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Haz-Mat Survival Tips: "Fuming" Trash Containers and Collection Trucks
Beyond the Rule of Thumb, Tip 14
By Steven De Lisi
One Saturday morning, your engine is dispatched to a report of a suspicious substance at the local trash transfer station. This facility consists of several large roll-off trash containers with ramps that allow citizens to deposit their trash into the open top. On arrival, you detect a small but steady vapor cloud issuing from one of the containers. The other containers are potentially exposed to the vapors, so you decide to close the transfer station until you can figure out what is going on. However, the public works director has other ideas. To add to your woes, this same individual is also the local mayor.
He knows that Saturday is the busiest day of the week for the transfer station and does not want the facility closed for fear of a public backlash. He informs you that he wants your crew to dig around in the container to see what is producing the vapor cloud. He also "suggests" that it is probably just a small fire from a discarded cigarette and that spraying water into the container should "take care of the problem."
Before you act on the mayor's suggestions, you recall a previous situation when a local trash collection truck experienced a similar problem. Your crew arrived to find the truck emitting a strange-colored vapor cloud from the rear trash compaction area. The same public works director was also there, and despite the fact that the vapors caused him some respiratory distress (as he approached the truck to "take a closer look"), he insisted that the truck be driven through town to the local landfill to allow the truck to dump its load and bury the problem with dirt. According to him, "Out of sight is out of mind."
Sound all too familiar? First responders should always remember that "fuming" trash trucks or trash containers, or those with detectable chemical odors or visible plumes of smoke or vapor, are usually opportunities for them to exceed their level of training and make a minor situation a lot worse, especially when there is a heightened level of political pressure to quickly resolve the matter. Remember that many of these incidents involve the disposal of household hazardous materials or hazardous waste that will react when mixed with other items or when rainwater enters the container.
Incidents involving trash containers can occur not only at transfer stations but also at fixed facilities. Although fixed facilities usually rent these containers for their own use and should therefore have some idea of what has been disposed of, it is not uncommon for the public or other businesses looking for a quick way to unload their hazardous waste to use these same containers, resulting in the disposal of unknown items. First responders may also encounter trash containers loaded with bags of "biohazard waste" (red bags) or "asbestos" that are dumped overnight by unscrupulous "cleanup contractors." These individuals charge large sums of money to remove and properly dispose of hazardous waste, but then resort to "midnight-dumping" to avoid disposal fees. They pocket a hefty profit at someone else's expense.
Trash vehicles that compress loads with a hydraulic device may experience problems when the force of compression causes containers of hazardous materials to burst. In addition to these materials reacting with other items, some hazardous materials may splash when their containers are crushed and possibly contaminate anyone nearby.
Other types of trash vehicles include those that transport "roll off" containers with open tops. While most containers like these are labeled with signs prohibiting the disposal of hazardous materials or hazardous waste, first responders should use caution when investigating any incident involving the leak of a suspicious substance. Always resist the urge to climb up on the side of the container to take a "quick look" to see what is happening. This is especially important for law enforcement officers who may decide to stop a leaking trash truck as it travels through town. The material leaking may be rain water, but it might just as likely turn out to be fatal.
Remember that when different hazardous materials or hazardous waste combine and undergo a chemical reaction, all bets are off when attempting to use a Material Safety Data Sheet (if you could even get one) to determine any health effects and subsequent medical treatment for exposure. If you get sick following your "quick" scouting mission of a trash container, medical personnel may have a difficult time providing treatment without some chemical analysis of the materials involved. For you, the delay required to obtain a sample and perform this analysis could mean the difference between life and death!
If called to a scene that involves a fuming or leaking trash truck or container, first responders should remember that someone not only owns the truck or container, but that they also own the problem. That is, of course, unless first responders attempt to resolve the incident on their own and therefore inherit the problem for themselves. Even for those incidents that occur at trash transfer stations, many of these sites are not run by local government; instead, the operation is subcontracted to a company that specializes in managing solid waste disposal.
Also, keep in mind that first responders should not dig through trash containers looking for clues, nor request that a fuming truck be driven through town to get to the local landfill. Instead, treat it like any other hazardous materials incident; Isolate, deny entry, and call for help. First responders should notify the company that owns the truck or container and inform them that they have a problem, and let them manage it. The preferred response from these companies includes those trained and equipped to investigate and resolve the incident, including a hazardous materials team along with a cleanup contractor. The preferred response should not include any remediation activities performed by first responders.
When notifying the owners of the truck or trash container, take comfort in knowing that this will likely not be the first such incident that they have handled, nor will it be the last. But when first responders intervene, they shift much of the burden from the trash company to themselves and their department. Furthermore, any initial actions you take, such as dumping the material on the ground, may cause the owner of the truck or trash container to claim that first responders only worsened the incident and added to the expense of clean up. This additional expense could then become yours to bear.
When dealing with trash trucks and trash containers involving hazardous materials, be smart, be safe, and remember, everyone goes home!
Discussion Points
- If there are trash transfer stations located in your community, determine if these are operated by local government or if the operations are subcontracted to a private company. Next, determine what plans are in place for managing an incident involving hazardous materials at these sites.
- Identify those businesses in your community that specialize in trash collection. These could be "one truck" operations or a major company. Determine what plans that have for managing an incident involving one of their vehicles.
- Has your community ever experienced an incident when someone has been injured (or worse) following exposure to an unknown hazardous material during an incident involving a trash truck or trash container? If so, what were the short-term and long-term outcomes of this exposure?
Click here for more info on Steven De Lisi's book, "Hazardous Materials Incidents: Surviving the Initial Response."
Steven M. De Lisi is a 27-year veteran of the fire service, and is currently deputy chief for the Virginia Air National Guard Fire Rescue, located at the Richmond International Airport. De Lisi is a Hazardous Materials Specialist and a former chairman of the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association's Hazardous Materials Committee. He is also an adjunct instructor for the Virginia Department of Fire Programs and a former member of the NFPA committee on hazardous materials protective clothing. De Lisi began his career in hazardous materials response in 1982 as a member of the haz-mat team with the Newport News (VA) Fire Department. Since then, he has also served as a hazardous materials officer for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and in that capacity provided on-scene assistance to first responders involved with hazardous materials incidents in an area that included more than 20 local jurisdictions.
