United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region VI
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

At approximately 1215 hours a representative of Triad Transportation, Incorporated, notified the National Response Center (NRC# 835154) of an explosion that occurred at a Triad facity, a hazardous material hauler, located in a semi-rural area near Benton, Saline County, Arkansas. The facility is located at 10930 Highway 67. The NRC notified the EPA-RPB about the situation. At 1310 hours, EPA mobilized the EPA-START-3 team to respond to the incident location, perform an incident investigation, provide air monitoring support, and document response activities.

The explosion occurred on a semi-truck and trailer stored on 10-acre Triad lot. Wastes of various hazard classifications are involved in the fire. No cause for the explosion has been identified. The fire-impacted trailer is situated in a line of six trailers, each storing varios hazardous materials. No injuries have been reported. A creek is located in the vacinity.

At 2027 hours on 12 May 2007, EPA representatives arrived at the incident location. Two fire engines and one tanker truck are on standby at the site location. Fifty to seventy households located within one-half mile (in each direction) of the facility have been evacuated by the Benton Fire Department. The incident commander will maintain the evacuation overnight. Interstate 30 remains open; however, approximately 1.2 miles of US Highway 67 has been blockaded by local law enforcement for the duration of response activities and overnight.

The Turtle Creek Fire Department were the first responders on-scene. They were notified about the fire at 1209 hours. They arrived on-scene at approximately 1230 hours. Fire departments from Glen Rose, Traskell, Haskell, and Benton also responded to the explosion and resulting fire. Fire Departments applied approximately 3,000 gallons of water over a period of approximately 45 minutes to the fire and to Trailer 6 in an effort to cool the contents. Trailer 6 contains multiple hazardous materials including thousands of disposable lighters with residual contents. At 2200 hours, the fire department captured a thermal scan of Trailer 6 and indicated an internal temperature of 70 to 72 degrees farenheit. Trailer 5, the compromised trailer, contained approximately 3,000 pounds of sodium, packed in diesel, and various other hazardous materials. Trailer 5 has been more than 80% destroyed. A berm of sand had been placed by contractors to collect firewater before entering a nearby creek.  Fire fighters decided to let the fire burn out without further application of water due to the possible presence of water reactive materials and so not to create a runoff issue.

Two representatives of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and contractors from CTEH are on-scene. CTEH deployed five remote telemetry enabled Area Rae multiple gas detectors in areas adjacent to the incident location, including two residential areas. CTEH is also utilizing two Multi-Rae and two Mini-Rae monitors while performing periodic mobile air monitoring in the vicinity. CTEH is monitoring for volitile organic compounds (VOCs), particulates, oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, lower explosive limits of methane (LEL), sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. No abnormal concentrations of the aforementioned have been detected from the plume. CTEH is also utilizing SKC pumps and Minican samplers to capture air samples for analysis of PAH, Method 7300 for metals, and EPA Method TO-15.

After the fire has been extinguished and the trailers have been moved, contractors will remove impacted soil from the vacinity of the burned trailer and perform confirmation soil sampling for analysis of hazardous materials.

No runoff of hazardous materials have been observed by personnel on-scene; however, CTEH will collect water samples for analysis of hazardous materials in the morning, as a precautionary measure.

The fire department will continue to monitor the fire and the adjacent trailers by utilizing the thermal imaging camera. If the fire has been extinguished, fire department personnel will make an entry in the morning to observe current site conditions and plan a course of action for the removal of five of the six trailers.

No water is being applied to the fire.

The evacuation has not been lifted.