杰夫·辛普森(Jeff Simpson):铁路运输原油的危害

杰夫·辛普森(Jeff Simpson)

What do places such as Aliceville, Alabama; Vandergrift, Pennsylvania; Weld County, Colorado; Bethlehem, New York; Casselton, North Dakota; Plaster Rock, New Brunswick; Lac-Megantic, Quebec; and Lynchburg, Virginia have in common? All represent towns, hamlets, or cities that have experienced a railroad train derailment within the past year or so involving volatile North American crude oil. Couple this with ethanol unit train出轨俄亥俄州和火灾在世外桃源;新布赖顿,Pennsylvania; and Cherry Valley, Illinois, and the fire and emergency medical service along with emergency managers and planners can become quickly overwhelmed. The following information provides better insight into what first responders potentially could be facing.

北美原油101

这global demand forenergy并担心中东潜在的供应中断,再加上过去几年的汽油价格飙升,在国内刺激了钻探以满足我们的能源需求。技术创新推动了非常规的水平钻井和液压压裂的增长,从美国和加拿大各部分内的页岩形成。这些成功已经相对一夜地重塑了北美能源行业。

在巴肯,二叠纪,尼奥布拉拉(Niobrara),鹰福特(Eagle Ford)和整个大陆的其他地层中,轻油的生产持续增长。在美国,预计增长率将从2012年的每天670万桶增加到2022年的每天1,160万桶。预计到2025年,加拿大每天将每天生产560万桶,从2011年的每天360万桶。这种高质量的烤面包原油每天产量为950,000桶,主要起源于北达科他州和蒙大拿州,每加仑重6.2至7.0磅。它的粘性也不如低级油,使精炼过程更容易。反过来,降低了该油的闪点和最低的温度,从而降低了这种油,从而使其易燃。还值得注意的是,来自艾伯塔省地区的加拿大原油含有超过1%的硫,而美国原油的含量不到0.5%。创建硫化氢(H2s)作为一个关注,从加拿大石油运营运输过程中,作为一种无味的气体副产品也是如此。

铁路运输经济学

Today’s railroads incentivize shippers through their transportation rates to move the largest amount of a commodity in a single trainload. Railroads are most profitable when they can pick up a single trainload or unit train from a single origin and move it to a single destination in the most direct or timely manner. Limitations exist related to shipment size, train length, railcar dimensions, commodity weight, and railcar axle load ratings. It is not uncommon that unit trains of crude oil consist of 120 railcar loads carrying the potential of 85,000 barrels (3.6 million gallons) of volume oil during point-to-point shipment. Approximately 75 percent of Bakken oil production travels by railcar, and upwards of 400,000 barrels of oil a day heads to the East Coast, making it a highly lucrative business for the railroads. Another 300,000 barrels traverse the rails en route to the Gulf Coast, California, and Washington State.

目前,由于原油罐车的可用性,铁路受到限制。新的铁路罐车的订单正在以80%的态度积压。联邦法律规定,在美国的边界内,所有在美国的原油生产都得到完善。不允许石油成为transloadedand shipped off shore for delivery elsewhere. With limited refining locations in the United States, the potential to bottleneck crude oil unit trains in congested urban areas is extremely high. Railroads have opted to reroute a percentage of their trains to port locations such as Albany, New York, or Norfolk, Virginia, for commodity transfer onto tankers and barges for delivery to refineries via water routes. This process reduces the congestion, makes rail tank cars available for return and refill faster, and maintains a timely and steady flow of material to processing locations.

Crude Oil Unit Train

原油坦克汽车规格

Railroads are utilizing DOT 111AW General Service tank cars, also known as CTC-111A in Canada, to transport the bulk of the crude oil throughout their network. Since the majority of these cars are owned by the shippers or railcar-leasing companies, the mandated inspection and service regulations are the responsibility of the owner, not the railroads themselves. The railroads do periodic car inspections on a limited basis, but this does not guarantee 100 percent compliance of good operating condition. Tank cars manufactured before 1996 have a maximum capacity of 25,000 gallons and are made from lower-grade steel. Tank car capacities and steel strength have increased since then with most of the crude oil, ethanol, and gasoline being transported in DOT 111AW cars carrying 31,800 gallons of product. Since the demand for tank cars is greater than the supply, it is not uncommon to find lower-capacity and older tank cars being used to move these commodities as well.

点111AW 31,800加仑铁路坦克汽车

2011年10月,美国铁路协会(AAR)建议对所有新罐车进行增强功能construction专为原油和乙醇运输服务而设计,称为CPC-1232。这些设计改进包括保护顶部和底部油箱阀,½至5/8英寸的外壳厚度,压力浮雕设备和半高盾牌保护方面的进步。在2014年5月在弗吉尼亚州林奇堡的出轨中,证实了脱轨的17辆铁路罐中的14辆是送给CPC-1232标准的,其中包括泄漏的汽车,这些汽车泄漏了成千上万加仑的石油进入詹姆斯河。

Half height head shield protection

紧急计划和响应

这个诞辰时代的行业使许多司法管辖区和机构在计划和减轻大规模公众方面没有准备安全andhazardous紧急情况。这危险材料应急响应指南(ERG) classifies this commodity as1267 Petroleumwith standard precautions described. Most departments and hazmat teams train on a single isolated release of product and not one involving multiple containers carrying thousands of gallons of volatile merchandise.Emergencyresponse plans (ERP) should be developed based on these new complexities and include worst-case scenarios. Localities need to quickly understand which routes the railroad is using to transport large volumes of crude oil, ethanol, and gasoline, and at what commodity flow rates. Departments and jurisdictions must refocus their efforts to be adequately trained to respond to flammable liquid incidents.

Development of core capabilities related to the five established levels ofhazmat训练can be found in National Fire Protection Association 472,响应者对危险材料/大规模破坏事件武器的能力标准以及职业安全与健康管理局的标准Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response(29 CFR 1910.120). Because of the size and complexity of a rail tank car-related incident, the development of multiagency and regional response plans, including训练exercises, is key in protecting the public and mitigating the hazard. It is recommended that localities identify and establish written impact区域along railroad track right-of-ways that exceed the standard ERG ½-mile evacuation guideline. Information on Bakken light crude oil and its hazards can be found as part of the Materials Safety Data Sheet atwww.cenovus.com/contractor/docs/CenovusMSDS_BakkenOil.pdf.

References

“原油坦克车”,Paul F. Titterton, GATX Corporation, February 27, 2013.

“巴肯原油滚动到奥尔巴尼,”贾德·穆瓦德(Jad Mouawad),这New York Times, February 27, 2013.

“Virginia’s Bomb Trains,” Fred Millar, June 10, 2014.

生物

JEFF SIMPSON是一名31年的消防和EMS服务的资深人士,是索尔兹伯里(MD)消防局的前任负责人。他被认证为弗吉尼亚消防教练和FEMA级别的安全和指挥官。他参加了美国军事大学工业咨询委员会,并就其紧急管理和灾难准备课程提供建议。他在汉诺威县(VA)消防学院指导。188博金宝体育1他是2006年州长颁发的弗吉尼亚消防局卓越奖奖决赛入围者

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