Gasoline Tanker Fire Emergency Response & Remediation

GASOLINE TANKER FIRE PROBLEM

A gasoline tanker (carrying approximately 7,800 gallons of unleaded gasoline) traveling on a highway in central Georgia overturned, struck a power pole, and exploded near a water main. The driver was injured and a youth was thrown from the tractor cab and died at the scene. The fire burned for approximately two hours and could be seen for two miles. The local fire department controlled the spread of the fire with water and foam before it was extinguished by an airport crash ruck. The transportation company engaged Remtech Engineers to remediate the incident.

TANKER FIRE REMEDIATION SOLUTION

Fuel remaining in the rear compartments was too hot to transfer (150oF) eleven hours after the fire was extinguished. The front compartment contained 2,500 gallons of fuel, which was cool enough to transfer. A “spark proof” tap was cut to insert a drop tube into the tanker shell to transfer the fuel. 2,300 pounds of ice were placed in the rear compartments to reduce fuel core temperatures to facilitate transfer of the remaining 1,000 gallons of fuel with an air diaphragm pump.

The incident occurred over a PVC water main. Concern was expressed by regulatory officials regarding the potential for gasoline migration/adsorption through the PVC into the water line. The water main was uncovered and no free product was observed next to the line. A six-inch horizontal perforated lance was installed next to main to facilitate air and HC-2000 injection to break down petroleum hydrocarbons. A sampling grid was established to determine the horizontal and vertical extent of contamination migration. Soils were

predominately SANDY and BTEX migrated through the vadose zone and into the groundwater. A site remediation plan was prepared and presented to the client that consisted of enhanced bioremediation employing Remtech’s proprietary native enzyme accelerator HC-2000 and proprietary delivery system.