Ready for Anything

The safety record for hazmat on the rails is excellent, but accidents still happen. How well are those responsible for safe hazmat transport, as well as first-responders, prepared?

Citing a forecast from the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported in October 2020 that total railroad freight shipments in the U.S. will rise from 18.6 billion tons in 2018 to an estimated 24.1 billion tons by 2040, a 30% increase. A good portion of this growth is being driven by the historically high levels of oil and natural gas that is being produced and transported in the U.S., creating a need for more shipping of crude oil by rail. 

Since crude oil and natural gas are considered hazardous materials (hazmat), there are now approximately 3.1 billion tons of hazardous materials—which also commonly include chlorine, anhydrous ammonia, ethylene oxide and sulfur dioxide—transported by long-haul rail in the U.S. each year. Even with this growth in long-haul rail transport, railroads remain one of the safest ways to transport both hazardous and nonhazardous materials.

According to Federal Railroad Administration 2018 rail safety data, the overall rates for train accidents—equipment-caused, track-caused, derailments and employee injuries per million train-miles—have declined by as much as 26% since 2009, depending on the category. 

More specifically, between 2008 and 2018, the hazmat accident rate fell by 48%. In 2018, more than 99.999% of rail hazmat shipments reached their destination without a release caused by an incident.

These heartening statistics are much more than a happy coincidence. They are the manifestation of the railroad industry making a strong commitment to ensuring  that its infrastructure and rolling stock are up to date and in top working order, that all regulations regarding hazmat hauling are steadfastly observed, and that its employees are properly trained.

Accidents Will Happen

The railroad industry has a goal of one day becoming accident-free. If this operational nirvana is ever to be achieved, railroad operators must be familiar with the risks inherent in hazmat handling, and the ways that they can lessen the chances that an incident involving hazmat release will occur.

There are three primary potential risks every time a train laden with hazmat pulls away from the depot:

• Accident: Accidents are the hardest thing for railway operators to protect against since their rate of occurrence can be capricious, and they are often caused by external factors that are entirely out of the operator’s control. These can range from an automobile or truck that has attempted to “beat the train to the grade crossing” to a tree that may have fallen across the tracks during a passing storm.

• Mechanical Failure: This category encompasses all leaks and other releases from malfunctioning or improperly secured pressurized railcar pressure-relief devices, valves, couplings, hoses, fittings and tank shells.

• Operator Error: Human beings are fallible creatures that are susceptible—no matter their level of conscientiousness or training—to making mistakes. So, all those in charge of handling railroad hazmat cars must take every precaution necessary to ensure that every coupling is attached properly and every valve is closed properly, before, during and after every railcar loading or unloading.

A Friend to First Responders

Despite the next-generation design and operation of railcars and their ancillary components, the high-level training that rail personnel receive, the attention paid to guaranteeing that the railway infrastructure is in good working order and stricter regulations governing hazmat transport, the next hazmat release incident is always looming. 

To ensure that the sometimes inevitable doesn’t become the next catastrophic, headline-generating hazmat release incident, railcar equipment manufacturers have developed Emergency Response Kits (ERKs) that are marketed to fire departments, emergency response contractors, railway dangerous goods officers and other organizations that employ first responders tasked with responding to railroad accidents or non-accidental releases (NARs).

One of the companies that has taken the lead in the development of ERKs is Midland Manufacturing, based in Skokie, Ill. Its B-240/B-243 Emergency Response Kit has been developed to give emergency responders three easy-to-use cover assemblies and a carrying case that contains all of the tools and parts needed to quickly and safely cap hazmat leaks emanating from the top of pressurized railcars in the event of an accident or NAR incident.

A typical ERK consists of a toolbox containing a broad range of tools and replacement parts; cover cans of five different sizes that are used to cap a leaking valve or fitting, along with corresponding gaskets; and a bridge that is used to secure a cover can to the railcar’s manway cover plate. Knowing the importance of the ERK’s components being able to perform reliably in high-leverage situations, all of the tools are highly engineered and designed to be durable no matter the pressures, product flows and general abuse they are subject to during a hazmat release incident.

As with any product, ERK users are only as proficient in their use as the level of training they receive. With that in mind, the providers of ERKs offer training classes and videos that are formatted to make the user capable of performing confidently during the most dangerous release incidents.

In fact, it is recommended that all first responders practice using the components in the ERK at least twice a year, and if possible, train with an actual hazmat railcar as a way to better-familiarize themselves with the railcar’s components and where things can go wrong. The ultimate goal is for first responders to feel as comfortable as possible with the ERK and its components and capabilities long before they ever have to use it.

Troy Scarrow is Regional Marketing Manager for Midland Manufacturing, which specializes in equipment for pressurized and general purpose rail tank cars, chemical cargo tanks and tank containers, including bottom and top loading/unloading valves, pressure relief valves, level gauge device and monitoring equipment. Troy can be contacted by email at [email protected]. Midland is part of OPW, itself part of Dover Corp. More information can be found at midlandmfg.com.