Investigating the risks of transporting hazardous materials in the southland

By KCAL-News Staff May 10, 2023 / 11:37 AM

By KCAL-News Staff

May 10, 2023 / 11:37 AM / KCAL News

The tanker accident in east Palestine, Ohio is igniting new concerns across the country about the dangers of hazardous materials moving through our communities.

They cross all states, including California and we wanted to investigate if traveling by railroad is really the biggest concern?

KCAL News Senior Reporter Ross Palombo dove into the data and looked at the number of hazardous incidents by railroads, highway, and air.

The data we uncovered shows most people think rail incidents are the riskiest, but the numbers show that of the three, there are much fewer hazardous rail incidents in the southland.

Many semi-truck tanker crashes have happened on Los Angeles Freeways causing massive infernos from burning gas, which sends emergency crews into action for careful hazmat cleanups.

One of the most expensive HAZMAT disasters in California history happened in Banning when a tractor-trailer overturned.

Firefighters were able to keep from 5,921 gallons of gasoline from igniting, but the spill still required heavy equipment to dig out 7,920 tons of contaminated soil costing $1,294,725.

Our analysis of more than 178,000 incidents over the last ten years reveals more than 51,000 were in-transit highway accidents. 707 of them totaling in excess of $24-million dollars.

Bob Richard, a former HAZMAT Deputy Administrator from the US Department of Transportation, says highways accidents are the biggest concern.

Our analysis of the DOT data shows there are 18-times fewer rail incidents than those on highways and those rail costs were 8-times less for cleanup and damages.

Bob Richard, HAZMAT Safety Consulting says, "there is over 2 million shipments of HAZMAT every day in the USA and most of that stuff is moving by highway."

Janet Schaaf-Gunter, San Pedro activist says, "hazardous rail transport is what keeps her moving."

The risk, she says, is in plain sight from San Pedro's Taper Avenue Elementary School.

Less than two thousand feet from where she's standing are two massive tanks capable of holding up to 25-million gallons of butane.

Although there has never been a catastrophic incident there, a USC graduate student is doing a case study on the site and recently describing its potential explosive danger as being on par with a nuclear bomb with a blast radius that could extend past 8 miles.

"We're talking the potential for an explosion beyond belief," said Schaaf-Gunter. An explosion, she believes, could also annihilate her nearby San Pedro home.

"It's really unfortunate that so few people really understand the hazards and high risks and jeopardy of the transport of hazardous materials," said Janet Schaaf-Gunter, San Pedro Activist.

Janet already lived through one accident that happened just feet from the tanks. It was a non-explosive collision between a train and truck. It's unclear exactly what they were carrying, but the incident ignited her curiosity about the risks.

Schaaf-Gunter said, "within 15-hundred feet of that Taper Avenue School it did not rupture the rail car, but it easily could have." She believes something will happen if nothing is done to stop it.

But, statistically, rail HAZMAT accidents are far below airline incidents.

In California, our analysis shows there were 914 air incidents in the last ten years. 78 of those were on passenger planes and 35 of those landed at Los Angeles International Airport.

There is a lot of concern about lithium batteries and on average across the country there is one battery incident per week in the sky.

Bob Richard with HAZMAT Safety Consulting says, "so when we say more than once a week, what's happening is they're occurring in the passenger compartment, where people are taking their cell phones and chargers…so very few in the cargo compartment."

We talked to one passenger who was onboard a United flight heading LAX when a battery started burning on board. The flight attendant knew exactly what to do, so no chaos on the flight broke out.

"The flight attendant grabbed it out of the guy's hand, threw it in a bin, tossed powder of some sort in, seals the bag quickly and puts inside the bathroom and locks the door," said Darrell Silver, United Passenger.

Data shows zero airline hazmat fatalities in the last ten years.

"The flight attendants are trained very well and there are emergency kits that are available to deal with it," said Richard.

That's why many believe there is more danger when traveling on the road.

Janet Schaaf-Gunter, San Pedro activist says, "I have a sense of urgency about Hazmat safety on our roads, and a sense of responsibility. I just want to make a difference."

Janet and other neighbors and parents are asking LAUSD to do a comprehensive risk analysis of the transport of things like butane or propane.

The owner of the site near Janet's home, Rancho LPG, says they've operated the facility safely for more than 40-years with ongoing local, state, and federal oversight.

"We are aware of inaccurate reports that have been circulated regarding the facility. However, third-party expert studies that properly account for the physical characteristics of the products stored and safety features in place demonstrate the facility is safe to operate. We remain committed to safe operations in the community," said Morgan Ash, Spokesperson for Rancho LPG.

The KCAL News Staff is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on KCALNews.com and CBSLA.com.

First published on May 10, 2023 / 11:37 AM

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