Houston Drills Its Safety Crews To Handle Hazmat Accidents

HOUSTON – It is a call all safety directors dread: One of their trucks carrying hazardous materials has been in an accident and its contents are spilling onto the road.

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When such an incident occurs in the Houston area, it activates a series of alerts to various local emergency response groups that descend on the scene ready to evaluate the situation, remove the injured, redirect traffic and clean up the mess.

During the lulls, crews hone their skills with periodic drills that take on a real-life air. One was held recently to help evaluate the actions of all participating parties.

It is early Saturday morning and a chemical company parks a tanker filled with water on a suburban highway. A few minutes later, a tow truck arrives with a pickup truck donated by a junkyard. Workers quickly shove the pickup’s twisted carcass under the tanker, wedging it between the tractor and trailer.

A tanker company representative releases a valve, allowing a small trickle of water to splatter onto the pavement below, starting a chain-reaction of events. The dripping fluid is the signal to place calls to the nearest volunteer fire department, the Houston Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Team and a large network of emergency responders.

For the full story, see the Aug. 28 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.