May 2008
Contents:
CROIERG PRODUCES A DVD OF TANKER INCIDENTS GOING BACK THROUGH THE YEARS FOR TRAINING PURPOSES
Members please go to the Member’s Area for more information on this
CROIERG EMERGENCY RESPONDER TRAINING PROJECT (Work in progress)
Work has begun on researching and writing the course material for evaluation by the relevant authorities for national accreditation.
We have organised two meetings for May 30th to keep the information flowing to the relevant parties involved.
In the morning (in Yass) the Training Project Working Group will meet to discuss progress to date and concentrate on the technical aspects of the project.
In the afternoon of the same day the CROIERG Committee will meet (also in Yass) and make their evaluation of the work completed to date.
This training project is being undertaken with a national perspective in view and to enable industry responders to have the competencies they require in carrying out the specialist industry tasks to be undertaken at incidents.
CROIERG is very appreciative of the support provided by contributing companies to the costs of funding the project.
INLAND SPILL TEAMS NOT FLUSH WITH CASH
(What about us in the Land Down Under mate??)
Editors Note: - The statistics quoted in this news report are truly alarming and for us in Australia very interesting.
Do we have similar data available in our States and Territories or Nationally for that matter?
Not to my knowledge but it would be something that could show us just what government resources are readily available and how they are used in regard to land spills?
We welcome any comments on this from an Aussie perspective?
April 14, 2008. Sacramento California USA
Every time an offshore oil spill threatens California's coast, the Coast Guard immediately mobilizes, state cleanup crews leap into action and legions of volunteers flock to the beach.
But when the state's rivers and streams are in jeopardy from a pipeline rupture, overturned tanker truck or train derailment, the response rarely matches the outpouring of attention given to beaches and seabirds caked in oil.
California's obscure inland spill response program limps along with fewer than a dozen watchdogs responsible for 211,000 miles of rivers and streams, 1.3 million acres of bays and estuaries and 1.6 million acres of lakes.
Every day, they must decide whether there is enough time and money to personally respond to spills that could threaten public health, drinking water and wildlife.
“We have to triage,” said Capt. Paul Hamilton, who oversees the inland program for the state Department of Fish and Game.
That could soon change. Two Democratic lawmakers are pushing legislation before the Assembly Judiciary Committee tomorrow to aid the financially crippled program, including guaranteed revenues to add the program's staff. “Very minimal – and not sufficient,” Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, said of the state's record of responses to inland threats.
For example, in the first nine months of 2007 the inland program received 1,391 spill reports. State officials physically responded to 160 reports – an 11 percent rate. Many other smaller incidents were turned over to local authorities to contain. “We hit the biggest ones,” Hamilton said.
There were 523 inland incidents unattended by the state due to “lack of resources,” according to Fish and Game's own analysis. In contrast, the offshore oil spill unit responded to all but 30 of its 764 calls. None of the 30 non-responses was attributed by the marine unit to a “lack of resources.”
In determining their strategy, the six inland division field coordinators stationed up and down the state must quickly assess each spill report to determine whether their immediate response is demanded. Once on site, they help coordinate efforts to contain the pollution, maintain public safety, protect wildlife, direct cleanup and investigate for possible civil or criminal charges.
There is one full-time coordinator assigned to inland waterway spills in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties – combined.
“It gets tough,” said Lt. Bryan Gollhofer, the state spill-response investigator in that five-county region. Gollhofer, who works for Fish and Game, said the program is fairly anonymous, despite its mission.” I don't think the public knows a lot about us. There's not a lot of us, in the first place,” he said.
Wolk and Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, say their legislation will help change that.
The bill would take an undetermined share of the 25-cent-per-barrel fee on imported oil now dedicated to marine response programs and shift it to inland efforts. The offshore program has financial reserves, taking in more than it spends. Inland division spending has outstripped revenues for much of this decade.
Wolk and Nava say statistics back up their campaign. Sixty-five percent of all spills were inland– 1,391, compared with 764 offshore, according to Fish and Game figures from the first nine months of 2007.
Source www.signonsan diego.com
TANKER CATCHES FIRE WHILE DELIVERING FUEL TO CONVENIENCE STORE
Clayhatchee, Alabama USA -- A terrifying scene in a small Dale County town late last night when a tanker truck carrying gasoline caught fire while the driver delivered gasoline to a local convenience store.
In all his years driving tankers Randy Holder has never had this kind of experience. "I've had a spill before but it wasn't nothing like this," said Holder. Holder drives for Hi-Ridge Transport.
He was dispatched to the service station to unload the remaining fuel from a tanker that caught fire. He understands the dangers associated with his job.
"I mean the driver, I talked to him, he's pretty shaken up, I mean I would be too. You know in a situation like this, this is a dangerous job," said Holder. One of the drivers other co-workers spoke with him after the fire. He told him he was filling out his paper work when he saw flames at his feet. He tried using the fire extinguisher from the trucks cab but the flames were too strong. The fire got so hot it melted the metal on the truck and burnt the asphalt beneath it.
However, what's most surprising there was no damage to the building.
"I thank the lord they're all alright," said Bobby Jo Pate, the stores manager. Pate said the cashier on duty last night was understandably shaken at what happened. She said, she handled the situation like a pro. "I'm proud of my cashier, she did an excellent job. She did everything by the book and I have nothing but high praises for her," said Pate.
Crews from the truck company stayed through the night to continue cleaning up.
LOGISTICS
Logistics is more than a buzz word in the transport and storage industries these days.
Some time ago in the CROIERG Monthly News we published a description of logistics.
We have been asked to repeat this: - (so here goes)
LOGISTICS
Logistics have been described as the procurement and delivery of: -
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the right supplies
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in the right quantities
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in the right order
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in good condition
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at the right place
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at the right time
Source Disaster Management by W.Nick Carter
EIP’s (EMERGENCY INFORMATION PANELS)
The Fire Brigades have made it very clear at meetings over the past months that they rely on EIP’s on tankers to contain accurate information to enable the attending fire crews to identify the product/s and contact people quickly via the Specialist Advice section of the EIP.
Members have reported the following: -
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Two bitumen spray tankers operating on the South Coast with telephone numbers in the panel but no name
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A tanker in south western NSW with the word “EMERGENCY” in the Specialist Advice section for the telephone contact
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A tanker in the Southern Highlands with the telephone number written with a felt pen and the ink had run making it unreadable
Have a read of your brand new ADG7 Part 5 (Volume 2)
For Specialist Advice (Section f)
(f) in space f – “the name of an organisation responsible for providing the telephone advisory service and a telephone number of the service, including (STD) area Code”
FIREFIGHTERS AND OTHERS PRACTICE ON SIMULATED DISASTERS IN COLORADO
April 23, 2008. - Loveland. Colorado USA
Sure, “real” is a relative term, and the situations the Loveland Fire and Rescue Special Operations Team has tackled and will continue to tackle this week are mostly set up.
It still doesn’t mean the work the team is doing is easy. In fact, just like it could be in real life, it’s sometimes complicated and exhausting.
The team is running its Rescue School this week, putting its team — and a few others — into the types of situations that easily could put people’s lives on the line.
“We’re doing well,” said Battalion Chief Jeff Genger, who oversaw the hazardous material squad. “The people who haven’t been to Rescue School before were trying to get into the front, and give them a new dynamic.”
The training crews included a pair of firefighters from both Milliken and Berthoud fire teams, giving them a little training to bring back to their units.
At Praxair, 950 Des Moines Ave., crews tackled a situation where a pipe with cryogenic liquid had burst and three people needed to be rescued. After victim rescue operations, the crew went back to train on how to best handle controlling the leak, especially controlling their own behavior around a spill.
“It went well, we’re in an element they’re not used to, to have a situation with cryogenic materials,” said Lt. Greg Gilbert. “But it’s a great opportunity to simulate a real-life incident.”
 Over at the Loveland Fire and Rescue training grounds, a tractor trailer with a tanker was dumped onto its side, crushing a car with four dummies inside. To make things more complicated, the team worked as if the tanker had spilled its gasoline on the road, forcing crews to use foam to prevent a possible flash fire.
After that, firefighters and engineers used blocks and jacks to stabilize the truck. Then, crews had to remove the car doors and get out all four victims before bringing them over to Thompson Valley Emergency Medical Services crews.
With the squad split, it created some new challenges.
“You’re dealing with a problem at a time with limited resources,” said Battalion Chief Greg Ward, leading crews at the gas tanker crash. “But they worked through it really well. This type of operation works well because they go out and do the work.” The simulation is as real as possible — without living, breathing victims, of course — with actual chemicals in pipes at the plant, although no actual gasoline was spilled at the training grounds.
Training will continue this week, with exercises such as operations with police SWAT officers, confined-space work and rescue and collapse rescue operations.
“It went pretty good,” said Bobby Bartlett, an engineer on the squad. “We do this stuff on a regular basis, and they’re really throwing everything at us. They’re trying to get us to think outside of the box. “You’re going to be tired at the end of the week, but we push through everything.” Source www,reporterherald.com
TANKER CRASH FIRE ENGULF THREE CARS IN MASSACHUSETTS
Chicopee, Massachusetts. USA
A fiery tanker truck crash and explosion shut down Interstate 91 in Chicopee on Friday.
State police said the crash happened just after 9:30 a.m. as the truck carrying diesel fuel was travelling north on I-91.
The driver of the truck was hurt and was taken to an area hospital. The tanker driver suffered third degree burns over 70 percent of his body, The station also reports the driver of a second car was hurt as well.
Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said the fire engulfed three cars, but he had no immediate word on injuries to anyone in those vehicles.
Judge said the crash pushed the truck partially off a highway overpass, but the truck did not fall onto the road below.
"Every indication here is that the accident all took place on I-91," Judge said.
The driver works for Abenaqui Carriers of North Hampton, N.H. A driver for the same company rolled over a fuel tanker in Everett in December, sparking a fire that severely damaged several homes and destroyed dozens of cars.
"Everybody was trying to get this guy out. They were trying to get him out of the cab, but everybody who tried would be stopped by the flames. There were just a bunch of people running towards the fire. It was crazy," Gregory Coleman, a witness, told The Republican newspaper. His sister Rebecca Coleman told the paper that drivers pulled blankets and jackets from their cars to try to extinguish the fire and rescue the driver.
Diesel fuel spilled on the highway, but Judge said the accident happened on an area of the highway that is relatively isolated and that he did not expect homes or businesses to be affected.
The fire was still burning more than 90 minutes after the crash, and smoke could be seen for miles.
SAUDI ARABIA: 7 KILLED, 33 INJURED IN HIGHWAY ACCIDENT
Thursday, March 29, 2008 - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:
The official Saudi Press Agency says 7 people have been killed and 33 injured in an accident between a bus and a fuel tanker.
SPA reports that four of the injured in Thursday's crash are in critical condition.
The agency says the accident occurred on the Qassim highway in central Saudi Arabia. It says the bus was carrying Bahraini plates. The agency did not give the nationalities of the victims. Source AAP
FUEL TANKR CRASH ON WARREGO HIGHWAY IN QLD
March 30, 2008 - Bundamba, Queensland.
Brisbane-bound traffic on the Warrego Highway at Bundamba has been diverted this morning after an accident involving a fuel tanker.
The smash occurred about 3.30am on the stretch of highway and involved a tanker, which was carrying diesel fuel, and a car.
Both drivers were injured and transported to Ipswich Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Brisbane-bound traffic was diverted around the crash site, via the River Road exit, but the highway has since reopened. Investigations into the incident are continuing.
Source www.brisbanetimes.com.au
TANKER CRASH SPILLS GASOLINE AND BURN OFF OF SPILT PRODUCT CONSIDERED IN OHIO
Editors Note: Here is a spill situation where the possible solution to disposal of the spilled gasoline is to burn it off.
A measure that we don’t see here in Australia, especially when the product has ended up in a flooded farm field
April 9, 2008 Jeromesville Ohio. USA—
It could have been a lot worse. That's how those at the scene of a gasoline tanker crash on U.S. 30 summed up the situation.
Gasoline spilled from a tanker involved in the crash did not ignite and the driver of the truck, Allan L. Schloneger, 54, of Canton, was treated and released from MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, a nursing supervisor said Tuesday night. Schloneger first had been taken by Jeromesville Emergency Squad to Samaritan Hospital and later transported by LifeFlight to the Cleveland hospital.
 Shortly after 7:35 a.m. Tuesday, Schloneger's westbound tanker truck laden with about 32,300 litres of gasoline crested the hill before the County Road 1975 bridge. The tractor-trailer went off the right side of the road near the bridge and onto an embankment, where it struck the right rear of a flatbed truck parked on the berm. The corner of the flatbed gashed the side of the tanker, opening at least six gaping holes.
About 22,800 litres of gasoline spilled onto the berm and into a ditch and ended up in a flooded farm field about 1,300 feet from the highway. Little, if any, made it to the Jerome Fork of the Mohican River, according to an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency investigator at the scene.
"It's a good thing it was aluminum on aluminum," Sheriff's Capt. Carl Richert said of the impact. "If it wasn't, the sparks would have ignited it."
Conditions permitting, OEPA could burn off the gasoline from the flooded field today, preventing it from migrating into Jerome Fork and killing large numbers of aquatic wildlife. The County Road 1975 bridge and all four lanes of U.S. 30 were closed Tuesday between County Road 15 and Ohio 89 because of the potential for an explosion.
Ashland County EMA Director Mark Rafeld said the highways were expected to open by the end of the night Tuesday. A house atop the embankment where the crash occurred and other houses nearby were evacuated.
Early Tuesday morning, Schloneger left a Santmyer Oil Company Inc. terminal in Canton with 8,500 gallons of gasoline bound for Mansfield. He reportedly stopped in Wooster to have a tire replaced, then continued on his way.
At about 7:38 a.m., Schloneger crested a hill west of County Road 15 and went off the right side of the road under the County Road 1975 overpass where the crash occurred. The impact pushed the flatbed rig into the back of another flatbed tractor-trailer. Other trucks parked in front of them were not affected.
There were no signs of braking at the scene, indicating Schloneger might have fallen asleep at the wheel, according to Trooper Andrew Topp of the Ashland post of the State Highway Patrol.
The driver of the flatbed rig Schloneger struck was Andrew W. Thomas, 30, of Shreve. The driver of the other unit involved was Thomas W. Gibson, 56, of Vandergrift, Pa. Both were sleeping in the cabs of their trucks at the time of the crash and were not injured.
The gasoline ran downhill into a catch basin on the right berm, flowed through a drain tile under U.S. 30 and into a ditch on the south side of the highway. From there it flowed into a flooded field on Robert Farquhar's farm at County Road 1950 and County Road 175, where it spread along the surface of the standing water.
Before the gasoline can be burned off, ditches leading up to it must be flushed and soil removed from the berm of U.S. 30 to eliminate the possibility of fire spreading back to the highway. Rain forecast for today is not expected to be heavy enough to affect the planned burn or push gasoline into the Jerome Fork.
If OEPA proceeds with the burn, electronic signs will be posted on U.S. 30 advising motorists of a controlled burn. Rafeld said Jeromesville firefighters would be called in to stand by if OEPA proceeds with the burn. Source. www.times-gazette.com
TANKER ROLLOVER AFTER SWERVING TO MISS ALLIGATOR IN FLORIDA
Aussie tanker drivers might have to dodge a few roos, wombats, sheep and cattle now and again but this one is really different
April 4, 2008 - Parkland Florida USA
Northbound traffic is moving again on US 27, after a tanker truck rolled over early Friday morning on US 27 near the Broward-Palm Beach County line.
The accident happened just before 7 a.m. on US 27, also known as Okeechobee Road, when a driver lost control of his tanker truck and flipped.
The driver swerved to miss a 7-9 foot alligator on the road.
He was carrying a load of Propane from Tampa to Medley.
Police said the driver was not seriously hurt, and the tanker did not appear to be leaking, but the highway was closed so hazardous material teams could evaluate the accident and see if any cargo had spilled.
FHP is working to divide the northbound side into a 2 lane highway so that southbound traffic can get through. The clean-up is expected to last until this afternoon. Source www.cbs4.com
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