Once the transfer began, Haz-Mat responders remained on stand by in the tanker’s hot zone to insure its successful completion. The transfer operation took slightly more than two hours, with successful transfer of 98 percent of the butane.  After the transfer, Haz-Mat Response removed their equipment from the site, but remained on standby while the damaged tanker was loaded onto a flatbed trailer for transport back to the shipper’s maintenance yard. The remaining remediation tasks were completed before the crew left the scene.

Paint spill inside of a tractor trailer
           A Haz-Mat Response crew was called to an accident site involving a tractor trailer transporting a load of paint, which is considered to be a flammable liquid.  The tractor trailer had run off of the interstate, overturning onto its side on a side road.

Upon arrival on site, the Project Manager conducted a site assessment, determining that the 465 five-gallon buckets of paint were not salvageable, that the tractor trailer’s top was destroyed by the paint cans catapulting through the truck as it rolled, and that approximately 1/8 of a mile from the interstate across a side road into a nearby field was impacted with paint.

Haz-Mat Response technicians removed the contamination using dirt moving equipment and four roll-off boxes, enabling the side road to be reopened within 3½ hours.  Haz-Mat Response arranged for free roll-off box storage with a near by landowner until proper disposal could be authorized, thus assisting the trucking company to contain costs.  Upon receipt of disposal authorization, Haz-Mat Response crews hauled the boxes to a landfill and completed remediation of the site.

Haz-Mat Response’s crew, consisting of a Project Manager, an equipment operator, a truck driver and a laborer, restored the site within 24 hours of the accident.

Gasoline tanker rollover
            Haz-Mat Response’s crew responded to an accident involving a tanker carrying 8,500 gallons of unleaded gasoline.  During the accident, the tractor and trailer become separated.  The tractor, after traveling through a ditch coming to rest on its right side on a gravel side road, is destroyed by fire.  Although the tanker never caught fire, it sustained heavy damage, including a leak in its vent recovery system.

            Upon arrival at the scene, the Haz-Mat Response team met with the local emergency response team.  While local responders provided air monitoring and charged fire hose lines as safety measures, the Haz-Mat response team entered the trailer’s hot zone to assess its damage and evaluate transfer options.  After exiting the site, the crew met with local responders, outlining the need for safety measures and a transfer plan.

            A tow truck was used to secure the tanker during the transfer. The site was bonded and grounded allowing Haz-Mat Response technicians to safely hot tap the tanker and transfer its fuel into a second tanker.

            After the transfer was complete and the tanker removed, crews excavated the site, stockpiling the contaminated soil.  Bottom samples were taken to insure the site was clean.  Haz-Mat Response coordinated disposal of the contaminated soil and backfilling of the site.

Soda ash derailment
           A railroad official requested use of Haz-Mat Response’s Guzzler vacuum truck to clean up soda ash from a derailment.  Upon arrival at the site, the Haz-Mat Response crew found two railcars of soda ash on their side in the railyard’s retarders.  The railroad requested that the retarders be vacuumed first allowing signal and track crews to reopen the hump’s operations.

Once the hump was back in service, Haz-Mat Response crews were asked to remove the remaining soda ash from the cars without interrupting the hump’s operation.  The crew used a Guzzler vacuum truck and a roll-off vacuum box to remove the soda ash from the cars.  The cars were then righted and loaded onto flat cars for transport to repair facility.  The soda ash was loaded into roll-off boxes and transported to a landfill for disposal.

Lube oil and sodium hydroxide train derailment
           Haz-Mat Response assisted with the response and clean-up following a derailment involving leaking railcars of lube oil and sodium hydroxide.  The products had flowed into a small stream located within the railroad’s right-of-way.  Haz-Mat Response was assigned the responsibility of containing the spill, recovering the product and excavating the site.  Tasks and objectives included:

            Throughout the incident, Haz-Mat Response provided the customer with a wide range of equipment including pumps, vacuum trucks, heavy equipment, all-wheel drive site transportation, pressure washers, containment boom, temporary storage, absorbents, poly sheeting, site storage trailers and hand tools.

Throughout the four-month project, Haz-Mat Response managed the site with indirect supervision, setting daily and long-term objectives.  The initial response required 24-hour operations which were later scaled back to scheduled maintenance tasks.

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