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#299774 - 08/19/21 06:20 AM Respirator for train spills?
Bingley Offline
Veteran

Registered: 02/27/08
Posts: 1576
If you live near a railroad, do you include a respirator in your prep kit in case there is a train spill? If so, what kind of respirator constitutes reasonable preparation?

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#299776 - 08/19/21 12:25 PM Re: Respirator for train spills? [Re: Bingley]
chaosmagnet Online   content
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
We live about a mile from the railroad, and other than disposable dust-mask-style “respirators” this is something I haven’t done. For such a thing to be useful to me there’d have to be:

  • Some kind of hazmat incident with the train
  • That wasn’t quickly lethal to us
  • But would be more slowly dangerous
  • That we’d be able to escape the dangerous zone if we found out about it in time
  • Where respirators significantly increased the safety of our escape


The “escape” factor is not a small one — will roads be passable? Will whatever happened prevent my car from operating? Would our clothes be contaminated such that we needed a hazmat response?

For my family this seems like a big expense for a very small likelihood of needing it.

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#299782 - 08/19/21 04:55 PM Re: Respirator for train spills? [Re: Bingley]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
A respirator, or at least an N95 disposable mask, is a handy item for many situations - standard equipment
_________________________
Geezer in Chief

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#299785 - 08/20/21 11:20 AM Re: Respirator for train spills? [Re: hikermor]
chaosmagnet Online   content
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Originally Posted By: hikermor
A respirator, or at least an N95 disposable mask, is a handy item for many situations - standard equipment


Agreed. Perhaps I was caught up in terminology, but I didn’t think of those as “respirators.”

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#299787 - 08/20/21 04:08 PM Re: Respirator for train spills? [Re: chaosmagnet]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Why limit concerns to just trains? Many interesting things are hauled by motor freight on highways and city streets, even right next door....
_________________________
Geezer in Chief

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#299806 - 08/22/21 10:39 PM Re: Respirator for train spills? [Re: Bingley]
Bingley Offline
Veteran

Registered: 02/27/08
Posts: 1576
Some people may live very close to railroads or major highways. Some people may have respiratory or ophthalmic conditions. They need to consider more than surviving the "immediate death" situation.

But what kind of respirators do people need? When I looked up hazmat information, much of it seems directed at workers on dangerous job sites. For those situations one could invest in expensive respirators. But what about for the sort of situation we're thinking of?

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#299808 - 08/23/21 01:40 AM Re: Respirator for train spills? [Re: Bingley]
dougwalkabout Offline
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3219
Loc: Alberta, Canada
A respirator is the last line of defense, and it's a lousy, limited one. A half mask or full mask, with a P100 particulate plus chemical, is a miserable thing to breathe through. If the user is not trained in its use and fit tested for a reliable seal, it's basically a fancy condom with a hole in it.

Emergency services and the railway will have a plan, in some detail, for such a contingency. They won't hand you the full plan because it contains personal data, names and phone numbers etc. But if you ask, they will usually give some guidance.

One of the biggest practical measures will involve having the local populace shelter in place. And that is the place to invest time and dollars -- making your residence and your shelter room as airtight as possible before an incident.

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#299809 - 08/23/21 02:07 AM Re: Respirator for train spills? [Re: Bingley]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
One of the biggest practical measures will involve having the local populace shelter in place. And that is the place to invest time and dollars -- making your residence and your shelter room as airtight as possible before an incident.

Keep duct tape handy. I am reminded of an incident here on the Channel islands (California). A missile launch at Vandenberg AFB went awry and it exploded on the launch pad. San Miguel island was directly downwind. The people on the island went into the Ranger Station, basically a CONEX box with a couple of doors and windows, and sealed the opening with duct tape until they could be flown out.

No fun at all....
_________________________
Geezer in Chief

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#299810 - 08/23/21 01:04 PM Re: Respirator for train spills? [Re: Bingley]
Tjin Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 04/08/02
Posts: 1821
Not sure how this is in other places, but in my country train and road have specific corridors for hazardous materials. These avoid things like tunnels and densely populated area's.

In many cases the type of materials transported in large quantities are known and can thus be prepared for.

Do note that there outflow of any goods are limited by the amount present. That gasses will get in to building; thus ventilating after a cloud of gass has passed is important.
_________________________


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#299861 - 08/31/21 06:06 PM Re: Respirator for train spills? [Re: Bingley]
Bingley Offline
Veteran

Registered: 02/27/08
Posts: 1576
Hmm, my plan was (is?):

1. train spills!
2. put on a full-face respirator
3. get in the car
4. run away!!!

The respirator is meant for temporary use. But then I realized that I may not be able to get away. Or the get away may be too slow to be safe. Everyone will be trying to do the same thing, after all. We will have evacuation traffic.

So that makes sealing a room important. It seems like that means I have to have a room always sealed and ready for refuge. I am assuming that after a spill happens, I won't have time to leisurely find the plastic rolls, get the ladder, tape up the windows, etc... Further, I suspect that my house is poorly insulated, with tiny, invisible gaps in the floor and ceiling that some form of gas can get through. But let's set that problem aside. Just having a room where the major portals like windows and doors are sealed most of the time seems kind of impractical.

What do you guys think?

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