workers
safety and health
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Three workers died July 14th
when methyl mercaptan leaking from a rail car burst into flames. The explosion
at Atofina Chemicals in Riverview sent a toxic cloud across Riverview, Trenton,
Grosse Ile, Amherstberg, Ontario, and the Detroit River and caused the
evacuation of thousands of residents. The railcar contained 25,000 gallons of
the toxic chemical before the incident, all of which was released into the
environment. Exposure to methyl mercaptan killed
three Atofina workers – Edwin Wrebleski, Kenneth Cox and Terry Stein – who
belonged to PACE. Nine of the fifteen workers on site
at the time were injured. The plant, built in 1898, employs about two hundred
people. At 3:30 am on July 14th a
connecting pipe separated from a faulty valve on the rail car as two workers
unloaded methyl mercaptan. Eleven minutes later an emergency 911 call was made
to Riverview police reporting two men down, one missing, and a bad chemical
leak. While reports are consistent in placing the incident at this time,
residents of the northern end of Grosse Ile have reported
foul chemical odors three hours earlier. Riverview police and fire departments
were on the scene by 4 am. Soon methyl mercaptan was burning under the
railroad car, within minutes “it almost self-extinguished, and then there was
a violent eruption” reports Riverview Fire Chief Robert Hale. A 50 foot wide
fireball shot 200 feet into the sky. Chlorine began to vent from the tank car
due to the heat adding to the vapor cloud crossing the Detroit River. Grosse Ile Fire Chief Duncan Murdock
saw a mist cloud crossing that the north end of the island around 5 am. Grosse
Ile has two bridges to the mainland, a decision was made to inform residents
systematically by telephone to prevent a massive evacuation with only the
southern bridge open to traffic. By 6:30 am the US Coast Guard had closed the
Detroit River to boat traffic. It wasn’t until 7:30 that the Canadian Coast
Guard was informed. About 8 am the EPA was informed of the
incident. Air monitoring by the EPA began about 1 pm. EPA emergency coordinator
Ralph Dollhopf said, “By that time the exposures had already occurred.” Over 2000 residents were evacuated from
their homes. Most Riverview firefighters stayed on the scene until 1:30 am on
the 15th. One firefighting unit stayed for three more days. Safety investigators from the National
Transportation Safety Board have focused on an apparently faulty 1-inch steel
pipe fitting that is part of the equipment used to unload the tank cars. It
could be months before the results of the NTSB investigation and the Michigan
OSHA investigation are publicly known. Friends of the Detroit River, a local
environmental group, reports that 1,000 gallons of chlorine was also released,
according to documents obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request. Two
additional chemicals, sodium hypoclorite and TefZel (a Dupont product) appear to
have been involved in the explosion. Riverview Fire Chief Robert Hale is
reported in the FOIAed documents as citing unnamed fire investigators who
believe the TefZel reacted with the methyl mercaptan producing heat which caused
the ignition. Other documents suggest the sodium hypoclorite as a likely agent
causing the flash fire and subsequent ignition. Three rail cars of chlorine and a
second one filled with methyl mercaptan were near the site of the disaster. Had
these been involved in the incident the results would have been immensely
tragic. Emergency
Evacuation Found Lacking Residents have complained that
evacuation procedures were inadequate. Many living on the north end of Grosse
Ile have complained that the evacuation took too long. Riverview Fire Chief Hale
told the News-Herald that Riverview is examining it’s emergency procedures and
hopes to make improvements. “A lot of area fire chiefs are hot to trot on this
right now, and I’m one of them,” he said. Ontario emergency officials also have
complained that they were not informed of the incident in a timely way. The
toxic chemical cloud was causing symptoms hours before Amhertsberg officials
were notified of the cause. Amhertsburg Fire Chief and emergency coordinator
Richard Murray told the News-Herald he wants a protocol so officials on both
sides of the river will inform each other of chemical releases. “Our biggest
concern was to set up some kind of notification procedure. We’re definitely
working on that.” Amhertsburg has several chemical plants
including plants that manufacture hydrochloric acid and sodium chlorate. The
town has a siren alert system with public address ability but the Atofina
release has prompted Murray to look for better methods to inform citizens.
Riverview, Grosse Ile and Trenton do not have sirens. At 5pm on the 15th about 300
Atofina workers and family members assembled to mourn the deaths of their
compatriots. |
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