HWY I-90 MP 460 NB2/2/2014

83% Ammonium Nitrate Solution

• Background• Remediation• Site Assessment• Response/Awareness

BackgroundAccident occurred when the driver left the road way of I-95 near MP 460 heading NB. The tractor trailer ended up on its side approximately 30 feet from the shoulder and approximately 10 feet from a drainage ditch. The surrounding area is considered a wetland area and has standing water for most, if not, all of the year.

The drainage ditch flows north to Cocolalla Creek approximately 1.8 miles away through a series of culverts. The ditch periodically floods to adjacent properties.

Background• UN 2426 Hot Ammonium Nitrate

Concentrated Liquid Solution: destined for explosives production for use in mines in Canada.

• Truck left the road way shearing a valve on the tanker and punctured the saddle tanks

• Request for RRT for containment and mitigate migration within a drainage ditch adjacent to Roadway

• Concern of impacts to Cocolalla Creek approximately 1.8 miles from release site

Flow Direction

Background• State Comm: Feb 1st @ 14:26

request for assistance

• Feb 2nd: CRO contact with ACT– Truck wasn’t removed until 10:45

pm– Early estimates: 500 gallon

release of Ammonium Nitrate• The release was actually 1,066

gallons or 10,176 lbs of Ammonium Nitrate released into the environment.

• Feb 3rd: Recovery of PCS

Initial Concerns: Ammonium Nitrate

• Questions regarding Fate and Transport of material

• Questions regarding Recovery and Transportation – Oxidizer?

• Local Agency Concerns: ITD, FG, Bonner County Emergency Management

• Regional Office: Questions regarding Agrium and Harms Response Plan

• Media Coverage

Remediation

Surface Water Impacts to Cocolalla Creek

Water Quality

Waste and remediation

Response

Source RemovalAnd Assessment

Source Removal:

Feb 3rd PCS Recovery Feb 6th isolate the source

Water mitigation/recoveryFeb 6th thru 12th Ammonium Nitrate Recovery

Source Removal:

• Approximately 60,000 gallons of water removed

• Approximately 40 cubic yards of PCS removed

• Approximately 240 cubic yards of Ammonium Nitrate impacted soil have been removed

Site Assessment:• Several Rounds of Surface Water and

Soil Samples– Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia

• Residential Use Screening Levels: – Nitrate:

• 18.4 mg/kg for soil, based on GWP• 10 mg/L for water, based on GW ingestion

(MCL)

– Nitrite: • 1.84 mg/kg for soil, based on GWP• 1 mg/L for water, based on GW ingestion

(MCL)

– Ammonia: 4.15 mg/kg for soil, based on Subsurface soil direct contact• There is not a number for Ammonia in water

Soil Samples• Before Source Removal:

– Nitrate/Nitrite 31,000 mg/kg– Ammonia 28,000 mg/kg

• After Removal:

– Nitrate/Nitrite Non Detectable– Ammonia 27.3 and 62.1 mg/kg

• RUSLs:

– Nitrate/Nitrite 18.4 mg/Kg GW Protection– Ammonia 4.14 mg/kg Direct Contact

• Background Samples: (North and south of Source)

– Nitrate/Nitrite 2.5 / 3 mg/Kg– Ammonia 44 / 28.2 mg/kg

Water Samples:• Before Source Removal:

– 100 yds. N @ culvert

• Nitrate/Nitrite: 46.7 mg/L• Ammonia: 35.8 mg/L

• After Source Removal:

– 50 yds. N Before Culvert

• Nitrate/Nitrite: 3.25 mg/L• Ammonia: 2.95 mg/L

– @ Source

• Nitrate/Nitrite: 0.208 mg/L• Ammonia: 1.83 mg/L

• RUSLS:– Nitrate/Nitrite 10 mg/L– Ammonia: NA

Source Removal Completed:• Nitrates in Soil are ND

• Slight elevation of ammonia in soil which we would expect to be taken up by vegetation.

Further excavation?

– Site Safety Concern: No Shoulder

– Impacts to Road Bed

– Bio-Uptake, Dilution, Dispersion

Source

Bio Available

Backfill and Berm Removal• Completed on February

27th & 28th • Bank Stabilization:

– Seed Mat– Silt Fence, remove

sediment from ditch• Review of sampling before

berms are removed

Harms Pacific Transport

Remediation

Source RemovalAnd Assessment

Surface Water Impacts to Cocolalla Creek

Water Quality

Waste and remediation

Response

Response Planning

• 6 to 10 trucks per day travel through Kootenai, Bonner, and Boundary Counties headed to British Columbia mining operations.

Its just Fertilizer?• AN 83 is known as a precursor explosive and is an

intermediate for blasting explosives

• Improper handling of AN can be deadly

• As an agent of terror: 95 percent of the IED’s in Afghanistan are made of AN and has accounted for 80% of US casualties

• Oklahoma City: destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within 16 blocks and claimed 168 lives and injured 680 people. McVeigh used less than 1/3 of the AN that was released during this incident.

• 80% of all explosives in North America made with a mixture of AN

Historical Accidents

• 1947: Two cargo ships caught fire in Texas City, killing 581 people and injuring more than 5000

• 2013: 15 killed in West Texas fertilizer plant when caught fire and exploded

• Transportation Incidents:– 2007 Coahuila, Mexico: trailer loaded with 22 tons of AN

caught fire. 40 minutes later an explosion occurred injuring 150 and killing 37. A crater 30 feet X 6 feet deep was created

– 2004 Romania: trailer carrying 20 tons of AN tipped over. Shortly after a fire started. 60 minutes later and explosion occurred killing 18 and injuring 13. A crater 120 feet x 20 feet deep was created

• The list of accidental explosions involving AN is long and conditions are varied and complex. Critical elements include fire and/or the presence of incompatible materials.

Response Planning Importance

• In 2013 Homeland Security instituted requirements for loads over 792 gallons of a 5.1 oxidizer (>60% AN) to have a security plan

• Millions of tons of AN are manufactured and safely used in the US. Both as a precursor to explosive manufacturing and as fertilizer

• Accidents are rare but when they have occurred they have had profound consequences

As a fertilizer, how much fertilizer was spilled?

• Application rate of N as fertilizer is 160 pounds of N per acre of Corn

• 10,000 lbs. was released. This amount would fertilize 21.7 acres of corn

• The important thing to remember when dealing with ammonium nitrate in concentrations that deem it a strong oxidizer, extreme caution must be taken to minimize the possibility of fire and/or mixing with incompatible materials.

Response Planning

• Gap in communication; need to ensure transporter and shipper are included on StateComm bridge calls.

• Transporter to submit their emergency response plan to DEQ– Incorporation of Idaho Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass

Destruction Incident Command and Response Support Plan into the Transporter’s plan.

– Incorporation of the Agrium 24/7 contact number into the Transporter’s plan.

• DEQ develop an Ammonium Nitrate incident checklist for Environmental Liaisons.

• Provide info to Stake Holders and Local Emergency Managers

Questions

DEQ’s Mission:

To protect human health

and preserve the quality of Idaho's air, land, and water

for use and enjoyment today and in the future.

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Idaho Department of Environmental Quality