Hazardous goods accident
A dangerous accident or hazardous material accident is a loss event in which hazardous materials and transportation unintentionally in such quantities in the environment reach or impact that it harmful to humans, animals, environment or material values ( loss event ).
For chemical accidents in stationary plants (factories), see chemical disasters .
Problem
Even small amounts of certain substances (e.g. radioactive substances ) require a great deal of effort to recover them safely and dispose of them properly. In addition, it may not only be necessary to decontaminate (“disinfect”) the people and objects that have come into direct contact with the substance, but also the entire environment. If necessary, the soil and parts of the building must also be removed and properly disposed of after treatment.
Two different substances that are harmless on their own can create a completely different dimension of hazard if they react with one another. For example, water cannot be used as an extinguishing and cooling agent for all substances, as it would cause an additional reaction. These substances can be identified by the X in the top line of the hazard sign.
In the event of accidents involving dangerous goods, there is not only a risk to the population and the environment but also to the emergency services. Depending on the substance, this can be a fire or explosion hazard and / or a risk to life and limb (e.g. poisoning, chemical burns).
Since not all substances are retained by normal turnout gear, special suits are often necessary for sealing and recovery, depending on the risk group . For reasons of cost and maintenance, these only have the larger fire brigades , which are also specially trained for GSG operations in general and equipped with special resources.
consequences
The following selected examples are intended to illustrate the possible consequences of accidents involving dangerous goods:
Railway accident in Lausanne
On June 29, 1994, two cistern wagons loaded with epichlorohydrin overturned in the freight yard in Lausanne , Switzerland . One of the cars was leaking, the other was leaking from the manhole . The population in the area was asked to close the apartments tightly and to turn off the ventilation; 63 people in the vicinity were evacuated. The fight against the accident lasted five days and also claimed lightly injured people among the emergency services according to BUWAL .
Derailment and fire in Elsterwerda
In November 1997, a freight train carrying petrol tankers derailed at Elsterwerda station due to a brake failure and much too high speed. In the major fire that followed, half of the cars burned out, and gasoline also seeped into the ground and the sewer system. Two firefighters died in an explosion and others were burned.
Truck collision in the Tauern tunnel
In the collision in the Tauern tunnel in May 1999, 12 people were killed and 50 were injured when a truck loaded with paint was involved in a rear-end collision. The cargo exploded and the fire spread extremely quickly to 24 other vehicles in the tunnel due to the nature of the dangerous goods.
Bad Münder railway accident
A head-on collision between two freight trains in September 2002 also resulted in the release of epichlorohydrin . When the emergency services were examined after the accident, elevated liver values were found in every sixth person. Inadequate protective equipment was identified as the cause.
Viareggio railway accident
On June 29, 2009, a freight train wagon filled with liquefied gas derailed near the Viareggio train station (northern Italy) and exploded. The explosion and the major fire that developed from it caused severe damage and devastation in the city and killed 26 people. Several houses collapsed.
Truck accident on the A7 near Göttingen
On December 19, 2014, a hazardous goods transporter loaded with aluminum phosphide had an accident on the A7 motorway near Göttingen , causing the truck to catch fire and killing a driver. Was formed monophosphane which ignites at 150 ° C and to phosphoric acid oxidized. As a result, the A7 motorway was completely closed for hours.
Assistance
An accident involving dangerous goods requires the intervention of professional aid organizations that are specially equipped to combat the effects. Sources of information for the emergency services are:
- The ERI card ,
- The TUIS system (transport accident information and assistance system of the chemical industry in Germany and Austria),
- The ICE program (in many Western European countries).
Help is provided by:
- Fire brigade including works and company fire brigades , in particular dangerous goods and hazardous goods trains ,
- Disaster control units of aid organizations ,
- Technical relief organization (only in Germany ),
- TUIS or ICE ,
- Environmental authorities , environmental agencies or comparable institutions,
- private companies and specialist firms.
Outside of Germany, there are usually additional private aid companies (for containing, pumping out and transferring dangerous goods) and special government units for disaster control , in addition to the regular aid organizations and fire brigades .
Effects
The possible effects include:
- Damage to health for people and animals in the vicinity of the accident site,
- Damage to the environment (e.g. poisoning of drinking water , contamination of the air, damage to plants, etc.),
- Material damage in the neighborhood,
- Infrastructural damage (blocked traffic routes and the like).
See also
- List of disasters , List of major fire disasters , List of largest man-made, non-nuclear explosions
- Environmental disaster
literature
- Lothar Schott, Manfred Ritter: Fire Brigade Basic Course FwDV 2 . 20th edition. Wenzel-Verlag, Marburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-88293-220-1 .
- Fire service regulation FwDV 500.
Individual evidence
- ^ A. Thierbach: Lexicon of emergency medicine . Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-642-56305-8 , pp. 168 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ Siegfried Kreth: Training program for the transport of dangerous goods, general and bulk goods drivers . Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-662-12980-7 , pp. 23 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ H. Dorias: Dangerous goods properties, handling, storage and transport. A textbook . Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-662-07396-4 , pp. 137 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ a b c CEFIC: ERI cards . W. Kohlhammer Verlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-019512-7 , pp. 14 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Hans Kemper: Implementation of the ABC mission (specialist knowledge of the fire brigade) . ecomed-Storck GmbH, 2014, ISBN 978-3-609-69348-4 , p. 92 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ Jack Doyle: Trespass Against Us: Dow Chemical's Legacy of Profit and Pollution . Common Courage Press, 2004, ISBN 1-56751-269-0 , pp. 340 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ Tauern tunnel fire in the Salzburgwiki.
- ↑ SPIEGEL-Online from December 19, 2014 - accessed on December 22, 2014
- ↑ FOCUS-Online from December 19, 2014 - accessed on December 22, 2014
- ↑ Andreas Bräutigam, Ulrich Cimolino, Holger de Vries: Leadership in large-scale incidents tactical associations in action . ecomed-Storck GmbH, 2010, ISBN 978-3-609-77485-5 ( limited preview in the Google book search).