County Chiefs, USAF Develop Plan For Rocket Material Transportation
A hazardous materials transportation program has recently been implemented in Santa Barbara County, Calif. This program is a cooperative plan developed hy United States Air Force personnel and representatives of the Fire Chiefs Association of Santa Barbara County.
Santa Barbara County experiences general hazardous materials transports similar to other California counties. Additionally, special rocket fuels and oxidizers are transported to Vandenberg Air Force Base, which is the west coast launch facility for a variety of rocket launches. The space shuttle is scheduled to be both launched and recovered at this site.
Fire master planners in both the city and the county have closely reviewed the environmental impact report of the projected space shuttle and it is apparent that a substantial increase in the number of shipments of fuels and oxidizers will accompany the growth of the shuttle program. In addition to the current volume of materials, projections indicate that up to 120 truckloads of fuels and oxidizers will be required for each launch. As a result of limited storage capability, volatility of products and availability of transports, these materials must arrive at the launch site within three days prior to launch.
Three-phase program
Because of a single-point delivery, the need to meet incoming carriers and a limited variety of materials, a considerable amount of planning was required. A series of meetings between Vandenberg Air Force Base and Fire Chiefs Association representatives led to the development of a three-phase program:
- Advance notification of shipments.
- An informational guide based on the specific hazardous materials.
- In-depth training relating to the notification plan and specific materials.
Although the number of hazardous materials shipments to Vandenberg is minimal compared to the total quantity in transit, there will be a substantial increase in fuels and oxidizers once the space shuttle program is operational. We have jointly identified five hazardous materials which are included in the plan because of their unique or potentially extreme hazard or volume of transport. These are:
- Inhibited red fuming nitric acid (IRFNA)
- Nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4)
- Hydrazines, unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine (UDMH), Monomethyl hydrazine (MMH), Aerozine-50 (A-50) and hydrazine (N2H4)
- Liquid hydrogen
- Solid rocket propellants (explosives A & B)
Notification of arrival time
Delivery contracts for hazardous materials provide for a four-hour notification prior to arrival at Vandenberg Air Force Base. When truck drivers are four hours away from VAFB, they advise the Vandenberg safety communications point of the type of product and approximate time of arrival.
We realized that this information could also serve emergency responders along the transportation route. Therefore, a checklist, to be used by all participating agencies was developed to gain all pertinent information relating to the shipment. Upon notification of an impending shipment, VAFB communications notifies the Santa Barbara County Emergency Communications Center, which in turn notifies each of the affected safety service agencies along the transportation route. Each of these agencies then uses this information as it sees fit.
Three adjoining counties which have transportation routes common with Santa Barbara County are also included in the notification system.
Emergency advice
Information guides have been developed with one sheet for each of the five hazardous materials in the plan. Each sheet tells how to recognize the hazardous material that is the topic of that sheet, describes the protective clothing to be worn, defines the hazards of the material and advises what to do in the event of a minor leak, a tank puncture resulting in a major leak, injury to personnel and fire. Also included are photographs of various transports and suggested evacuation areas based on spill size, topography, climatic, wind and weather conditions prevalent in Santa Barbara County. These information sheets have been placed in all participating agencies’ emergency vehicles.
Vandenberg has provided a hazardous materials expert to conduct training classes on the various materials included in the plan. These classes are designed for training officers of participating agencies, who in turn will instruct other members of their agencies.
This program is now operational. While we do not envision the program as a panacea for hazardous materials incidents, we are confident that emergency personnel and citizens alike can be assured of greater safety.
Official U. S. Air Force Photo
