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Jan 12, 2016

TRUCKING NUCLEAR WASTE * Canada: Through densely populated residential areas

* Stop Canada: This should be stopped before tragedy occurs!

-- We’ve recently seen News articles highlighting the need for tighter regulations on shipping thousands of gallons of highly enriched liquid uranium from Canada to South Carolina. The approved travel route uses the Peace Bridge, south on Niagara Thruway, then west on the mainline Thruway for shipments that started Jan. 1 and run through May 31, 2018. These materials will pass dangerously close, within hundreds of yards, to densely populated residential neighborhoods, with the only barrier being a guardrail or chain-link fence... Canadian authorities approve nuclear facilities to operate within their borders and should take responsibility for the hazardous waste produced within their borders. Our citizens should not be exposed to possible harm as a result of their decisions... 
(Photo: Canadian nuclear waste heading for SC, USA) -- Buffalo, NY, USA - Buffalo News, by Susan Kims - 11 January 2016

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posted by Unknown @ 5:45 AM  0 comments

Nov 12, 2014

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA: Dangerous cargoes

* Massachusetts - I-Team: Dangerous cargo transported through our area 

Springfield,MASS,USA -WWLP/22News I-Team, by Laura Hutchinson -November 10, 2014: -- All types of cargo are transported through our area everyday but some of them can have dangerous, even deadly consequences in an accident... Hazardous materials can be everything from a can of paint to liquid nitrogen, and everything in between. Transporting it safely is a top concern and the 22News I-Team took a closer look at whats being done to keep us safe... The I-Team discovered there were 200 hazardous materials incidents just in Massachusetts last year blamed on things like improper transportation, rollover accidents, and plain and simple human error. It’s why State Police Trooper Jonathon Bates says inspecting cargo is a crucial part of his job. “Like in this case corrosive material, we obviously don’t want corrosive material running down onto the roadway,” Trooper Bates added... The top most common incidents involve corrosive material or combustible liquids. “There are materials that cannot be combined with water. They’ll spontaneously combust if they get water with them” ... Carriers are supposed to be marked with placards so that first responders know what they are in for when there is an accident, but not everyone complies, and according to Bates, not even the drivers themselves always know what they’re hauling. “Some companies don’t allow their drivers to see the load they’re transporting. The trailer is sealed at the loading dock” ...


* North Dakota- Bakken truckers often 'haul heavy'

(Photo by Maya Rao - McKenzie County Deputy Sheriff Scott Luhman added up the scales to determine if the truck was overweight) 
Watford City,,USA -The Star Tribune, by Maya Rao -November 9, 2014: -- Overweight loads pose significant safety risks on crowded roads around the oil fields. And the frenzied pace of the industry and spotty enforcement by authorities have encouraged the rise of overloaded trucks... In interviews that spanned water depots, truck stops and rides across oil field roads, drivers here described pressures to “haul heavy” They said jobs that pay by the ton or load, rather than the hour, offer an incentive to overload their trucks... Heavy trucks are the backbone of the ­Bakken oil fields, transporting the water, pipes, and sand needed to produce more than 1 million barrels of oil a day in western North Dakota. They move oil rigs from site to site, crude to pipelines and rail terminals, and dirt and construction materials to build the new roads, homes and businesses needed to serve the exploding population of new workers... The side of his five-axle truck said its capacity was 80,000 pounds, but the attendant handed him a ticket showing that it now weighed a little more than 104,000... Heading north back to the pit, Gore fielded a call about another job that would pay $100 an hour. He decided they would take it after running one more trip to the dirt pit... “If I work by the hour,” Gore said, “I can haul legal loads” ...

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Sep 10, 2014

DANGEROUS CARGOES * Australia's road explosion

* Queensland - Charleville truck explosion: Transport Workers Union calls for review of trucking of chemicals
(Photo from QPS Media: Four firefighters were injured in the explosion) 
Charleville,QLD,Australia -ABC -September 8, 2014: -- The Transport Workers Union (TWU) has called for a review of the trucking of dangerous chemicals in the wake of a catastrophic explosion in south-west Queensland... A two-kilometre exclusion zone was declared near Charleville after the truck, carting more than 50 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, crashed and rolled about 10:00pm (AEST) on Friday... The blast was so powerful it "disintegrated" the truck, destroyed two firefighting vehicles and two bridges, and blew a hole in the Mitchell Highway... The truck driver, two fire officers, and two passers-by remain in hospital with serious injuries, while three other rescue workers were recovering at home... TWU spokesman Peter Biagini said there should be restrictions on which trucks could carry which chemicals...


* Queensland - "No reason to change truck regulations", says trucking body
(QLD Police: Two bridges were brought down when a truck fire triggered a massive explosion near Charleville) 
Charleville,QLD,Australia -9 News -September 8, 2014: -- A truck carrying ammonium nitrate rolled between Cunnamulla and Charleville rolled and exploded on Friday, destroying part of the Mitchell Highway and two bridges... A major trucking body has said no changes to freight regulations are required after a shocking explosion injured eight people on an outback Queensland highway... Ammonium nitrate is strictly regulated by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines but it is permitted for transportation by truck... Queensland Trucking Association, Peter Garske, said the tough controls already in place for transporting explosives don't need to be updated in the wake of the blast, the Brisbane Times has reported... The 33-year-old truck driver remains in a critical condition after the explosion...


* Queensland - Truck driver fights for life after explosion 

Gladstone,QLD,Australia -The Fladstone Observer -8th Sep 2014: -- The man injured after a truck carrying chemicals from Gladstone exploded at the weekend is fighting for his life in a Brisbane Hospital... The 33-year-old Mackay man had been transporting a chemical substance from Gladstone to South Australia when the truck exploded near Charleville... The truck was from Kalari Transport, carrying chemicals from Orica's Gladstone plant... Eight people were injured in the explosion, which completely destroyed the area...

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Nov 9, 2010

DANGEROUS CARGOES * USA - Mexican drug traffickers used Texas trucker, Georgia property

According to the U.S. Justice Department, of the 327 official land, maritime and air ports of entry into the U.S., 88 percent of all drug seizures occurred at just 20 of the ports

TX,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -5 Nov 2010: -- The September conviction of a Texas truck driver with ties to a major Mexican drug cartel gives a snapshot of the domestic operations of drug importers from outside the U.S... In September, a federal jury convicted Gilberto Avalos-Rivera, 41, a documented legal alien, for transporting 911 pounds of marijuana hidden in a load of papaya fruit from Texas to Atlanta... Avalos-Rivera was working for La Familia – a Mexican drug cartel based in Michoacan, Mexico. The cartel also used property in suburban Atlanta, in Fayette County, GA, including a secluded multi-acre site that it used to off-load drugs and cash. Avalos-Rivera drove from Texas to the Atlanta-area to deliver the marijuana. Investigators seized nearly $2 million in cash hidden on property used in the operation... Rod Nofziger, OOIDA director of government affairs, said the La Familia operation shutdown in Georgia is unfortunately just the cost of doing business for Mexican cartels... Nofziger said the increasing presence of Mexican cartels operating within the U.S. would only be worsened by proposals to allow for Mexican trucks unfettered access to all U.S. highways... Several publications of the U.S. Department of Justice tie increased smuggling to the North American Free Trade Agreement... According to the National Drug Intelligence Center’s 2010 National Drug Threat Assessment, the U.S. seized more than 1,626 metric tons of illegal drugs from January through November 2009, a fraction of the estimated several thousand tons of cocaine, meth, marijuana and heroin imported into the U.S. annually by drug traffickers... The El Paso Intelligence Center says that contraband sent by Mexican drug cartels is usually hidden among produce...  That report cites “Corridor A,” mainly Interstates 10, Interstate 8 and Interstate 20 as being “the primary route for drug trafficking organizations transporting multi-ton quantities of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine from the southwest border to eastern U.S. drug markets” ...

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Sep 23, 2009

CARGO DEBATE * USA - Colorado officials: Yellowcake uranium trucks ‘can go wherever they want’

State says material 'doesn’t really present that much of a hazard'; plans to truck sulfuric acid into Montrose County site

Montrose,CO,USA -The Colorado Independent, by David O. Williams -21 Sept 2009: -- Opponents of a proposed uranium mill in southwestern Colorado near the Utah state line may be relieved to hear that state officials in charge of overseeing the transport of incoming ore and outgoing yellowcake don’t actually consider such things “nuclear materials”... By state statute, uranium ore and processed yellowcake, used to make fuel rods for nuclear reactors, are considered mere hazardous materials and therefore not limited to transportation along the state’s designated nuclear materials routes... Environmentalists looking to stop, or at least dramatically slow, the Montrose County commissioners’ special-use permit approval process for the proposed Piñon Ridge Mill between Bedrock and Naturita in far western Montrose County have fixed on transportation and the potential for spills as a major rallying point... (Photo: Uranium yellowcake and sulfuric acid would be carted along I-70 in Colorado)

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Sep 19, 2009

DANGEROUS CARGO * Venezuela - Eight dead and over 800 people affected in truck crash involving chlorine gas

Clarines,Anzoategui,Venezuela -El Universal/vheadline -September 17, 2009: -- Eight people were killed by inhalation of chlorine gas escaping from a cargo truck which crashed with a bus in the highway Clarines -- El Hatillo, in the state of Anzoategui (south-eastern Venezuela)... The truck carrying chlorine gas turned upside down and the content spilled in the area. As a result, more than 800 people passing through the accident site and in the nearby area have been adversely affected by breathing problems due to the toxic gases spread, said Tarek William Saab, the Governor of the state of Anzoátegui... At least 800 people have been affected by the inhalation of chlorine gas, as a result of the crash on Wednesday night near the eastern town of Clarines... (Photo from vheadline: Clarines - 800 people adversely affected due to the toxic gases spread))


* President Hugo Chavez laments the death toll in Clarines truck tragedy


Ver mapa más grande

Caracas,Venezuela -El Universal/VHeadline -19 Sept 2009: -- Venezuela's President, Hugo Chavez, lamented on Thursday the death of now nine people in a traffic accident recorded on Wednesday night at Clarines, eastern Anzoategui state. The accident affected almost 326 people who received medical treatment after inhaling chlorine gas, a substance carried by one of the trucks involved in the crash... Chavez said that the safety systems of the vehicles which carry chemical substances will be investigated"...

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Aug 13, 2008

DANGEROUS CARGO * USA - Hazardous materials teams called after truck driver overcome by chemical fumes

A truck driver hauling 50 drums of chemicals cross-country had to be taken to the hospital Tuesday afternoon after being overcome by fumes

Avon,MAS,USA -WKYC-TV -13 Aug 2008: -- ... The driver for U.S. Express had stopped at the Pilot Travel Center on Route 611 just off I-90 in Avon. He was to transfer the cargo trailer to another driver to complete the cross-country haul... The chemical drums were being transported from Minnesota to New Jersey... During the transfer, the driver opened the trailer and was overcome by fumes and was rushed to the hospital. The second driver who was picking up the chemical cargo was affected but not overcome... Hazardous materials team members are expected to suit up and enter the trailer to try and find the source of the chemical leak. Authorities however say the leak appears contained to the cargo trailer and the area where the truck is parked... The incident happened just after 3 p.m. but it's not known how long it will take to contain the chemical spill and move the trailer off site... (Photo & Video )

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Dec 7, 2007

TANKER TRUCK ROLL OVER * USA - 'It looked like a war zone'

Tanker rollover forces 145 to flee in Everett. Driver cited for speeding record shows violations. Two buildings destroyed but no one is injured




Everett,MASS,USA -The Boston Globe -6 Dec 2007: -- A tanker truck speeding through a traffic circle yesterday rolled over and spilled a 9,400-gallon river of burning gasoline into a residential neighborhood, flooding streets with flames, torching 21 cars, setting a pair of three-deckers ablaze, and sending panicked residents fleeing... State Police cited Chad LaFrance, 30, of Dover, N.H., who drives for Abenaqui Carriers, a trucking firm headquartered in North Hampton, N.H., for speeding and not having in his possession a federal medical certificate, which would certify him as fit to drive, State Police said. They did not say how fast he was driving... State Police troopers, who got the first call at 1:41 a.m., found the truck on its side, its tank punctured, the vehicle consumed in flames. Fire officials and eyewitnesses said a spark - it was not known from what - ignited the leaking fuel as it flowed down a ramp and a grassy embankment toward Main Street... A study of tanker accidents released this year by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found full tankers were more likely to tip because of their instability, and excessive speed was a common cause of the rollovers. In serious crashes, it found that tankers spilled their contents as much as 37 percent of the time, depending on the tank design... The administration "has identified the need to study cargo tanks, from design through operation, to improve their roll stability," the report states... Joe Delcambre, a spokesman for the US Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which oversees tanker trucks, said federal standards require the tanker trucks be able to withstand a force of 155,000 pounds from the front, side, or rear. Trucks must be inspected and tested in intervals from six months to five years, depending on the type of the tank... (Photo by George Rizer/Boston Globe: Ice covered nearby trees as firefighters continued to battle the blaze)



* Trucking firm had above average inspection record
Everett,Mass,USA -AP/WPRI - December 5, 2007: -- Records show the trucker involved in this morning's gasoline tanker accident in Everett has had some speeding and other violations on his personal vehicle. But his commercial license is valid... And the New Hampshire trucking company the driver works for has been involved in four other accidents over the past two years, but has an above-average safety inspection record... State Police identified the driver as 30-year-old Chad LaFrance of Dover, New Hampshire... Records in New Hampshire list three speeding violations a few years ago involving LaFrance's personal vehicle. LaFrance's record also lists two failures to have his vehicle inspected... LaFrance worked for Abenaqui Carriers, of North Hampton... Federal records for Abenaqui's corporate owner give it a "satisfactory" safety rating. The company has better-than-average inspection records relating to vehicles, drivers and hazardous materials...

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Oct 27, 2007

DANGEROUS CARGOES * USA - Numbers on trucks …

USA -The.Inevitable.Org/anism, by Scott C. Lemon -October 25, 2007: -- For quite a while now while driving, I’ve seen the square “hazard” signs on various tanker trucks and semis. These signs almost always have some number within them, and of course I realize that the numbers have to align with the load/freight that they are carrying... After finding what I was looking for, I was amazed at the numbering system, and the details explained in their guidebook … it’s interesting to see the amount of detail that can be extracted by just looking at the patterns of the numbers... Well … my driving boredom got me to spend an hour or so to learn something new … and maybe this is a new travel game in the car for vacation trips! “Ok kids … lets see who can find the most variety of hazardous materials between here and St. Louis!” or “Alright, on this part of our trip we want to find the truck carrying the most highly flammable liquid that reacts dangerously with water, emitting flammable gas!”... Uh, that last one would be labeled “X323″, not to be confused with “339″ which would be a “highly flammable liquid which can spontaneously lead to violent reaction” …

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posted by Unknown @ 11:16 AM  0 comments