Scenario: Your engine is dispatched to a motor vehicle crash involving a tractor trailer and a passenger car. The saddle tank on the tractor trailer is split, and 75 gallons of diesel fuel have spilled onto the roadway. The roadway is adjacent to a small stream, which leads to a pond a quarter-mile away. As you view the stream, you can see a sheen trail extending downstream, and when you look at the pond, there is a 10- × 10-foot area that has rainbow sheen. The pond is home to some ducks and has been added to the list of environmentally sensitive areas in your community.
Fuel spills are a common occurrence for emergency responders and often occur in vehicle crashes. It is not unusual for these incidents to involve waterways such as harbors, bays, streams, creeks, and ponds. The ability to determine how much fuel has entered the waterway, where it will travel to, and the options for action will be critical in developing and implementing effective strategies for responding to the spill.
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