Environmental Effect of Transporting Hazardous Materials, Research Paper Example

Hazardous materials have become crucial elements of the growth and development of industries and crucial sectors of the economy. As such, the safe transportation of these materials from one point to another is critical to the success of the economy. The four modes of transportation, road, rail, water air and pipeline, are employed in the transportation of hazardous materials. While each mode has its own associated advantages, there are certain underlying risks in their use that have to be taken into consideration prior to their use. The occurrence of these risks has numerous implications on the logistics and supply chain, economy, flora and fauna.

Accidents that occur while in transit or at a fixed station or installation entail;

• chemical leakage
• chemical spillage
• chemical overheating
• escape of gas or vapor
• fire
• explosion(National Environmental Agency, 2015)

Despite these numerous number of triggers, the most common triggers are collision and fire.

Road and Rail Transportation

Risks in the transportation of hazardous materials lies at the point where there can occur a release, ignition, or any form of event that may catalyze its reaction to the surrounding environment. The risks that are involved in road and rail transportation are caused by triggers that can cause damage to the containment unit of the hazardous material. These risks can usually occur at the point of loading, unloading or when in transit (Manuele, 2008). However, most of the accidents tend to occur en route. The occurrence of risks in road and rail transport mostly affect the environment and the population in close proximity to the road and/or rail. The most common areas that are associated with high risks include stopover and service points for vehicles and trains. These include lorry parking sections and railway marshalling yards.

Marine Transportation

Risks associated with marine transportation are usually compounded by the nature of the medium of transport. Water is an essential aspect of life on the planet. As such, the quality of water largely influences the quality of life within a given geo-location. Most of the risks associate with marine transportation of hazardous materials are found at the points of entry and exit in ports. The loading and discharging bays have also been found to be high risk areas for the occurrence of damage to the containment unit of the hazardous material. Traffic in inland waterways, coast and straits have also been found to bear risk factors when transporting hazardous materials.

Pipeline Transportation

Pipeline offer a generally safer method of transporting hazardous materials. However, in the case of the occurrence of a risk incidence, the potential damage could be significant. The worst case scenario in the case of pipelines is the occurrence of a leakage in an area of isolation, or even worse in conjunction with other incidents (Otago Regional Council, 2007).

Generally Accepted Regulations

The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA)

In the United States the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (1975) (HMTA) regulates the transportation of hazardous materials. This act gives power to the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to develop and enact laws and regulations to ensure the safe transportation of any hazardous material within the United States.

The Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act (1990) (HMTUSA)

This act was developed in 1990 to provide clarification on a number of federal, local and state regulations that were largely conflicting. This act also gives power to the Secretary of Transportation to disseminate the regulations that govern the transportation of hazardous materials in foreign commerce, interstate and intrastate scenarios. This regulation mainly ensures that there is uniformity in the regulations between neighboring states, especially pertaining to local and state highway routing regulations.

The Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material (1985)

This set of regulations embody and international agreement that covered the control and regulation of the standards pertaining to the transportation of radioactive material. The standard essentially determines the level of radiation that is acceptable to flora and fauna during the transit process.

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (1974) (SOLAS 74)

This is set of accepted international standards that describe the basic safety requirements for cargo and passenger ships, including those carrying hazardous substances.

Effects of the Transportation of Hazardous Materials

The transportation of hazardous materials bears a number of inherent risks that have to be taken into consideration. The occurrence of these risks has potential implications on the environment, personnel transporting the hazardous materials, bystanders and on life form within the vicinity of the accident. However, this is largely dependent on the nature of and characteristics of the hazardous material in question. While other materials may have minimal impact on the flora and fauna, others, such as radioactive material have far reaching implications that are long-term.

Goodyear Heat Exchanger Rupture Case Study

Accidents are almost always caused by an unsafe surrounding where the conditions are generally or specifically unsafe. Most investigators look at human error because they hold the general principle that unsafe conditions are as a result of unsafe acts. According to CCOHS, most accidents that appear to be straight forward have an array of causes. This principle holds for the explosion at the Goodyear Houston plant. The accident can be dissected into two main areas. Both direct and indirect systemic and human resource failures led to the explosion. This was the first problematic areas. The second problematic area was the emergency response. Both these events can be considered as one event, however, it is important that they be considered as two separate events to ensure that the direct and indirect causes are identified distinctively.

The Explosion

One of the plant’s anhydrous ammonia heat exchangers experienced an accumulation of steam when undergoing maintenance and cleaning. This was due to one of the block valves closing, therefor insulating the heat exchanger from the pressure control valve. This caused the block valve to fail in expelling the pressure before the pressure reached precarious levels. Owing to the repair procedure carried out on heat exchanger. This repair directly caused the closure of the isolation valve even after the repair procedure. This is the element of human error. The direct cause of the explosion incident was the accumulation of steam inside one of the anhydrous ammonia heat exchangers. This was also partly due to the closure of two relief valves. Owing to the fact that these direct causes of the explosion were due to a “less than adequate design or operations practices”, they are a small section of the causal chain (Manuele, 2008). They are therefore categorized as task performance causal factors.

References

CBS. (2011). Heat Exchanger Rupture and Ammonia Release in Houston, Texas (One Killed, Six Injured). Houston, TX: U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.

CCOHS. (2006, April 20). Accident Investigation. Retrieved from Candian Center for Occupational Health and Safety: http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/investig.html#_1_4

City of Pacifica. (2011). Environmental Impact Analysis. Pacifica: City of Pacifica. Retrieved June 18, 2015, from http://www.cityofpacifica.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=4352

Gov.UK. (2015, January 10). Managing hazardous substances. Retrieved June 18, 2015, from Northern Ireland Business Info: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/transporting-hazardous-substances

Manuele, F. A. (2008). Advanced Safety Management: focusing on Z10 and Serious Injury Prevention. Hoboken: Wiley-Interscience.

National Environmental Agency. (2015, January 20). Hazardous Substances. Retrieved June 18, 2015, from National Environmental Agency: http://www.nea.gov.sg/anti-pollution-radiation-protection/chemical-safety/hazardous-substances

Otago Regional Council. (2007). Hazardous Substances and Hazardous Waste. In Otage Regonal Council, Regional Plan: Waste (pp. 59-82). Otago Regional Council. Retrieved June 18, 2015, from http://www.orc.govt.nz/Documents/Publications/Regional/Waste/6.%20Hazardous%20Substances%20and%20Hazardous%20Wastes.pdf

The NZ Transport Agency. (2012, September 6). Andrew Murray Transportation Evidence. The NZ Transport Agency Proposal for the MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway. Wellington, New Zealand: Chapman Tripp. Retrieved June 18, 2015, from http://www.epa.govt.nz/Publications/Andrew%20Murray%20-%20Transportation%20Evidence.pdf