Chemical hauling routes keep LV on alert

Diana Sahagun

Sunday, July 16, 2000 | 10:17 a.m.

While there has been a focus in recent months on the dangers associated with transporting low-level nuclear waste, Las Vegas Valley officials say the transportation of non-nuclear hazardous waste poses a greater danger.

There are requirements for transporting hazardous materials, but there are no rules limiting them to set routes as there are with nuclear waste.

Carriers of everyday hazardous chemicals may creep through crowded city streets, zoom along on highways passing through or over towns or pass by on any railroad tracks unless there is opposition from governments.

A spill from a tanker truck hauling hydrochloric acid could catch fire in an instant, sending cars scurrying and forcing neighborhoods to evacuate.

Officials with the U.S. Department of Transportation say 500,000 shipments of hazardous waste rumble through the United States daily, many thousands more than there are of low-level nuclear waste.

Locally officials admit they don't know on a day-to-day basis just how many shipments of hazardous materials or what types travel through the Las Vegas Valley.

In recent months there has been a focus on low-level nuclear waste, following a U.S. Department of Energy report revealing that the waste is being taken through North Las Vegas, Henderson, Hoover Dam and the Spaghetti Bowl on the way to the Nevada Test Site.

City officials are fuming over the report, but as UNLV hazardous materials safety officer Courtney Kerr points out, there should be even more fear when you take a look at what else travels through the city on any given day.

Materials in any shopping center can be considered hazardous -- household bleach, acetone, even gasoline. And the only way they can get to the shelves is through the city's streets and highways. "We get all up in arms about low-level (nuclear) waste or high-level waste," Kerr said. "But compared with shipments of more run-of-the-mill hazardous wastes, if I had the choice between the two, I'd take the low-level."

Hazardous materials can be more dangerous because there are more trucks on the road, and if there is a spill, there is a good chance they will catch fire, he said.

All that is needed for a major problem is one leak with one spark.

Although the Nevada Highway Patrol does not track just how many tanker trucks drive through the city, the agency issues about 1,000 permits a year to companies trucking the hazardous waste, said James Rhode, an NHP administrator. But those companies can have an infinite number of trucks per permit, he said.

Before granting the permit, NHP reviews the company's operating history, training procedures and what types of accidents it has had in the past.

The drivers are not required to reveal what specifically they are shipping or in what quantity when they register, Rhode said.

Instead, the driver must carry papers identifying the material and who to contact in case of an emergency. Also, the truck or tanker must be placarded with the hazardous insignia.

Although there is no database detailing the kinds of chemicals on the road, a Nevada Department of Transportation accident report reveals that chemicals such as sulfuric acid, adhesives, paint, gasoline, ethanol and methanol, and other combustible liquids have been involved.

According to NDOT, there were 4,087 hazardous incidences in the United States from 1997-1998, the year with the most complete numbers, said Patricia Klinger, a spokesman with the department.

Twenty-five of those incidences were in Nevada, causing $424,820 worth of damages.

Kerr said the threat of a spill is even greater than an accident involving a nuclear train, because of the dangers if they are accidentally released.

Sulfuric acid is commonly used in car batteries, but if released, it can be corrosive, cause skin burns and release harmful vapors, Kerr said.

Ethanol and methanol, both alcohols, are flammable. Hydrochloride, a swimming pool chemical, is corrosive, causes burns and also has harmful vapors.

Kerr says so much emphasis is placed on nuclear waste because the subject is "emotional and politically based." He added that more research needs to be based on science, not emotions.

"The amount of radioactive waste transported through the city is minimal compared to the other hazardous materials," he said.

Tom Maruyama, supervisor for San Mateo County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services in Northern California, shares Kerr's sentiments.

"If you look at the majority of nuclear fuel that is shipped, the vessels are very secure," Maruyama said. "When looking at how (hazardous) chemicals are shipped, they're in vehicles that get into accidents all over the place, and the likelihood of having a spill is pretty great."

Locally, officials and preservation groups are hoping to get a handle on just how many shipments are coming through the Las Vegas Valley every day and how those shipments will affect the fight to keep high-level nuclear waste from heading through the city to Yucca Mountain.

Fred Dilger, principal planner for Clark County's hazardous waste division, said those risks need to be evaluated because the valley is being eyed as a transportation route to Yucca Mountain.

"This issue is relevant for nuclear waste because of the cumulative nature," he said. "You have tanker trucks in the field with jet fuel, add to the mix the transporting of low-level and high-level waste and it becomes a very big deal."

The DOE has targeted Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as the nation's dump for 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste. If the site passes scientific muster, radioactive spent fuel rods and weapons material could start rolling through the valley as soon as 2010.

Dilger hopes a study by the Regional Transportation Commission will help identify the number of trucks or freighters carrying hazardous materials. Those numbers could throw some weight behind the fight to keep nuclear waste out, he said.

The RTC study, starting in the fall and lasting for 18 months, will focus on congestion and traffic flow, but a portion will monitor freights, tankers and railroad transports and categorize what they are carrying, said Bruce Turner, RTC planner.

Jane Feldman, a volunteer with the local Sierra Club, said the hazardous waste issue is on the list of 25 projects the organization hopes to tackle in the coming years.

"Transportation of hazardous waste is an issue that is important and deserves oversight and monitoring and citizen involvement," she said.

When there is a hazardous incident in the city -- even if it is just due to the improper mixing of household materials -- the hazmat teams are ready.

The Las Vegas Fire Department's hazmat division has 42 members and the Clark County Fire Department's has 24. The two departments provide valley-wide coverage.

In addition to fire engines, ladder trucks, and ambulances, the hazmat divisions have hazardous materials equipment trucks, which have everything from computers to air monitors.

Last year there were 387 hazardous material responses by the Las Vegas hazmat team, but the numbers are not broken up into how many were transport-related, fire department spokesman Tim Szymanski said. Most involved the improper mixing of household materials.

Special $1,500 impermeable suits protect the crews. They come equipped with a special breathing tank and can only be used once.

"When people talk about hazardous materials, they're thinking of tanker trucks on the interstate," Szymanski said. "We have not had anything like that that I can recall," in the last four years.

Szymanski said the the transportation of hazardous waste remains "a subject we continue to follow and evaluate, in order to better understand how to keep the roadways safe, and what to do if there is an accident."