Tank and Petroleum Use Mishaps The Steel Tank Institute is unable to guarantee the accuracy of any information. Every effort has been undertaken to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this publication but it is not intended to be comprehensive or to render advice. Websites may be current at the time of release, however may become inaccessible. The newsletter may be copied and distributed subject to: • All text being copied without modification • Containing the copyright notice or any other notice provided therein • Not distributed for profit By learning about the misfortunes of others, it is STI's hope to educate the public by creating a greater awareness of the hazards with storage and use of petroleum and chemicals. Please refer to the many industry standards and to the fire and building codes for further guidance on the safe operating practices with hazardous liquids. Thanks and credit for content are given to Dangerous Goods-Hazmat Group Network. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DangerousGoods/ USA, CA, SAN DIEGO APRIL 27 2007. ROAD REOPENS AFTER HUGE TANK TUMBLES OFF FREEWAY RAMP A Mission Valley roadway near San Diego is open to traffic again after a tank crashed down from a freeway interchange above and blocked off traffic. The incident happened Wednesday around 9:30 p.m., as a truck was traveling northbound on Interstate 805 at the Interstate 8 east connector. The 10,000-gallon tank fell off the trailer that was carrying it and landed on Camino Del Rio South. It stayed there for 15 hours. A section of the road under the 805 was closed so that the tank could be removed using a pair of cranes. Around 12:45 p.m., the tank was moved off to the side of the road, and Camino Del Rio South was reopened to traffic. The tank is 40 feet long, and officials said it would have to be moved away by a tow truck. According to fire department officials, the driver of the truck hit the interchange's railing, dislodging the tank, which fell over the edge. Officials said the tank was empty, but a hazardous materials team mopped up a spill from the 120-gallon fuel tank of the big rig on the freeway. The driver was uninjured, and officials said the guardrail needs repair. The CHP did not release the name of the truck driver. http://www.nbc4.tv/news/13207864/detail.html USA, OHIO, ASHTABULA APRIL 27 2007. GAS TANK EXPLODES - WORKER INJURED IN EXPLOSION IN MORGAN Doris Cook An empty gas tank being removed at a Big Sky Energy well site on Route 45 exploded around noontime Wednesday seriously injuring a company worker. The gas well site is located just north of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Morgan Hose Volunteer Fire Department Chief Vern Goodge said the worker, Owen Parabeck, 20, of Farmdale in Trumbull County was on top of the tank apparently removing plumbing when it blew up. Parabeck was thrown some 75 to 100 feet away from the tank into a wooded section. He is listed in guarded condition at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown after being flown from UH Geneva Medical Center. South Central Ambulance District emergency squad transported the injured man to the Geneva facility. 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 320 1 Tank and Petroleum Use Mishaps "We had mutual aid from Rome, Austinburg and Trumbull fire departments to help at the fire. I heard a boom shortly before noon and thought it was from the new school site. I came outdoors and looked north and saw the fire," Goodge said adding his pager went off about the same time. A second worker, Jeff Homkes was with Parabeck when the tank blew up and caught fire, Goodge said. Homkes was slightly injured as he moved a pickup truck from the flaming gas tank. "Parabeck was removing plumbing from the top of the tank from what we are told. An empty gas tank like that one is more dangerous than a full one. It was part of a separator unit. The two men were replacing the empty tank with another one," Goodge said. "There are gas fumes in an empty tank and a spark may have caused the explosion. We have to do more investigation to determine what actually happened," Goodge said. A blackened crumpled heap of metal of was all that was left of the exploded tank. The pickup truck was also damaged from flames, fire officials said. http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_116072329 USA, MISS, NEWTON APRIL 28 207. MYSTERIOUS DEATH IN TANK IN NEWTON Andrea Williams A man was discovered around 1:30 p.m. Sunday inside a gas tank at Newton Regional Airport. Manager, Robert Gibbs, said he cannot release the name of the man at this time. However, Gibbs said the individual was there to service a fuel tank. He was found by a pilot who, at the time, was at the airport attempting to fuel his private plane. "Well, he said the service truck was here. The tools were laid out and the boxes were open but there's nobody here," Gibbs said Shortly after the pilot alerted Gibbs by phone about the abandoned truck, he says the pilot discovered the man dead inside the tank. In order to have gotten inside the tank, officials say the top would have had to have been removed. And in order to do that, a number of bolts would have had to be removed. Officials also said it's not necessary to go inside of it in order to service the tank. The question is how and why the man was inside. "Nobody knows why," said Gibbs. "They don't enter tanks. So, we don't know what happened." According to the coroner, a preliminary investigation shows that the man had been dead several hours before he was removed. The tank does not have oxygen inside it. "We've had the fuel extracted out of it and we're having the tank scrubbed and we're putting new fuel in it, getting it back up to aviation standards," Gibbs said. Gibbs said it's not known exactly how long it will take the service company, Eastern Aviation, to wrap up its investigation. However, the tank should be back up and running within the next four days. http://www.wtok.com/news/headlines/7188591.html USA, NEW JERSEY, TINTON FALLS APRIL 28 2007. MAN RESCUED FROM GAS TANK IN TINTON FALLS Michelle Sahn Emergency workers rescued a man from an above-ground fuel tank after he was overcome by fumes and passed out this morning, authorities said. The man is now conscious and breathing on his own, and will be transported to the hospital, said Police Lt. David Nase around 9:15 a.m. Around 8:35 a.m. police received a call from Boyd Construction on Asbury Avenue, reporting an unconscious person in an above-ground fuel tank on the property, said Nase. He said apparently two workers went into the large tank, either to clean it or service it, and one of the workers was overcome by fumes. 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 320 2 Tank and Petroleum Use Mishaps Tinton Falls police, firefighters and first aid squad members, along with the Monmouth County HazMat, and the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration, were notified. Both men are now out of the tank and breathing on their own, said Nace. He said the construction company has the tank on its property to store fuel for its trucks. http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070427/NEWS/70427013/1001/rss USA, OK, OKLAHOMA CITY APRIL 28 2007. LIGHTNING STRIKES WYNNEWOOD OIL REFINERY, CAUSING EXPLOSION Andrea Kurys Just before noon Friday, lightning struck the Wynnewood Oil Refinery in Garvin county. Officials say it hit a large storage tank holding 25,000 barrels of light oil, sparking a large explosion. KTEN's Andrea Kurys was on the scene. Oklahoma Highway Patrol officials say two storms hit Wynnewood in less than an hour. Though they were small, they both produced giant lightning bolts. The explosion blew the roof of the barrel sky-high. Smoke could be seen for miles away. Luckily though, no one was injured. An emergency response team from the refinery was immediately on scene, as well as OHP officials, the Wynnewood police and fire departments and the Garvin County Sheriff's office. The oil fire was contained in under an hour, but continued to burn all day. Everyone at the refinery was evacuated as a precaution. OHP Trooper Doug George"We've currently shut down this portion of US 77. Of course, it includes the entire refinery section here from any though traffic. Only traffic coming out of the refinery are emergency crews going into the refinery." Twelve hours later, highways were still shut down. Officials were in the process of using a thermal imaging device to detect any hot spots. It turns out no one had to be evacuated from the town of Wynnewood, though crews were on stand-by in case the fire got out of hand. http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=6438824&nav=menu410_3 USA, MT, HAVRE APRIL 28 2007. EXPLODING GAS TANK SPARKS JUNKYARD Richard Peterson A junkyard fire that blackened the sky over Black Eagle for several hours Thursday began when an undrained gas tank inside a wrecked car, which was being crushed by a compactor, exploded, officials said. "It just blew up," said Nick Bradford, a spokesman for the Black Eagle Volunteer Fire Department. He said the gas tank of the vehicle being crushed was not drained properly, and the fire went out of control soon after it started.