The Current
a lot national media attention. But whereas the former elicited calls for more federal regulation, such calls for action from the latter were more localized. And yet, according to the most recent Bureau of Transportation statistics, trucks carry more hazardous materials than trains — with significantly more accidents. In 2017, trucks carried 64.9% of the billions of dollars of material value, 61.1% of the 2.968 million total tons and 33.2% of the 382.5 billion tons per mile — one ton shipped for one mile — hauled, whereas rail accounted for 2.3%, 3.0% and 16.1% of these values respectively. Incidents involving trucks carrying hazardous materials, including spills, evacuations and injuries, are far higher than rail. In 2017 there were 573 such rail incidents nationally, compared to 15,744 incidents on the highways. Highway accidents involving hazmat carrying trucks has been rising, with 22,373 reported in 2021, while rail incidents have dropped each year to 378 in 2021. Much of this can likely be attributed to more trucks than trains, and a higher degree of external factors outside of the operators control existing on roads than rail. Either way, Bond said incident response for both is the same: identify, isolate and deny entry. While all hazmat incidents are different, he said firefighters apply the same training used in all responses: protect the public, protect firefighters, extinguish the fire. While trucks don’t come with material safety data sheets, there are ways to identify the type of cargo they are carrying. The Department of Transportation requires placards on vehicles with specific codes identifying the hazard class, a symbol for the type of hazard presented and a four-digit number identifying the product. If the placard can’t be read, Bond said they are able to identify the cargo via a “road trailer ID chart” which establishes possible cargos by the shape of the container. If that fails, the fallback is the “Mixed Load Unidentified Cargo” guide, what Bond called the “worst case scenario guide.” “At least we can narrow it down if we can’t immediately identify it,” he added. In a worst-case scenario where firefighters can’t immediately approach the truck — either from fire or chemical release — Bond said they use binoculars to identify the cargo.
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As with other hazmat incidents, all of this is done in coordination with other agencies, including Department of Ecology officials onsite and Spokane Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Response team. Rail ability to be proactive
While accidents happen and are often spectacular in nature, hauling hazardous materials via rail does provide better conditions for public safety — and more goods are being required to be shipped via this method. Using projections from the Federal Highway Administration (FRA), the Association of American Railroads reported in July 2019 that total freight shipments via rail would rise 35% by 2040 — up to 24.1 billion tons from 17.8 billion tons in 2017. According to a May 2021 Industrial Safety & Hygiene News story, much of this is attributed to “historically high levels” of oil and natural gas produced in the U.S. now required to be transported by rail. The increase means there are approximately over 3.1 billion tons of hazardous materials — including chlorine, anhydrous ammonia and other chemicals — hauled each year via rail. Even with the increase, rail accidents have steadily declined. According to the FRAs’ 2018 railsafety data, overall rates of all categories of rail accidents have fallen 26% since 2009, and over 48% for hazardous materials from 2008 – 2018, resulting in over 99.9% of hazmat shipments safely reaching their destination in 2018. Much of this comes from federal rail requirements for tech-enabled inspections, specialized equipment, upgrades to rolling stock such as tank cars, government oversight and operational modifications to jointly identify the safest and most secure rail routes for shipments — all requiring billions of dollars in upgrades.
Photo by John McCallum BNSF trian passing through Spokane Valley along the great northern corridor that connects Chicago to the Pacific coast is one of the two main rail lines that passes through Spokane Valley.
“Burlington Northern Santa Fe has made a significant investment in infrastructure, technology deployment, rigorous employee and first responder training, improved operating practices and community safety initiatives,” BNSF Railway General Director Public Affairs Lena Kent said in an email. Union Pacific officials also described similar measures undertaken for safety. “Union Pacific has a 24-hour, 365-days-year emergency critical center and a robust emergency management plan in place that is activated in the event of an emergency, See HAZARDS, Page 13
Photo by John McCallum Industrial materials are a potential hazard as our area continues to grow.