Hazardous materials transportation , Hazardous materials spills , Fires , Tank cars , Air pollution , Riverview(Michigan) , Safety , Fittings , Pipes , Chlorine gas , Accidents , Procedures , Regulations , Cargo , Transfer functions , Emergencies , Emergency preparedness , Emergency services , Disaster relief , Recommendations , Atofina Chemicals Inc , Methyl mercaptan
Reducing Hazardous Materials Release from Railroad Tank Car Safety Vents
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2000
|Reducing Hazardous Materials Releases from Railroad Tank Car Safety Vents
Transportation Research Record | 2000
|