EMERGENCY TEAMS PROVE THEIR READINESS FOR DANGER

Fortunately, accidents involving hazardous materials threatening lives and property do not occur often in the region. Last Monday was an exceptional day.

Two such accidents -- one involving a tanker truck hauling gasoline and the other a tanker truck unloading hydrochloric acid -- occurred that morning. About 8,000 gallons of gasoline spilled along Cape Girardeau County Route C just south of New Wells when the truck overturned and about 1,900 gallons of hydrochloric acid spilled from the truck at Biokyowa on Nash Road.

We were reassured by the rapid response of emergency crews to both places and their efficient, coordinated efforts in handling these dangerous situations. Because of their skills, catastrophes were avoided.

Realizing the danger of such a large amount of gasoline pouring from a tanker whose load was rapidly being depleted, response teams, coordinated through the Cape Girardeau County Office of Emergency Preparedness, quickly put a plan into action.

The Missouri Highway Patrol and Fruitland Fire Department, which arrived at the Route C accident at about the same time, immediately blocked the highway on either side of the spill to avoid the possibility of a spark from a passing vehicle igniting the fumes. Residents within a quarter-mile radius of the mishap were evacuated from their homes. A command post was set up about a quarter-mile from the overturned truck.

Fruitland firefighters meanwhile had laid out water and foam hose lines, and extra foam was brought in by the Cape Girardeau Fire Department in case it was needed. An empty tanker was brought in to pump out the remaining 500 gallons of gasoline in the overturned tanker, and much of the spilled gasoline that had pooled at the bottom of the hill on a nearby county road was pumped into that tanker.

Meanwhile, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources was contacted, and a representative was sent to the scene. Wood mulch was ordered and Missouri Highway and Transportation Department trucks hauled it in. Department front-end loaders were used to construct mulch dams to absorb much of the gasoline and to prevent it from covering more ground.

Before the day was through a contractor, working well into the night to finish the job, cleaned up the contaminated mulch and soil.

In all, it was a testament to the preparedness, professionalism and necessary coordination of area emergency crews.

The hydrochloric acid spill at Biokyowa occurred soon afterward. It happened when a flange on the top of the tanker broke while the driver loaded the acid into a storage tank. The acid spill encompassed about a 40-by-60-foot area because the unloading area is contained by dikes.

Immediately, Biokyowa's own emergency response team went into action. They acted with such swiftness that the situation was well in hand when the Cape Girardeau Fire Department arrived to assist. As soon as the spill occurred, air pressure, which forces the acid out of the tanker into a storage tank, was stopped, and water and soda ash were applied to neutralize the spill. The spill was contained in about an hour and a half.

It was the second time this year that a spill occurred at the plant. A spill about six months ago also was quickly contained. Unlike Monday's spill, which was a result of mechanical failure, the earlier spill occurred because someone had not followed the proper procedure.

A battalion chief for the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, Mark Hasheider, who also is Cape Girardeau's emergency operations coordinator, gave the company's response high and deserved praise. "I have to give them an A-plus on their site and the safety measures they have down there," he said. "They train for something to happen. They've got the equipment and knowledge and people to respond."

We join Hasheider in his praise of Biokyowa's emergency response and extend praise to all of the agencies and people who joined in on Route C to avert a fire or explosion. It is comforting to know that such knowledgeable and dedicated people -- Fruitland firefighters are volunteers -- are available to react so quickly in such a coordinated fashion when the need arises.