United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region IV
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

At 3:00pm, Saturday, July 12th, a transport tanker carrying 3300 gallons of titanium tetrachloride and toluene rolled over into the median of Interstate 40 westbound near Crossville, Tennessee. Cumberland County Fire and Hazmat responded to the incident and immediately shut down Interstate 40 and evacuated fifteen homes in the vicinity of the accident because of the potential release of hydrochloric acid vapors. The local EMA coordinator requested EPA's assistance with technical support and air monitoring capabilities. OSC Perry Gaughan responded with START teams from Nashville and Atlanta.

Saturday, July 12th
EPA arrived on site at 2:30 am. The transport company, S and J Transportation had hired Hepaco (Knoxville, Tenn) to conduct clean up and tank transfer operations. Titanium tetrachloride is very reactive with air/water forming hydrochloric acid vapors and titanium oxide, a white fine powder (or mist). The wrecked tanker had a small leak earlier in the day and Hepaco had secured the leak and was waiting on a second transfer tanker to arrive for transfer operations. Because 24 hour operations were in place, Phone Duty OSC Buerki offered R2 assistance and OSC Carter Williamson was mobed the following morning at 07:00am.  

Sunday, July 13th, 2008
The second transfer tanker arrived at 8:00 am and Hepaco began Level A transfer operations. EPA/Start positioned single point monitors in the transfer zone as well as upwind and downwind of operations.

During initial efforts to conduct the tank transfer, Hepaco found that the tanker had built up a significant amount of vapor pressure during the previous day, most likely do to toluene vapors and 90* temperatures after the accident. High internal tank pressures were lowered from a flow line near the front of the tanker and transfer operations began at 4:00pm. Start continued monitoring throughout transfer operations and no elevated levels of hydrochloric acid were noted. Occasionally during transfer operations a fine white puff of titanium oxide was noted but no significant amounts or plume impacting the highway or residential areas were released. Tank transfer operations ended at 10:00pm and the transfer tanker was deconned and left site at midnight. Tenn State Patrol conducted their accident investigation over the next two hours and the wrecked tanker was finally removed from the median by 8:00am.

East bound Interstate 40 was opened to traffic at 8:30 am and west bound traffic was opened soon after.