Leaking rail car not designed to handle contents

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/08/chemical....l.ap/index.html

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- A railroad tank car that leaked toxic fumes, forcing thousands of people from their homes, was not designed to hold the mixture of highly corrosive acids with which it had been filled, the car's owner said Monday.

Some 6,000 people were allowed to return home and highways were reopened Monday after crews pumped the hazardous brew of waste out of the tank car.

Tests showed the tank car had been filled with a mixture of acetic, hydrofluoric, phosphoric and sulfuric acids, which easily corroded the car's lining, said Louie Cononelos, a spokesman for Kennecott Utah Copper of Magna, Utah.

Cononelos said the car was supposed to be used only for hauling sulfuric acid.

The copper mining company owned the car, but Philip Services, a hazardous waste handler, had leased it, and was using it to haul waste belonging to its customers.

Philip Services spokesman Paul Schultz said the load complied with federal Transportation Department guidelines on the shipment of hazardous materials.

South Salt Lake Fire Chief Steve Foote said the incident could lead to a criminal investigation.

Officials said 6,000 gallons of liquid was pumped out of the car and it was believed about 6,500 gallons more had leaked and soaked into the ground. Contaminated soil will have to be neutralized with lime and removed, they said.

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I know its not of much relevance to most of us, but a good thing to keep in the back of your mind. People do make mistakes and had any of us been in that yard do you think you would have noticed the tanker bulging and leaking ??

i dont know. i was in a yard the other day and a car had been completely crushed and i noticed that so maybe. i would hope that most of the people on 12 would notice that there was bubbling metal and liquid pouring out of a car, its not normal and most people on here are pretty smart. so yeah. if nothing else i know pretty much everybody on here would noticed the pouring liquid part.

Just thought i would throw it out there, if you think most people would notice cool ... i dont agree fully but no worries.

Yeah if shit was pouring out you would think you would hear it, but how many people have died when a passing train snuk up on them. When i enter a yard i have a lot of things on my mind, and untill this the least of them would be a misfilled car dumping toxic waste.

so yeah ....

Hazmat leaks are pretty rare. I never sweat being around those cars. But if you do see one leaking, get the fuck out. There's plenty carrying toxic and flammable gases.

Hard to believe they mixed all those acids together. Acid mixtures are worse than single acids because one can act as a proton donor and let the other one attack at full strength, sort of like tying one hand behind your opponent's back. Somebody with no chemistry knowledge (or hazmat training) pulled that one.

And yes, you would have noticed that car leaking from a long way off because of the acrid stench irritating your eyes and lungs and nose and throat.

Haha I just reread the specific acids in the mix. That car was full of superstrong vinegar (acetic), glass etch concentrate(hydrofluoric), concentrated soda additive (phosphoric), and battery acid (sulfuric). Poor fella didn't stand a chance.

I used to have a TEXT file telling what all those # codes for different hazmat items stood for, so you could judge risk. I'll see if I can dig it up.....

Here are a few of the bad ones to be exposed to, although the list is farther from complete than I remember it being:

Fairly nasty / toxic / dangerous chems.

1715 Acetic Anhydride

2870 Aluminum Borohydride

1760 Aminopropyldiethanolamine

1112 Amyl Nitrate

1114 Benzene

1755 Chromic Acid Solution

1463 Chromium Trioxide, anhy

1889 Cyanogen Bromide

1154 Diethylamine

1779 Formic Acid

1787 Hydriodic Acid & Solutions

1788 Hydrobromic Acid & Solutions

1049 Hydrogen [compressed gas]

1966 Hydrogen [refrigerated liquid]

1048 Hydrogen Bromide anhy

2197 Hydrogen Iodide anhy

1221 Isopropylamine

1616 Lead Acetate

1415 Lithium

1410 Lithium Aluminum Hydride

1411 Lithium Aluminum Hydride ethereal

1412 Lithium Amide

1413 Lithium Borohydride

2010 Magnesium Hydride

1634 Mercuric Bromide

1624 Mercuric Chloride

1061 Methylamine anhy

1062 Methyl Bromide

1593 Methylene Chloride

2881 Nickel catalyst dry

1873 50-72% Perchloric Acid

1802 <50% Perchloric Acid

1870 Potassium Borohydride

1479 Potassium Dichromate

1428 Sodium

1426 Sodium Borohydride

1479 Sodium Dichromate

1427 Sodium Hydride

1831 Sulphuric Acid fuming

Really nasty shit:

0222 Ammonium Nitrate with more than .2% combustible materials

2017 Chemical Ammunition [irritant w/ no explosives]

2016 Chemical Ammunition [poisonous w/ no explosives]

1026 Cyanogen Gas

3245 Genetically Modified Microorganisms

9278 Genetically Modified Organisms

2016 Grenade poison gas w/out bursting mechanism

1051 Hydrogen Cyanide anhydrous stabilized

1613 Hydrogen Cyanide aqueous sol

3294 Hydrogen Cyanide sol in alchohol

2814 Infectious Substances affecting humans

1851 Medicines liquid toxic

2810 Medicines liquid poisonous

2811 Medicines solid poisonous

3249 Medicines solid toxic

1624 Mercuric Chloride

1636 Mercuric Cyanide

3064 1% to 5% Nitroglycerin in alchohol solution

2447 Phosophorous molten, white

1680 Potassium Cyanide

1689 Sodium Cyanide

1692 Strychnine

1693 Tear Gas substances or devices

2975 Thorium Metal pyrophoric

Be safe...

any one see mr. wizard when he made a volcano?

Mr. Wizard was the shit ^^ haha

Originally posted by Kirby p@Mar 10 2005, 09:30 AM

any one see mr. wizard when he made a volcano?

Quoted post

hahahahaha..i used to wake up at like 5am to watch that shit on nickelodeon

I used to have a paper copy of the list, but lost it. Before I lost it I memorized about 75% of the 2500 or so entries...hardcore geekism.

The nastiest shit I've seen in person:

1051 Hydrocyanic acid (This is the gas used in the gas chamber...and a lumber treatment.)

1052 Hydrogen fluoride, anhydrous (Take the active ingredient in etch bath. Remove all water to make it 100% concentrated. Turn it into a poison gas. Compress lots of it into a tank car. Scary. I honestly don't know what they build the tank car with that this stuff doesn't corrode.)

2186 Hydrogen chloride, refrigerated liquid (Same deal as 1052 but start with hydrochloric acid.)

1381 White or yellow phosphorus (Ignites spontaneously if exposed to...air.)

1162 Dimethyldichlorosilane (Flammable liquid; corrosive to skin; if you add water to it, it starts burning and gives off toxic fumes.)

1428 Sodium (This is the molten metal; if you add water it explodes.)

1017 Chlorine (Fairly common on the rails, but still one of the nastiest.)

1580 Chloropicrin (Puke dust; wafts easily in air, causing severe vomiting; can also explode but only if exposed to severe shock/heat combo, i.e. if the next tankcar in line just exploded.)

1040 Ethylene oxide (Super toxic gas...also super flammable.)

Now that I think about it, I've seen almost every one of these rolling in New Jersey.

The hardest one to memorize was 3-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-4-pyrrolidin-1-yl benzenediazonium zinc chloride. In fact, I forgot the number - maybe 3035 or around there.

Here's a weird tidbit: a NIOSH guide to hazardous chemicals describes phosgene gas (1076; COCl2) as having an odor like musty hay. Then they say that the odor threshhold (the point at which you can smell it) is HIGHER than the lethal dose.

So how did they know what it smells like without dying? I can see the lab experiment now: one brave test subject volunteers his life to find out. They put him in a miked room, pump it full of phosgene, and yell "Quick! What does it smell like?" And just before he keels over he grabs his throat and croaks, "Musty...hay..."

:yuck: :spent: :burn:

yo cracked that last post was funny shit....i work with alot of acids at work shit is no joke hydrochloric is dangerous shit u inhale it and u cant breathe it has a cloudy look to it when it hits air..i cannot believe all those acids were mixed and noone was hurt...

Originally posted by Cracked Ass@Mar 15 2005, 05:37 PM

Now that I think about it, I've seen almost every one of these rolling in New Jersey.

Quoted post

they don't call it "the chemical coast" for nothing..haha

1052 Hydrogen fluoride, anhydrous (Take the active ingredient in etch bath. Remove all water to make it 100% concentrated. Turn it into a poison gas. Compress lots of it into a tank car. Scary. I honestly don't know what they build the tank car with that this stuff doesn't corrode.)

It is nearly as dangerous in etch bath form, but more insidious of a poison, causing very low to severe neurological and bone structure damage depending on the amount exposed to. A couple drops on your hands could cause slight degredation of the nervous system.

Even that concentrated shit isn't going to kill you instantly, it's going to suck ass for awhile before you get to die.

I believe it needs to be packed in teflon coated stainless containers, it'll corrode damn near anything.

Perchloric acid (HClO4) is some nasty shit too. If you're ever unfortunate enough to witness it leaking onto flammable or organic material, or any non steel metal, I'd strongly suggest getting the fuck out of there. It is fond of exploding in these conditions.

that shit was in my area yo