Transportation Chemical Incidents – Week of 4-27-24

Reporting Background

See this post for explanation, with the most recent update here (removed from paywall).

Data from PHMSA’s online database of transportation related chemical incidents that have been reported to the agency.

Incidents Summary

• Number of incidents – 471 (403 highway, 66 air, 2 rail, water 0)

• Serious incidents – 1 (1 Bulk release, 0 evacuation, 2 injury, 0 death, 0 major artery closed, 1 fire/explosion). The ‘fire’ incident was for a damaged cell phone on an aircraft that was treated as a fire risk because it was ‘bulging’, there was no actual fire. NOTE: There were actually two ‘fire’ incident entries in the database this week, but they were for the same incident.

• Largest container involved – 31,770-gal DOT 111A100W railcar {Heptanes} Damaged manway gasket. 1-gal leaked.

• Largest amount spilled – 6,000-gal (Other Regulated Substances, Liquid, N.O.S.) Valve damaged. Very limited data available.

NOTE: Links above are to the Form 5800.1 for the described incidents.

Most Interesting Chemical: Tetraethyl Silicate: A clear colorless liquid with a faint odor. Flash point 99°F. Less dense than water. Vapors are heavier than air. Inhalation of vapor causes eye and nose irritation, unsteadiness, tremors, salivation, respiratory difficulty, and unconsciousness. In confined spaces this could become an asphyxiation risk.

NOTE: This reporting is being moved from Saturday to Friday so that I can provide incident report links.