Hazmat in Ohio is Hazardous on the Road Imagine traveling south down I-75, in Ohio, early one morning when suddenly the hazmat tanker semi-truck, only a quarter of a mile ahead, loses control and flips into the median. Turned on its side, the tanker truck’s flammable material leaks out contaminating the median and the environment. With still the possibility of a fire, or worse an explosion, state patrol, Ohio department of transportation (DOT) officers, and other emergency personnel arrive on the scene, as traffic grinds to a halt. After surveying the situation, emergency officials state that, thankfully, this time the driver will be fine, and the hazmat spill of flammable material can be cleaned up; nevertheless, the effort will take several
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For Ohio, the dangerous outcomes of the tanker truck hazmat spills are obstacles that need to be overcome, and with keen planning, well thought out legislation, and upgrades to infrastructure Ohio could eliminate most, if not all, of the tragic consequences of …show more content…
Depending on what the tanker is carrying and the events surrounding when the spill transpires, there could be harmful chemical particles in the air that could become widespread in the presence of high wind, a fire, or worse yet, an explosion. With the definition of a hazardous material being “any item or agent (biological, chemical, radiological, and/or physical), which has the potential to cause harm to humans, animals, or the environment, either by itself or through interaction with other factors,” “most any material, if not packaged, handled, loaded, and transported properly, can become hazardous and cause injury” (“What are Hazardous Materials?”; J.J. Keller). Since there are multiple types and classifications of hazmat substances it would be impractical to list all the possible environmental dangers every substance poses; however, a few examples of environmental threats, are air quality contamination from poisonous gasses and liquids, damage to “surface water, groundwater, drinking water supply, land surface, subsurface strata, ambient air, dry gullies and storm sewers that discharge to surface waters,” and the contribution to global warming via CO2 and other gasses in the case of fires or explosions (Wetzel). Ohio must create unique solutions to eliminate the environmental concerns that arise when a hazmat tanker has an accident and
For Ohio, the dangerous outcomes of the tanker truck hazmat spills are obstacles that need to be overcome, and with keen planning, well thought out legislation, and upgrades to infrastructure Ohio could eliminate most, if not all, of the tragic consequences of …show more content…
Depending on what the tanker is carrying and the events surrounding when the spill transpires, there could be harmful chemical particles in the air that could become widespread in the presence of high wind, a fire, or worse yet, an explosion. With the definition of a hazardous material being “any item or agent (biological, chemical, radiological, and/or physical), which has the potential to cause harm to humans, animals, or the environment, either by itself or through interaction with other factors,” “most any material, if not packaged, handled, loaded, and transported properly, can become hazardous and cause injury” (“What are Hazardous Materials?”; J.J. Keller). Since there are multiple types and classifications of hazmat substances it would be impractical to list all the possible environmental dangers every substance poses; however, a few examples of environmental threats, are air quality contamination from poisonous gasses and liquids, damage to “surface water, groundwater, drinking water supply, land surface, subsurface strata, ambient air, dry gullies and storm sewers that discharge to surface waters,” and the contribution to global warming via CO2 and other gasses in the case of fires or explosions (Wetzel). Ohio must create unique solutions to eliminate the environmental concerns that arise when a hazmat tanker has an accident and