I always keep a bug out bag at the ready and adequate emergency supplies in the car and get chided by friends about being over prepared - nothing is going to happen here.... Well we doged a bullet so to speak last night as a train derailed at 4:30 A.M. about 2 blocks from where we live. 2 cars were carrying molten sulfur... luckly - no leaks, and as far as I know no one hurt. Mottow of the story - be prepared it can happen anywhere.

Evan

What makes me more nervous than sulfur are propane and toxic gas carriers.
It does not have to be anything that dramatic though.
Even a one house fire counts as a disaster if you end up homeless because of it.

Who here has gas masks because of train cars and their contents?
Anhydrous Amonia scares me. (I know I spelled that wrong :p)

"...chided by friends about being over prepared..."

And you will be the first one they run to for help whenever something happens. Be ready to tell them "I told you so"...

Many gas masks only work with "riot agents," ie tear gas. I don't know how well they would be with that stuff..

"And you will be the first one they run to for help whenever something happens. Be ready to tell them "I told you so"..."

Meh, comes with the territory. The ego injection alone is enough of a thank you.

To answer your question, I do, with chemical cartridges.

I have known of such an occurance in Laurel, Ms; involving large propane tank cars, @ 0400 on 14Feb1968, among other incidents that happened before and since.

Link to the news article: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6607744

I seldom tell people what I have stored away. I like the look on their faces when during an emergency I pull out exactly what is needed.

Tim

Different HAZMAT require different personal protective gear. A gasmask it self is almost useless, with other equipment and skills.

gasmasks uses filters, the kind of filters depends on the kind of hazardous vapours, gasses, particles. The are to many kinds to practically carry and maintain for a normal citizen. Also some gasses will chew its well through filters in very short periodes of time. Thats why the emergency services carry their own air (SCBU), also to expensive, inpractical and requires lots of training and maintaince.

Most HAZMAT responce require protective gear, like suits, gloves, shoes, eye protection, hoods, etc. Not all HAZMAT suits are usefull for all HAZMAT materials. No practical to store/have/buy everything privately.

Last and not least, decontamination is a very importent skill. It tales practise to not contaminate yourself after stepping outside a protective suit.

Best skill on HAZMAT situation. Good situation awarness, knowing where the wind is heading and make sure your not down wind from a incident.

The next few times you're caught behind the RR crossing arms, entertain yourself by reading the contents of the tank cars: Ammonia, ammonium hydrate, sulfuric acid, propane, chlorine, etc. I don't think they label the radioactive waste, but they do send armed guards with it.

That said, it's still the safest way to transport the stuff. Road tankers are still subject to the driving techniques of twits having trouble managing both their latte's and cell phones.

Sue

Hmmm, the radioactive waste is the safe one.
You should see the containers they ship it in.

The one that got me was the fact they can ship molten metal or explosives on public roads in heavy traffic with nothing but a placard on the truck.

It was only about 15 or 20 years ago cities started designating hazardous material routes. Before that trucks and trains would regularly haul the most dangerous things imaginable through some of the most densely populated areas on the map.

You should see where some of the Class A explosive stopping location are...

On the odd occasion a hazardous cargo will miss their designated route. One of my alma maters administers this place, which meant that more than a fair amount of explosive material got trucked in. The hazardous material route reached well out away from town and it was on occasion a pleasant evening's run.

One night I was walking back from my classroom building across one of the gated streets - Tech is a "gated campus," for whatever reason gates were closed across some roads at night - and there was a semi parked up next to the gate with absolutely no way to turn around. Being a helpful sort of chap, I walked over to see if I could make a phone call for the driver to get the gate unlocked. Lo and behold, the trailer had "explosive" placards all over it, with my house (and a lot of other folks') a mere hundred meters away.

And the driver was just standing there, smoking a cigarette. Sometimes you just gotta laugh.

Kaboom?
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/pubs/pdfs/arora.pdf

For a report in one of my EM classes, I purchased the "Emergency Responder's Guide to Railroad Incidents" by Greg. A. Rhoads. An interesting read.