By Vance Bennett
We often take for granted the various pieces of equipment we use, practices we follow and response tactics we use. Where did they come from? They don’t just pop up out of nowhere.
In most cases, something bad happened and someone said, “We need to fix this.”
These types of seminal events share some common characteristics.
1. They occur at inconvenient locations and at inconvenient times.
2. They are unexpected and often unique.
3. Responders have limited tools or tactics that can fix the problem.
4. Information will be scanty and contradictory.
5. Media coverage can be overwhelming.
All of those factors came into play to create the Hazcat system.
If you’ve never heard of it, Hazcat is the world’s most widely used system for chemical field identification. It uses standard tests done in a logical order to identify the unknown chemicals involved in hazardous material releases.
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What caused it to come into being?
It all started with a bag falling off a truck.
On June 25, 1980 at 1538 hours a California Highway Patrol unit notified their dispatch center that there was a possible chemical spill on the westbound lanes of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. According to the reporting unit, the material was a powdery substance and it was being blown around by the wind.
They occur at inconvenient locations and at inconvenient times.
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge connects the East Bay with San Francisco. More than 3 million vehicles cross the bridge each day. Midafternoon is a peak commute time.
At 1555 hours CHP closed the bridge. The area has three bridges to move traffic east and west. If you close one bridge, the traffic on the other two quickly grinds to a halt.
They are unexpected and often unique events
The SF-Oakland Bay Bridge, as the name implies, goes from Oakland to San Francisco. It crosses Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island. At that time, the US Navy owned and operated Treasure Island. YBI was (and still is) owned by the US Coast Guard.
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Accidents involving motor vehicles are a regular occurrence. It’s nothing new to have something fall off a truck. In such incidents the stuff that falls off a vehicle is usually quickly pulverized by oncoming traffic. This incident, though, involved a substance that was potentially hazardous.
Responders have limited tools or tactics to fix the problem
CHP established a command post just west of Treasure Island. Various agencies sent representatives to the command post including the Navy, Coast Guard, California Department of Transportation, and CalOSHA. And who else showed up? Numerous representatives of the news media.
When CHP conferred with the agency representatives on scene they found that none had any ability to identify the spilled substance. This included the San Francisco Fire Department’s hazmat team (one of the first established in the state) and the USCG Pacific Strike Team (one of the few federal level units specializing in hazmat/oil spill response).
Information will be scanty and contradictory
A CalOSHA toxicologist arrived and attempted to identify the material. The individual had a Ph.D. in toxicology, but had limited tools at his disposal. He donned chemical protective clothing and obtained a sample of the spilled material. He was able to determine that the unknown substance was not soluble in water but it was soluble in methyl alcohol. A chemist from IT Corporation arrived soon after. He also wasn’t able to identify the material.
Somebody somewhere said the spilled material might be toxic. Although, at best, this piece of information was unsubstantiated and ambiguous, CHP continued the traffic closure.
Based on the finding that the substance was soluble in methyl alcohol, the responders decided to use that to dissolve the spilled material. When the material was dissolved they used a time-honored hazmat response tactic — a water wash-down.
The cleanup started at 2130 and continued until nearly 0130. They opened the westbound lanes of the bridge soon after.
Media coverage can be overwhelming
Sometimes it actually does some good.
A 50-pound bag of an unknown material fell off a truck and immediately hit a car. The driver of the car wrote down the license number of the truck. After seeing news reports, he called CHP and gave them the license number. CHP tracked down the owner (a company in South San Francisco) and discussed the incident with them. The owner of the company told CHP that the material in the bag was called Microtalc but he wasn’t sure what Microtalc was made of.
Two days later CHP and CalTrans representatives met to discuss the incident. They put forth several recommendations.
One was a proposal to identify laboratories that could analyze unknown chemicals. CalOSHA later decided to develop equipment that could be used to identify unknown materials in the field. They assigned the task to one of their industrial hygienists. His name was Bob Turkington. He led a group that developed a system that could identify chemicals on scene without having to access a lab. This system became known as Hazcat.
What happened to the driver? He was cited for violating Section 23114 of the California Vehicle Code. That Section says, “…a vehicle shall not be driven or moved on any highway unless the vehicle is so constructed, covered, or loaded as to prevent any of its contents or load other than clear water or feathers from live birds from dropping, sifting, leaking, blowing, spilling, or otherwise escaping from the vehicle.” It seems that a spill of dirty water or feathers from dead birds can get you in a lot of trouble.
And Microtalc? It is magnesium silicate, which is used in coatings, ceramics, pharmaceuticals and other industrial applications. It is inert, not combustible, not volatile. In other words, not hazardous.
Unless 50 pounds of it traveling at 55 mph lands on the hood of your car.
About the Author
Vance Bennett is retired from California Specialized Training Institute, the training branch of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. During his 30 years at CSTI he was an Emergency Management coordinator and instructor in the Hazardous Materials Section. He was the course manager for several CSTI courses including Hazmat Incident Commander, First Responder Operations and CSTI Instructor Certification. As the CSTI representative to the FIRESCOPE Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, he helped develop hazmat team typing and equipment standards for California hazmat teams. Vance was also a regular presenter at the Hazmat Continuing Challenge Workshop.
Prior to coming to work for CSTI, he was on active duty in the U. S. Coast Guard specializing in marine safety and pollution response. During that time he was involved in responses to hazmat incidents and oil spills including the EXXON Valdez and American Trader spills. He served in a variety of USCG units including the Pacific Strike Team before retiring in 2009.
