CSB takes aim at waste processors

The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is this year spotlighting the dangers inherent in hazardous waste storage and processing facilities. The initiative follows three recent incidents, the latest of which took place on December 17, 2011 at the Heritage-WTI facility in East Liverpool, Ohio.

“Unfortunately,” CSB says, “accidents at hazardous waste processing facilities are all too common.” It highlights a major fire that broke out in 2006 at the Environmental Quality Company (EQ) facility in Apex, North Carolina, which forced thousands of local residents to evacuate for two days. In the wake of that incident, CSB looked into its data and identified 21 more fire and chemical release incidents at hazardous waste facilities in the US between 2002 and 2007, which together caused two deaths, 16 injuries, and eight community evacuations, shelter-in place orders or transport disruption.

CSB also investigated an explosion and fire at the Veolia ES Technical Solutions facility in West Carrollton, Ohio in 2009. This happened when flammable vapour was released from the waste recycling process and ignited. The explosion seriously injured two workers and damaged 20 nearby homes and five businesses.

As a result of these two incidents, CSB issued recommendations to the Environmental Technology Council (ETC), the hazardous waste industry’s trade group. One of those recommendations was to petition the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to issue a standard specific to hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities. This would provide guidance to waste processors to help prevent fires, explosions and releases at such facilities. CSB notes, however, that the recommendation has yet to be implemented.

The latest incident at the Heritage-WTI facility was the result of a flash fire that occurred when workers were splitting a large solid waste drum of flammable inorganic material into smaller storage drums, the company says. Two workers were seriously injured, one of whom died later of his injuries.

The incident prompted Rafael Moure-Eraso, chairman of CSB, to issue a statement and to encourage NFPA to move forward on the standard. “It is CSB’s view that ETC’s petition to NFPA will lead to the development of a national standard that will improve safety practices at hazardous waste treatment plants across the country,” he said.