Press Release - November 3, 2004

Date:
November 3, 2004

Contact:
Robert D. Korb, Jr., CFI, CFPS - Deputy Fire Marshal
Phone: (410) 632-5666 Ext.4; Email: rkorb@wcfmo.org

SNOW HILL HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INCIDENT

The Worcester County Special Hazards Response Team assisted with a hazardous
materials incident in Snow Hill which left U.S. Route 113 at Route 12 shut down for nearly 10 hours.

The Snow Hill Volunteer Fire Company was alerted for a multiple vehicle collision at approximately 6:00 am. Upon arrival, fire crews observed a three vehicle collision involving a tractor and trailer, a dump truck and a passenger van. The tractor which was attached to the trailer was on fire. After fire crews extinguished the fire, they recognized the tractor trailer which was carrying hazardous materials was smoking from the rear. Three patients from the vehicles were extricated quickly before being transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Maryland for medical evaluation.

A no entry perimeter was setup from the intersection until the hazardous materials team could assess and mitigate the situation. Additional hazardous materials technicians were requested from the Ocean City Special Hazards Team, the Ocean City Public Works - Water and Wastewater Division and the Maryland Department of the Environment emergency response unit.

The hazardous materials teams arrived quickly and assembled an entry team outfitted with chemical resistant level "B" protective suits. Hazmat technicians entered the rear of the tractor trailer to observe the situation. Technicians reported the load in the back of the trailer had shifted forcing the contents to be pushed together in the front of the trailer. Several 1 gallon containers of Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide (MEKP - aka Organic Peroxide 5.2) along with multiple 55 gallon drums of Acetone and Hetron Resin as well as containers of continuous strand roving were observed in the pileup. The chemicals are used for creating fiberglass.

It was observed that the MEKP had spilled from its transport container and was splattered throughout the rear of the trailer. The danger of MEKP after it came into contact with cardboard boxes and wood pallets in the rear of the trailer, was a potential for an exothermic reaction eventually causing heat buildup to the point of self combustion. A leaking 95 gallon diesel fuel saddle tank from the tractor was also offloaded at the scene by technicians. The hazardous materials team determined the incident was stable but required an expedient cleanup. Technicians required the major roadway artery remain shut down until the cleanup operation was complete.

Marcor Environmental, an environmental cleanup company of Hunt Valley, Maryland was contracted by Mahogany Company of Mays Landing, Inc., the tractor and trailer owner, to further cleanup the incident.

Maryland Department of the Environment officials assisted with the processes involved in neutralizing the MEKP and remained on the scene until that operation was completed.

After the chemicals were neutralized and the vehicles were towed away, the roadway was finally reopened at approximately 4:30 pm.

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Scene Photographs
(Photos By: Deputy Fire Marshal Robert Korb, Jr.)