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Past Issues

August 2005

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When a DG spill occurs, a very specific procedure should commence which looks pretty straightforward on paper but the reality is somewhat different says Willie Buitendag, technical advisor for Rapid Spill Response who spoke to Paul Collings.

Here's what should happen: The driver should notify his base station which, in turn, will immediately contact the company's designated spill response company. The spill response company will then immediately notify emergency personnel in the area to secure the scene (deploying traffic marshals, fire engines and ambulances). The spill response company will ascertain from the DG transport company what hazardous chemicals are on the vehicle (or, more often than not, off it) and dispatch a response vehicle kitted with the necessary personnel, equipment and absorptive material to clean up the spill.

On arrival at the scene, a DG response officer will ascertain the nature of the hazard by reading the placards on the vehicle, the tremcard in the cab and the environment/atmospheric conditions in which the spill has occurred. Once this has happened, the clean-up can begin. That's what should happen. Unfortunately though, it's not always that simple.

Sitting ducks
"While most of the vehicles we attend to are compliant, there are other factors that make our job extremely difficult," says Buitendag. "A DG recovery operation doesn't happen in a matter of hours. Some can take days and emergency personnel don't have the resources to spend that amount of time at a spill scene. We're therefore often left to continue our operation without the necessary resources to keep our personnel safe from traffic using the road."

Buitendag cites the situation in Limpopo Province as being particularly dangerous: "Traffic personnel knock off at 18h00. They don't get paid overtime so they're simply not prepared to stand around after dark while we clean up. In cases like these, we hire extra personnel to secure the scene, waving torches and flags to keep our people safe."

Financial risks
Another issue facing spill response operations is accountability and payment. "There are so many DG vehicles out there that don't have a contracted spill response company servicing them. When an incident occurs, we're called to handle it. The job gets done but very often, no one takes responsibility. The truck driver will blame the motorist who crashed into him, the motorist will say the dangerous goods aren't his and the municipality doesn't have the money to foot the bill. I believe the owner of the product should pay for the clean-up," says Buitendag.

This may seem logical but what if the owner is the consignor or consignee and the spill is a direct result of negligence on the part of the DG truck driver? Buitendag explains that unless driver negligence can be proved beyond reasonable doubt, the costs of the clean-up must be covered by the owner of the dangerous goods. Drivers cannot be held liable for spills that occur due to load shifts, which occur frequently due to potholes, speed bumps, steep gradients and other dangerous road conditions.

Non-compliant operators
"While DG compliance levels are high among the larger transport operations, we still get a fair number of non-compliant operators out there who we've had to deal with. Many of them hide DG inside closed-body vehicles in among non-hazardous goods with no placards whatsoever. They're basically smuggling their cargo past the authorities," says Buitendag.

"We also encounter gross negligence on occasion, like a tanker carrying sulphuric acid being marked with a piece of cardboard and Koki pen stating that the cargo was a non-hazardous product. And a curtainsider carrying paint with no placards but with the curtain signage stating '100% fruit juice'. These cases are in the minority but it shows that there are people out there taking chances." 

Every vehicle carries DG
The risks to both human and environmental health in the event of a DG spill are immense. Toxic chemicals can pollute water supplies and kill all those who drink from them, be they human, animal, bird or fish. Micro organic life forms necessary for the cultivation of crops are also killed requiring soil rehabilitation, which takes years and is extremely costly.

As Buitendag points out, it's not just DG vehicles that pose an environmental/traffic safety risk but every vehicle on the road. "A long haul 6x4 truck tractor may carry as much as 800 litres of diesel in its tanks. In accidents, these tanks rupture and fuel spreads across the roadway. Engine oil also seeps out, making the road very unsafe for other road users." 

Widening the safety net
When one considers the vast distances covered by South African truckers, the potential for disaster is huge. However, the risks are contained through ongoing quality assurance procedures undertaken by the m ore responsible consignors and transport operations, be they ISO 14000/9000, Sasol's SQAS or the CAIA 'Responsible Care' accreditation.

Hats off also to those spill response companies which have also come together to standardise procedures and ensure quality of service.

"Rapid Spill Response is a member of '24 Hour Spill Response', a nationwide association of 10 'hazmat' emergency response organisations. The association has a toll-free number and apart from an around the clock spill response service, also offers safety and environmental risk assessment, bio-remediation of polluted sites, specialised cleaning and training. The objective is to continuously improve quality and service levels while reducing costs and risks to life, property and the environment," says Buitendag.

With this professional mindset and broad-scale teamwork in the DG arena, we can all sleep a little easier at night. Keep up the good work!