SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
Adopted: May 13, 1986
FAILURE OF CARGO TANK
TRANSPORTING HAZARDOUS WASTE
ON THE WASHINGTON, D.C. BELTWAY,
INTERSTATE 95,
FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA
AUGUST 12, 1985 
NTSB Number: SIR-86/02
NTIS Number: PB86-917004 
SYNOPSIS
On August 12, 1985, in Fairfax County, Virginia, a cargo tank loaded with 5,000 gallons of corrosive hazardous waste from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard In Portsmouth, Virginia, leaked its cargo while en route to a disposal facility in Deepwater, New Jersey. The 17-year-old cargo tank had recently received corrosion damage repairs, however, no technical examinations were performed on the cargo tank at that time to determine the severity of corrosion damage to the shell or the welds. The cargo tank subsequently failed while transporting its fifth load of hazardous waste after the repairs were made. Examination of the cargo tank after the incident disclosed a 12-inch crack immediately adjacent to a corroded vertical weld In the cargo tank's rear head; the vertical weld in the rear head had not been repaired.

A 4-mile stretch of Interstate 95 was closed to traffic for about 9 hours, and about 600 persons were evacuated from an area within a half-mile radius of the cargo tank. Local emergency response personnel initially experienced difficulties when attempting to call the waste generator to determine the concentration of the hazardous materials contained in the waste solution and to determine the threats presented to public safety; a telephone number listed on the shipping paper for the waste generator was called about 5:20 p.m., but no one answered the phone.

This investigation report focuses on the Inadequacies in the following Department of Transportation requirements: for inspecting, retesting, and repairing cargo tanks used to transport hazardous materials; for measuring and evaluating the severity of corrosion damage to cargo tanks; for establishing measurable qualification standards for persons inspecting and testing.cargo tanks; for establishing measurable standards for repairing cargo tanks which involve corrosion damage or weld defects; for establishing measurable qualification standards for persons performing repairs on cargo tanks involving corrosion damage and weld defects- and for providing information on shipping papers to Inform emergency response personnel about the concentration and hazards of the material transported.

RECOMMENDATIONS

As a result of its Investigation, the Safety Board reiterated the following safety recommendations:

--to the U.S. Department of Defense:

Establish an effective 24-hour communication system to provide local emergency response personnel immediate access to authoritative information and expertise on the threats presented by explosive and other high-hazard Department of Defense shipments involved in transportation accidents. (I-85-21)

--to the Research and Special Programs Administration:

Determine the adequacy of general shipping names on shipping papers for hazardous wastes and the need for additional information, such as technical and chemical group names, to better inform emergency response personnel about the composition and hazards of the material being shipped. (I-85-10)

In addition to the reiteration of these safety recommendations, the Safety Board also made the following recommendations:

--to the . Department Of Defense,.

Identify the relative amounts of hazardous ingredients contained in Department of Defense waste shipments and provide that information with the shipping papers to better inform emergency response personnel about the composition and hazards of the waste material being transported; include action that can be taken to mitigate the shipments’ hazards (Class II, Priority Action) (I-86-4)

--to the Research and Special Programs Administration:

Establish objective standards for the qualification of persons performing inspections, tests, and technical examinations of cargo tanks. (Class II, Priority Action) (I-86-5)

Establish objective standards for the qualification of persons performing repairs on cargo tanks involving corrosion damage and weld defects, or require that the repairs be performed under the direct supervision of an independent inspector who is qualified to establish standards and who will certify acceptable repairs. (Class II, Priority Action) (I-86-6)

Require appropriate technical examinations to be performed on cargo tanks when corrosion damage or weld defects are identified to scientifically measure and evaluate the severity of the corrosion damage or weld defects, and prohibit use of the cargo tanks to transport hazardous materials when the results of technical examinations signify structurally unsafe conditions. (Class II, Priority Action) (I-86-7)