Handling A Flammable Liquid Leak and Spill

Handling A Flammable Liquid Leak and Spill

DEPARTMENTS

Traning Notebook

Washing down a gasoline spill into the ground or into a storm sewer was once an accepted fire department procedure. In his book “Fire Ground Tactics,” published in 1972, Emanual Fried states” … there are other purposes for hose lines, such as: washdowns (spilled flammable liquids) . . .” In the fourth edition of “Fire Department Terminology,” published in 1970, Warren Y. Kimball lists the definition of “washdown” as “flushing down spilled combustible materials, such as flammable liquids.”

Many people believe that gasoline evaporates rapidly and disappears without doing any damage. However, today we realize that flushing gasoline into a storm sewer is unsafe because gasoline floats on water, and vapors collect in an enclosed space.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers the flushing of gasoline into the ground or into a body of water as “generating pollution”—an unsafe act. One EPA official has claimed that one gallon of gasoline can contaminate one million gallons of ground water. In other words, one part per million (ppm) of gasoline in water makes it undrinkable.

Here are some recent gasoline spill incidents:

  • The Louisville, KY, Fire Department was fined $500 for flushing 100 gallons of diesel fuel off a roadway into a storm sewer that fed a creek.
  • In Broward County, FL, the diesel fuel concentration was one part per billion (ppb), making the drinking water undesirable to drink, although it was within safe limits.
  • In another Broward County case, a fire department flushed 1,500 gallons of fuel into a drainage canal. Within a two-day period, 1,400 gallons were recovered. Luckily, ignition did not occur during this period.

What alternatives do we have to pulling the booster line and washing the fuel off the road or, worse, into a storm sewer?

Of all the flammable liquids, gasoline will be encountered most, so this article places its greatest emphasis on dealing with gasoline spills.

EQUIPMENT

You will need three distinct levels of equipment:

Primary (first responder). These units should contain those special items carried by every in-service engine and ladder company. The first responder should have adequate equipment to handle small incidents.

Secondary (backup). Equipment too large or too specialized to be carried by each company should be carried on a “hazardous materials” or “heavy rescue” vehicle. This vehicle should be dispatched whenever the incident is beyond the scope of the first responder.

Tertiary (storage). A secure location for the temporary storage of recovered fuels should be established.

Primary equipment

The primary equipment to be carried by first responders should include the following:

  • Two catch basins,
  • One 5-gallon bucket of granula absorbent,
  • Twelve absorbent pads,
  • Twelve assorted wooden plugs (including golf tees),
  • One 2 1/2-inch cap with an air hose fitting,
  • Shovels, brooms, and many other hand tools that you already have,
  • One 1,000-foot roll of “barricade tape.”

Examples

Two catch basins. The Rubbermaid Company (a restaurant supplier) manufactures an inexpensive “bus tray” (the kind used to transport dirty dishes). These usually will hold four to five gallons of fuel. Place them under the leak as soon as possible. You need at least two, so that when one becomes filled you can replace it with the other. These can be stacked one inside the other, and a rope bag or a salvage cover will fit inside them when stored.

You may want to use metal, instead of plastic, trays if you live in a cold climate where the plastic catch basins tend to turn brittle and fail.

One 5-gallon bucket of absorbent. Commercial painters usually work from 5-gallon pails (paint/patching compound). With a polite request you may be able to acquire several empty pails (be sure to ask for the lids also). Paint stores may be able to provide you with the same buckets at a nominal cost. These buckets are excellent for storing your granula absorbent. Fill the bucket to an inch from the top. Place a heavy-duty plastic bag on top of the absorbent.

The bucket can also double as a temporary holding container for the spilled product. Empty the absorbent into the plastic bag and dump the recovered product from the catch basin into the 5-gallon pail. You now have the catch basin available to be placed under the leak again.

There are many different absorbents available. “Safety Absorbent” can be purchased at most stores that sell automobile parts and is used in garages to clean up spilled oils and fuels. The 5gallon pail will hold about 25 pounds of “Safety Absorbent.” If you don’t have enough granula absorbent to handle the spill, use it around the perimeter to contain the product while you are waiting for more to arrive.

Granula absorbents are designed to be used on a hard surface such as conCrete or asphalt. Although sand is a good substitute for damming and diking purposes, it is relatively poor for absorbing a spilled product.

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Twelve absorbent pads. These pads are manufactured specifically for recovering hydrocarbons (gasoline). While these pads will absorb gasoline floating on the surface of water, they will not absorb the water. Their use should not be limited to water/hydrocarbon mix areas. Gasoline soaked absorbent pads are easier to handle than gasoline soaked granula absorbent on porous surfaces, such as grass or soil.

Twelve assorted wooden plugs (including golf tees). You can purchase these through a hazardous materials equipment supplier, or you can make them on a wood lathe. Wooden golf tees can be purchased anywhere. These items can be carried in the apparatus tool kit. A pocket knife can be used to make a custom fit in the field.

One 2 1/2-inch plug with an air fitting. These can be purchased from a hazardous materials equipment supplier or made in your fire department shop. While capping one end of a 2 1/2inch hose with a fire service fitting, the other end is sealed with this special fitting. The hose can be inflated and used as a containment device for the spilled product. The hose will require decontamination and testing after contact with gasoline. Once a length of hose has been used this way, it may be best to donut roll it and reserve it for this use again.

Assorted hand tools and equipment. You are already carrying scoop shovels and brooms, ideal for removing gasoline soaked granula absorbent from a hard surface. You should already have a spade shovel that is necessary when digging soil to create a dam or dike. Salvage covers can be used to close off a storm sewer. The different hand tools carried in the apparatus tool kit also may be useful.

One 1,000-foot roll of “barricade tape.” This can be purchased from most safety equipment suppliers. Pedestrian traffic and curiosity seekers will tend to get close to the incident. The tape designates the danger area.

Secondary equipment

Secondary equipment carried aboard the back-up vehicle should include:

  • Several 100-pound bags of granula absorbent and bails of absorbent pads,
  • An assortment of salvage drums and approved storage containers,
  • Several specifically designed floating booms,
  • Flammable liquids pump,
  • Explosive meter.

SLIPERD

Handling a flammable liquid leak and spill

Stop

Stop the leak. It may be as simple as shutting off a valve or standing a small container upright. You may use an elaborate patching kit or makeshift aids to plug a hole.

Limit

Limit the leak. Reduce or slow down the leak if it cannot be stopped.

Isolate

Isolate the spill. Keep the spilled product from spreading by damming and diking. Use catch basins on small leaks to contain the product. Spills on waterways can be contained with booms made from air inflated 2 1/2-inch hose.

Protect

Protect the spill. Remove sources of ignition. Use explosive meters to determine the limits of the flammable vapors. Use foam to suppress vapors, especially when you need to send your personnel into the spill area. Remember: gasoline vapors travel downhill and downwind.

Evacuate

Evacuate. Remove all civilians and unnecessary emergency personnel from the “danger area.” Use barricade tape to identify the “danger area.” Set up your “command post” away from the spill.

Recover

Recover the spilled product. On a large incident the shipper should assume this responsibility. On small spills the fire department can: use granula absorbents to remove fuels from a hard surface, use absorbent pads to remove fuels from the surface of water, and remove contaminated soil with hand tools.

Decontaminate

Decontaminate. Wash your protective clothing, tools, and equipment to remove residue gasoline before responding to the next alarm.

Examples

Absorbent materials. The quantity of absorbent materials that you determine to have readily available is a matter of choice. Perhaps you wish to be able to handle a 100-gallon fuel spill. Or perhaps the quantity is determined by restricted budget allotments.

Salvage drums. These come in several sizes (35, 55, and 85-gallon capacity). Salvage drums are not cheap. Regular 55-gallon drums approved for the storage of flammable liquids may be obtained for much less money. Both salvage drums and regular storage drums should be available on this vehicle for the storage or encapsulation of recovered fuel.

Floating booms. There are professional quality floating booms for containing spilled fuels on water surfaces, and you may want to carry several hundred feet of these on the vehicle.

Flammable liquids pump. This is ideal for transferring gasoline from the leaking container to one that is sound. Again, they are not cheap, and it is impractical to carry one on each apparatus.

Explosive meter. This measures the lower flammable limit and defines the extent of the danger area.

Tertiary

As part of the third level of necessary equipment, you must have a secure storage location for the recovered gasoline. Your local fire training facility will probably welcome the donation of contaminated gasoline for training purposes and provide an area where it can be stored. The absorbents laden with gasoline will have to be contained in a proper hazardous waste disposal. Check with your local EPA office to arrange disposing of this material. In some cases, the product can be burned in a local incinerator.

Never place the gasoline soaked absorbent in with the trash that is going to a local landfill. This will only result in moving the problem from one location to another.

PROCEDURES

An unignited flammable liquid spill is extremely hazardous. If we agree that washing down the product is not desirable, we must have an alternate Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

In order to simplify this subject, I have borrowed a mnemonic device (memory aid). Battalion Chief Harry J. Cusick of the Philadelphia, PA, Fire Department developed the mnemonic phrase “SLIP.” I modified the phrase to “SLIPERD” (see chart).

This procedure is designed to be used for common spills that usually involve gasoline and diesel fuel. Although the phrase can be applied to spills and leaks of other products, you must remember to first identify the product and any additional dangers it may pose (e.g., toxicity, corrosiveness, reactivity).

If you enter the leak and spill area, you must wear full protective clothing and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) to ensure your safety.

SUMMARY

There are people who still believe that they’ve done a good job by “washing down” the spilled product. However, a fire department that is prepared and can handle the everyday gasoline spill safely, efficiently, and with due regard for the environment, will be that much better prepared to cope with much larger incidents.

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