THE ROLLOVER RISKS OF TWO-TANK TANKERS ARE TOO GREAT TO CONTINUE TO ALLOW THEM CARRYING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS WITHOUT ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES
The recent (October 31, 2014) rollover of a two-car tanker in Los Angeles reminds how dangerous these two-tank tankers are for carrying flammable liquids. Tankers are by far the hardest commercial vehicle to control. The fluid slosh can easily throw the driver around if the driver is not expending it.
USA, CA, LOS ANGELES, NOVEMBER 1 2014. BURNING TANKER BRIEFLY THREATENS BOYLE HEIGHTS HOMES
A tanker carrying fuel overturned on 8th Street just south of Soto and caught on fire at about 3:35 p.m. Friday, briefly threatening homes in Boyle Heights. Two tanks were connected to a tractor-trailer, and the rear tank overturned and caught on fire on the 8th Street on-ramp to the southbound Interstate 5 Freeway. As many as three homes were threatened, according to the L.A. Fire Dept. The threat to structures was cleared, the LAFD said at 3:53 p.m. Flames appeared to be nearly out at 4:10 p.m. About 4,500 gallons of gasoline spilled from the tanker and leaked into the neighborhood, according to the L.A. Fire Department. Firefighters were able to dike the area and stop the flow. A hazardous-materials cleanup operation was in progress at 4:30 p.m. and was expected to take at least four hours to complete, according to the LAFD. No injuries have been reported. The fire damaged one home and one vehicle, according to the LAFD. It took 157 firefighters 80 minutes to extinguish all vehicle, vegetation and structural flames, according to the LAFD. Fire damaged two of the closest homes. Nearby houses were evacuated, according to L.A. Fire Deputy Chief Joe Castro. Extinguishing the fire and removing residents from the area was completed in about 30 minutes, Castro said. Firefighters doused the flames with foam. A gas station nearby was closed, commandeered by firefighters. Fuel was running downhill into the neighborhood, presenting a possible hazardous-materials situation. Some of that fuel was burning, damaging a residential triplex at 2689 E 8th St, which sustained significant damage, according to the LAFD. The cause of the incident was not immediately known. The scene was being investigated.
Overturned Big Rig Leaks Fuel, Creates 580 To 101 Gridlock For Richmond Bridge
July 14, 2014 2:57 PM
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) –A tanker truck crash has blocked a portion of one of Marin County’s main traffic arteries Monday, creating a backup that extended across the Richmond Bridge throughout the day.UPDATE: Sir Francis Drake Blvd Reopened After Fuel Leaked From Overturned Tanker Monday
Sir Francis Drake Blvd. was closed in both directions shortly after 7 a.m. near San Quentin State Prison. as of Monday afternoon and the roadway might not be reopened until 10 p.m., according to the CHP.
The KCBS Traffic map shows an extremely heavy backup onto the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge the crash scene.
About ten homes in San Quentin Village were evacuated as a precaution due to the leak. The community, which is adjacent to the prison, sits just off the roadway. About 40 residents there have been asked to temporarily move out of the area.
According to authorities, most of the fuel is mow out of the first tank but that the second tanker will have to be offloaded and that may a “long time.”
“You just never know,” said CHP Office Patrick Roth. “If you get a spark that comes out of that truck, we got 1,700 gallons of gasoline that’s going to ignite.”
Gorham crash causes nearly 9,000-gallon fuel spill
A tractor-trailer rolls over, spilling diesel and kerosene into wetlands.
A tractor-trailer truck was leaking diesel fuel after overturning on northbound Route 114 in Gorham on Wednesday. Logan Werlinger/Staff Photographer
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A tractor-trailer hauling 9,500 gallons of fuel rolled over at a Gorham rotary Wednesday afternoon, leaking nearly its entire load into nearby wetlands and threatening to contaminate a Stroudwater River tributary.
The crash took place just before 2 p.m. at the intersection of routes 114 and 112 in Gorham. The road remained closed through the evening commute and southbound lanes were expected to stay closed through Thursday morning’s commute.
The driver, Fred Bird, lost control of the truck, causing it to tip over. Bird was not injured, and a passenger – a truck-driver trainee – also escaped injury.
The truck, which is owned by the J.P. Noonan company of Gorham, landed in a ditch, rupturing one of its four storage tanks, said Scarborough Fire Chief Michael Thurlow, who was handling media inquiries about the incident.
Initially, authorities believed fuel spilled from only one of the truck’s storage tanks, but on Wednesday night, Thurlow said an investigation showed the truck’s internal valve system failed, causing all but 600 of the 9,500 gallons of fuel to spill onto the ground and into nearby wetlands.
Emergency crews were able to prevent the spill from entering the Stroudwater River, which is located about a half-mile away from the accident scene, Thurlow said.
Thurlow said it could take days for crews from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and its subcontractor, CleanHarbors, to clean up the spill.
The truck was hauling 6,500 gallons of diesel fuel and 3,000 gallons of kerosene. Jessamine Logan, DEP spokeswoman, said Wednesday night that crews had recovered about 6,500 gallons.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but Lt. Chris Sanborn of the Gorham Police Department said Bird told police he lost control of the truck when he tried to avoid hitting a dark-colored sedan that pulled in front of him.
Sanborn said police will try to determine how fast the truck was traveling and whether it had any mechanical problems. State police, who are assisting Gorham police in their investigation, will inspect the truck Thursday.
Police are also checking the truck’s log books to make sure Bird complied with keeping his log hours up to date.
Sanborn did not know how long Bird had been driving for J.P. Noonan, but said, “The company is very reputable. They have never had a crash like this.”
Fire departments from Gorham, Scarborough and South Portland responded to the crash.
South Portland sent a truck carrying special flame-suppressing foam, and tankers from Hollis, Raymond, Gray and other communities responded as a precaution because the area is not served by hydrants. There was no fire.
Tanker fire out, but risk remains
Evacuation order is lifted for some as threat of propane blast decreases; Route 7 still closed
HOOSICK -- Residents near the site of a potentially catastrophic tractor-trailer rollover accident began returning home Tuesday, a day after a propane tanker crashed into a nearby ravine and began burning.
Authorities evacuated about 100 homes and businesses Monday, and shelters were set up, but the evacuation order was lifted for most as of 6 p.m. Tuesday. Areas along route 7 from route 22 south to Fox Hollow Road remained closed.
Officials initially thought it would take until Wednesday to burn off all 9,500 gallons of combustible liquid propane in the tank when it crashed Monday. But the fire went out Tuesday morning, and Rensselaer County officials said several previously undetected gashes in the tanker's belly may have sped the escape of the gas.
Officials initially feared the propane -- which is heavier than oxygen -- was gathering in a dense and potentially combustible cloud around the damaged truck.
"Vapor is our most dangerous issue," Hoosick Fire Chief Bill Rifenburgh said Tuesday morning. "If the gas itself actually continues to travel down range, we would have the potential for a huge flash fire."
Rifenburgh said the situation was reduced from a high risk of danger to a nominal risk by Tuesday afternoon. Officials determined roughly 300 gallons of gas were left in the tank, and they set a small fire to burn off what remained.
The tanker truck caught fire Monday after it crashed near Route 22. More than 30 fire, police and ambulance agencies responded from around Rensselaer County and as far as Washington, Columbia and Albany counties, as well as Massachusetts.
Rifenburgh speculated the massive response cost the county "thousands of dollars."
Route 7 from Route 278 in Brunswick to Route 22 in Hoosick will remain closed for up to two days while the truck remains in the ravine, Rifenburgh said. A heavy tow company with a large crane will remove the twisted remnants of the vehicle, which sits in an ice-covered ravine 30 feet away from the road.
The driver, John N. Makria of West Islip, Long Island, is under medical observation at Albany Medical Center Hospital, Rensselaer County Sheriff Jack Mahar said.
Makria has a wife and three children. His youngest son, Steven Makria, 18, a freshman at Suffolk County Community College, said his mother, Rene Makria, was at Albany Med on Tuesday with his father.
Although he said he hadn't spoken with his father since the accident, Steven Makria said his mother told him his father suffered no serious injuries.
"She said he was up and walking around," Steven Makria said. "The truck flipped over, he ran out, and it exploded. She said the hospital wanted them to stay another day, but that they wanted to try to come home" on Tuesday.
Steven Makria was concerned his father lost the truck he had purchased about six months ago to make his trips for Venezia Transport Service Inc.
"As far as I heard, the truck is gone," said Steven Makria, whose father has been driving trucks for 30 years. "I don't know what he's going to do now."
According to data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Venezia Transport Service holds a less than stellar on-road safety performance record over the last two years. Data from the administration's Safety Measurement System show that 60.9 percent of motor carriers have a better record of on-road performance than Venezia Transport Service, with drivers cited for more than a dozen speeding and a handful of other violations.
According to SMS data, 95 inspections of Venezia Transport Service Inc. resulted in 19 fatigued-driving violations, a rate worse than 68.6 percent of motor carriers inspected.
No tickets have been issued to Makria in the Route 7 crash. Records show he has a clean on-the-job driving record.
Rifenburgh said he would not speculate on what caused the accident, but added that the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Department is investigating.
A Southern California mountain highway was closed Friday – and could remain shut down for several weeks – after a tanker truck overturned, spilling some 10,000 gallons of fuel in the Angelus Oaks area, near Big Bear Lake.
State Route 38 was closed after the 9:35 a.m. crash from Angelus Oaks to Camp Cedar Falls, a stretch of about three miles (map) through the San Bernardino National Forest.
Hazardous cleanup was required, according to a statement from Caltrans (PDF). Officials on scene said responding environmental agencies built dirt dams to try to contain the flow of gasoline and diesel fuel.
Thousands of gallons of fuel may have leaked into a creek about 50 yards downhill that feeds into the Santa Ana River, which provides water to cities in the Inland Empire. Water agencies have been notified of potential contamination, officials on scene said, but added that there is no cause for public concern yet.
"We have to determine exactly how much did get into the water and how far it has gone," said John Miller of the U.S. Forest Service.
A spokeswoman with the East Valley Water District said the agency's water is safe since it has cut off suply from the Santa Ana River and is using other sources to serve customers. Fuel did get into Cold Creek, said Kelly Malloy of the district, adding that her and other water districts are testing supply to determine if it is safe.
Both tankers being towed by the truck were ruptured when the vehicle overturned, and federal and state agencies were responding. Experts on Friday afternoon were testing the water and air downstream to see how much fuel leaked into the creek.
Just before 6 p.m., two large tow trucks were on scene trying to flip the tanker back onto its wheels.
The driver told the California Highway Patrol that he was headed from Upland to Big Bear to deliver fuel when he lost control.
State Route 38 was closed after the 9:35 a.m. crash from Angelus Oaks to Camp Cedar Falls, a stretch of about three miles (map) through the San Bernardino National Forest.
Hazardous cleanup was required, according to a statement from Caltrans (PDF). Officials on scene said responding environmental agencies built dirt dams to try to contain the flow of gasoline and diesel fuel.
Thousands of gallons of fuel may have leaked into a creek about 50 yards downhill that feeds into the Santa Ana River, which provides water to cities in the Inland Empire. Water agencies have been notified of potential contamination, officials on scene said, but added that there is no cause for public concern yet.
"We have to determine exactly how much did get into the water and how far it has gone," said John Miller of the U.S. Forest Service.
A spokeswoman with the East Valley Water District said the agency's water is safe since it has cut off suply from the Santa Ana River and is using other sources to serve customers. Fuel did get into Cold Creek, said Kelly Malloy of the district, adding that her and other water districts are testing supply to determine if it is safe.
Both tankers being towed by the truck were ruptured when the vehicle overturned, and federal and state agencies were responding. Experts on Friday afternoon were testing the water and air downstream to see how much fuel leaked into the creek.
Just before 6 p.m., two large tow trucks were on scene trying to flip the tanker back onto its wheels.
The driver told the California Highway Patrol that he was headed from Upland to Big Bear to deliver fuel when he lost control.
"He did advise us that the load had shifted on him and that caused the overturn of the vehicle," said CHP Lt. Kevin Porter.
Porter said the roadway could be closed "as long as a week, maybe several weeks."
Barton Flats recreation area can only be access from Big Bear, Caltrans said, adding that no forest
roads, trails or recreations facilities have been closed.
CHP investigators said the crash site is considered a crime scene because of environmental damage. Neither drugs nor alcohol are being considered a factor in the crash.
Motorists traveling to and from the mountain resort of Big Bear were advised to take Highway 330 or Highway 18.
The highway closure is expected to last at least until Saturday and possibly "long term" because of the cleanup required, Caltrans said.
Porter said the roadway could be closed "as long as a week, maybe several weeks."
Barton Flats recreation area can only be access from Big Bear, Caltrans said, adding that no forest
roads, trails or recreations facilities have been closed.
CHP investigators said the crash site is considered a crime scene because of environmental damage. Neither drugs nor alcohol are being considered a factor in the crash.
Motorists traveling to and from the mountain resort of Big Bear were advised to take Highway 330 or Highway 18.
The highway closure is expected to last at least until Saturday and possibly "long term" because of the cleanup required, Caltrans said.
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