At approximately, 1245 hrs of April 08, 2010, OSCs Jeffrey Fowlow and Angie Lopez-Mercado, along with START, were deployed to Ocean Shores, Washington to coordinate with local Fire Department personnel to dispose of an orphan cylinder. The cylinder was discovered on the beach near Ocean Shores the night of April 7, by Police Department personnel. The police called the Fire Department who transported the cylinder to an Ocean Shores municipal shop facility at 165 Ocean Lake Way in Ocean Shores, Washington. The Ocean Shores Fire Department contacted the Department of Ecology for assistance in disposing of the cylinder. Late on the morning of April 8th, the Washington Department of Ecology requested the assistance of the US EPA for the disposal of the cylinder.
US EPA mobilized to the site and inspected the cylinder. The cylinder was encrusted with marine invertebrates and heavily corroded, obscuring all markings and colorations. In addition, it had a slight hissing sound indicating escaping gas. START attempted to identify the content by using chlorine, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, cyanide, carbon monoxide, explosive gas, oxygen, and VOC sensors, but none of these gases were detected.
In order to ensure that the contents of the cylinder were non-hazardous, START contractors in Level B PPE took the cylinder to a remote location of the facility, opened the cylinder's valve, and monitored the fast release. When this was performed, a short, mild relief of pressure was noted with no readings above background observed while monitoring with all of the above sensors. A black, watery liquid was then drained from the cylinder and collected for analysis. The liquid from the cylinder was positive for a WATESMO water test, with a pH of 5, which was further evidence that the original contents of the cylinder had vented previously, and that the cylinder posed little hazard. In consultation with the fire department, the cylinder was placed on a scrap pile to await recycling.
