Spill Center® handled a curious incident recently involving a truck in transit on Interstate 12 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A motorist following behind noticed a bright green liquid leaking from the truck onto the highway. Like any concerned citizen, the motorist dialed the CHEMTREC™ number printed on the trailer on her cell phone to report what she was seeing.

From the information provided by the motorist, a CHEMTREC emergency services specialist was able to determine that the carrier is a Spill Center client. So he promptly dialed our call center. You have to understand that even the possibility that the release is a regulated substance must be taken very seriously in Louisiana. The state's hazmat incident notification regulations are among the most stringent in the nation.

Because of the high volume of hazardous materials that move within Louisiana's boundaries, the law places the burden of immediate telephone notification on the responsible party, requiring timely reports - within one hour of discovery - to local and state government in order to ensure the public safety. Non-compliance can draw a fine of up to $25,000 per incident per day. So the need for swift action cannot be over emphasized in Louisiana.

Spill Center automatically reports Louisiana incidents involving our clients without regard to their claim-handling instructions. We report any incident involving a hazardous or potentially hazardous material during the course of transportation in Louisiana, regardless of the amount released without delay.

For that reason, when Spill Center compliance associate Ernie Spencer got the call from CHEMTREC, he immediately got on the phone to the carrier's authorized emergency contact to notify her of the incident that was unfolding in Baton Rouge. The emergency contact made prompt contact with the Dispatch Center, which was then able to notify the driver, who was completely unaware that a green substance (which turned out to be antifreeze) was leaking from his vehicle.

He pulled over and stopped the flow coming from a leaking valve on an in-transit heating system on the trailer. The amount released was estimated to be 6 to 7 gallons of antifreeze, based on the capacity of the in-transit heating system. Ernie made prompt phone reports to the Louisiana Dept of Environmental Quality and Dept. of Public Safety, as well as the East Baton Rouge Parish Local Emergency Planning Committee.

He assured the regulatory authorities that the carrier was in compliance, and he provided timely updates to keep them advised as the situation developed. No harm was done to the environment, and the carrier expressed its appreciation to Spill Center for the assistance and prompt response in handling the incident.

The best advice we can offer spill generators? When in doubt, report! Nobody can get in trouble by reporting an incident that doesn't need to be reported. But the fines can be substantial when a spill of a reportable quantity is not reported to the proper authorities within the required time period. That goes double in Louisiana.

Sincerely,

Tom Moses
President
Spill Center  

22 Kane Industrial Drive
Hudson, Massachusetts 01749