Chemical accidents. I work as a volunteer on our county’s emergency management committee, and the #1 thing we prep for is something I don’t hear anybody in the prepping community talking about… probably because it’s not sexy, doesn’t require guns or long-term storage and other fun and interesting stuff…
Our number one worry here in North Missouri, even in this small rural county, is a chemical disaster.
Chemical accidents waiting to happen
We have a main line of a national railroad (think BNSF, CSX, Canadian National, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific) that has trains hauling God-only-knows what-all in them. We have two highways that have trucks hauling God-only-knows what-all in them, plus we have chemical plants & fertilizer plants and ammonia storage facilities, etc. Chemical accidents to be – riding the rails at 80MPH.
It’s not a matter of “if” there is a toxic spill, it’s a matter of WHEN. We’ve actually had one in the last 25 years that caused evacuation of an entire town for a couple of days…
Another common chemical accident source
As Spice wrote in an article last year, “I probably drove by fifty different giant tanks capable of leaking highly toxic ammonia gas today. A train with at least twenty tanks of it went below me at an overpass. It wasn’t an unusual day; you were probably downwind of several yourself.”
“Anhydrous ammonia is a liquid sprayed on farm fields as fertilizer. It’s also in common use in industrial production. Worse, druggies use it to make methamphetamine. They often steal it from the tanks farmers keep for fertilizer. At least the farmers and transporters must be trained in the use of this nasty stuff; but the meth-makers are often high school dropouts who are trying to work stoned. I’m sure they’re Reeeaaalll careful though!” she wrote.
If a tank of anhydrous leaks, the best you can do is get out of the downwind path. Do you know where the railroad tracks are near your home, and the fastest route to get away from them given various wind directions? Time to find out.
Click here for a complete post we did on this threat.
How to be ready for chemical accidents?
The key to being prepped is to have proper respiratory and chemical protection that you can use during a bug-out… this isn’t a long-term threat, it’s one of those where people who would normally be bug-in people will want to bug-out for a couple of days (which is why even bug-inners need a bug-out bag). If you are downwind of a chemical fire, that can be a very bad thing.
Let me be clear, it’s probably overkill to carry a respirator with you wherever you go unless you work in a place (like, say, a chemical plant or train yard) where spills are just a matter of time. Instead, be ready to bug out of the area at a moment’s notice. Have your bug out plan in place, including meet up locations, alternate contact information, and supplies to meet your immediate need (water, food, etc.).
SO… what’s going to happen?
Well, it depends on many factors, but you can pretty well count on the following by the government during chemical accidents:
Someone will call 911.
The local first responders will arrive at the scene and determine there is a chemical risk, and the first thing they will do is order an mandatory evacuation of the area. This will virtually always be AT LEAST a mile radius, often more.
They will set up a local command post, and try to assess if it is safe to try to assist survivors and evacuees. First responders are trained for THEIR safety first so as to not create more victims than there already are, but frankly many of these folks are aggressive and they tend to “push the limits” in an effort to help people who may be trapped or injured.
Firm rule
It’s a firm rule that people NEVER exceed their training on anything, and a chemical accidents / hazardous materials spill is one where it is critical that people follow this rule.
I could continue and talk about all of the things that will happen… how each state will send in it’s emergency response control team, how local emergency response plans will go into action, etc… but really what preppers need to know is this.
If there is a chemical accidents / hazardous materials spill nearby, it’s time to bug out. Even if you are a “bug-in” oriented person, leave. These are local, short term events, and you will be back home soon.
When I was working as an EMT we had a rule of thumb about chemical accidents. GET upwind then extend out your arm, make a thumbs Up and if your thumb doesn’t cover the whole chemical spill scene YOU ARE TOO CLOSE.
Yes you could use a lot of exact measurements but how many of us are going to pull out a laser range finder to establish if we are in the danger zone?
As far as actual exposure if you detect a strong smell or your eyes water, or sting or something tastes funny head UP Wind NOW. If you have a bottle of water flush the face, rinse the mouth, spit it out. Some chemicals are pretty nasty that even a tiny bit can harm you but most if your not deep in the spill area you can flee out and get treatments. Maybe a Every Day Carry might include a bottle of water? Just a thought that I am adding to my EDC today.
Personally I am more concerned of a mass evacuation of a city to the towns because a bad chemical spill destroyed their water supply. A Government created Golden Horde of sorts. My town does not have excess supplies for a convoy of bussed in refugees…
Good point and food for thought. I live only a couple of blocks from a railroad line. It primarily only carries a commuter train during the day, but does carry freight trains at night. I don’t know whether those freight trains carry hazmat stuff or not. They probably do. I shall have to research this.
I haven’t given this much thought as although I worked as a police officer in Michigan, my town had no railroad lines within a mile or more, so we didn’t give train accidents much consideration at all. Our FD probably did as they were members of the county HazMat team, but we at the PD just figured we’d be backing up the affected PD at a distance. Yes, we did have mandatory HazMat training and learned how not to be blue canaries (as the FD called us) in the event a truck carrying HazMat had an accident on our roadways.
OK, I researched the hazmat transportation routes. There is a national registry of restricted routes. https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hazardous-materials/national-hazardous-materials-route-registry-state
These routes usually only restrict some types of hazmat. In my state, Florida, only Tampa has any restricted routes. So hazmat can be transported by truck or rail anywhere else in Florida. Other states are more restrictive (Alaska being rather notable).