PBS NOW Outlines Risk Of Terror Attack On HAZMAT Transportation

The PBS show, NOW, a video news magazine, offered a special segment on the risks of our transportation infrastructure, especially those tankers, trucks and railcars carrying hazardous materials (HAZMAT) near and around our large metropolitan areas. While I have touted these issues before, the experts being interveiewed by NOW--and offering just as bleak a view on the topic as I have in the past--are people that have worked at the highest levels of government, including DHS, CIA, DOT and the US Military. There is a video podcast available.

However, some of the statements from the web site are striking as well:

In the nearly four years since 9/11, the U.S. government has failed to upgrade security standards for the nation's chemical plants and refineries—terror targets some say present the greatest possibility of mass casualties. NOW investigates charges of unsafe practices at a large petrochemical plant in Louisiana, examining its history of accidents and the health effects of routine emissions. With chemical plant security legislation stalled in Congress, the report looks at how one refinery near New Orleans could endanger over one million people and explores what steps haven't been taken to make this facility and America's other plants safer.

The London bombings have put America's vulnerability to terrorist attack at the top of the national discussion this week. NOW regular contributor Christine Todd Whitman, who was running the EPA when President Bush designated it as having the lead in chemical site security, examines the job currently being done by the government. "There is no mandate that says these companies have to do things any better than they're doing," she says.

The folks at PBS were kind enough to offer a list of the most hazardous materials:

Ammonia (gas): A colorless gas with a strong odor. Used for: Making fertilizer, plastics, dyes, textiles, detergents and pesticides.

Risks: Acute ammonia exposure can cause skin irritation; burn the eyes, resulting in temporary or permanent blindness; and cause headaches, nausea and vomiting. High levels can cause fluid in the respiratory system, which can cause death. Chronic exposure damages the lungs.

Substitute: Available. Several companies have switched from gas ammonia to liquid ammonia, a safer alternative. Manhattan Products of Carlstadt, NJ, a mid-sized manufacturer of household ammonia cleaners is one company that made the switch. The change created a safer workplace and eliminated the chance of a toxic release affecting many of 160,000 people who live within the facility's former vulnerability zone, according to a report by the Center for American Progress.

In 1991 a five alarm fire onboard the OMNISEA fish processing boat threatened to release up to 12,000 pounds of ammonia into the environment from a Seattle pier. (Image courtesy of NOAA)

Ammonia is used in all kinds of industry, including any operation using refrigeration plants, fertilizers, and food processing.

Chlorine (gas): A greenish-yellow gas with a strong odor.

Used for: Making disinfectant chemicals in bleaching products and for purifying water and sewage.

Risks: Acute exposure to chlorine can severely burn the eyes and skin, causing permanent damage, and may cause throat irritation, tearing, coughing, nose bleeds, chest pain, fluid build-up in the lungs and death. A single high exposure can permanently damage the lungs. Chronic exposure can damage the teeth and irritate the lungs causing respiratory problems.

Substitute: Available. Many water utilities have switched from chlorine gas to ultraviolet light for water treatment. The use of ultraviolet light eliminates the hazards of transporting and working with chlorine gas.

In 2005, two transport trains collided in Graniteville, SC, releasing at least 90 tons of chlorine gas into the air. At least 250 people were treated for chlorine exposure and the nearby area was evacuated for nearly two weeks.

The estimates offered by experts interviewed by NOW indicated that a cloud of chlorine gas around a major city would kill at least 100,000 within minutes (immediate victims with 7 seconds of release) of the incident.

Hydrogen Fluoride: A corrosive colorless fuming liquid or gas with a strong irritating odor.

Used for: Making other chemicals, including gasoline, and for etching glass.

Risks: Breathing hydrogen fluoride causes extreme respiratory irritation, including cough, fever, chills and tightness, which may be fatal. Contact can burn the skin and eyes badly, resulting in permanent eye damage or blindness. Long term exposure may damage the liver and kidneys, and cause other illnesses.

Substitute: Available. Two-thirds of the refineries in the U.S. already use safer alternatives to hydrogen fluoride such as sulfuric acid, which is less dangerous but not danger free. Paul Orum, of the Center for American Progress said many companies have not switched because of high costs associated with using sulfuric acid.

The experts cited the Union Carbide incident at Bhopal, India as an example of the extent of damage, injuries and deaths that would be caused by an incident involving a truck, tanker or railcar carrying these and other chemicals. One of the experts was an Ohio law enforcement official charged with inspecting railways and railcars traveling through Ohio. He indicated that the security for the railways was "Woefully inadequate."

The White House has produced a memorandum on making the security of our HAZMAT transportation systems a top priority, but have failed to set any standards for such security, failed to fund any security or inspection programs, failed to provide federal personnel, and has designated all efforts to make our transportation HAZMAT infrastructure completely voluntary. Although there is a federal program that will result in a multi-million dollar video surveillance system for the rail yards just outside Washington, DC, the system will not be complete for a few more years. As I have reported before, this approach of throwing money and technology at the problem without properly designing and layering security efforts is fruitless and futile... an assessment that was shared by the NOW experts.

There is an interview transcript with Stephen Flynn available at the NOW web site:

Stephen Flynn is a senior fellow at the Council in Foreign Relations. He served as an adviser for the bipartisan U.S. Commission on National Security and is a former Coast Guard Commander.

Flynn's credentials are impressive and his experience in planning for terrorist attacks and HAZMAT incidents is well-established. Read the interview... It might scare the crap out of you.

In the meantime, some suggestions for what we can do are outlined below, thanks to PBS/NOW.

Action Steps: Hazardous Materials Transport

Citizens don't have to sit and wait in fear for a tragic accident or terrorist attack involving dangerous cargo. There are steps you can take to better educate yourselves and others with the goal of putting pressure on those who make and enforce the rules of transporting hazardous materials.

While "writing your congressman" often seems like a pointless exercise, real action can occur at the local level. According to Fred Millar, an expert on the transportation of hazardous materials, six cities have introduced local re-routing ordinances to decrease the amount of harm caused by accidents and attacks on trucks and trains carrying hazardous cargo. They are Cleveland; Baltimore, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C.

Here are some action steps worth considering:

1. Find out more about hazardous materials transport in your area. Contact the following for information on the extent and location of hazardous rail transportation in your area:

The Right to Know Network: The RKN provides access to environmental databases as well as the ability to search for toxic pollution in your area.

Your local railroad operators

Your local Fire Chief, Emergency Management Agency

Your Emergency Planning Committee: Raise the issue and find out if they know the volumes and worst case scenarios of the shipments. Ask if any agency reviews the chemical shippers and carriers' security plans.

Your local chemical company facility managers: You can get a list of chemical companies from your local Emergency Planning Committee's most recent plan. Millar suggests asking what they ship and receive and what they know about other shippers and carriers in the area. Ask each company if it has a policy for re-routing its hazardous cargoes around target cities. Under the community-right-to-know act, chemical plants are required to disclose their worst-case scenarios for accidents.

2. Put together a committee of citizens and organizations who assert their right to know what risks there are due to such the storage and transportation of hazardous materials in general. Strong members of the committee would be:

Emergency responders, including members of hazardous materials teams.

Hospitals with emergency rooms that might have to handle mass casualties.

School administrators, PTA members, and teachers.

Arenas, sports complexes or other facilities which host thousands of people.

Media professionals who know how to reach newspapers and local media outlets

3. Make demands on local officials for re-assessment of:

The "acceptable risk" for the community in a time of heightened terrorism risk awareness

Security measures and safety locations appropriate for the locale

4. Consider introducing an ordinance to your city or county council to reduce risk, including the re-routing of the most dangerous cargoes away from the most sensitive areas. Millar advocates such the following strategy:

Once you have learned about the issue, have the facts at hand, and have a group of allies to support your cause, introduce the proposed ordinance.

After the ordinance is introduced, a public hearing is likely. If a public hearing is scheduled, arrange for strong witnesses to testify and rally supporters to attend the hearing.

The issue will then move to a vote. It is a separate political decision to go forward with enactment of the ordinance. Millar says it is likely that the railroad will threaten the city with a lawsuit.