At very nearly the same time as the ever, the team discovered a hole about 3 feet in diameter in the top of the car. Ontario mishap, 29 cars of a 109-car Only about one fourth of the chlorine Louisville & Nashville freight train remained. It has been theorized (but derailed near Molino, Fla., north of not proven), Dow says, that a propane Pen&acolal. Nine of the derailed cars fireball punched the hole in the car contained flammable liquids, inand heated the chlorine so much that cluding six propane tank cars, three it rapidly vaporized and ascended of which caught fire. Residents within high into the air, so that it had dissi- a 5-mile radius of the accident were pated before it cooled and de- evacuated. The area is sparsely populated. Demolitions experts blasted scended. Tank car derailments More than half the evacuees had holes in the nine cars to release the trigger evacuations been allowed to return home by contents and speed up the burningTuesday night. At press time, the re- out process. By Wednesday afternoon Last week started off with a bang in maining propane cars had been off- the fires were just about out and the Ontario and Florida—and with a loaded. However, the "Chlorep" team evacuees were able to return home. And in Holland, Mich., a tank car whimper in Michigan—when tank was having difficulties patching the cars Containing hazardous chemicals I large hole and transferring the chlo- containing hydrogen fluoride derailed went off the tracks in three separate rine to tank trucks. Residents still on Monday. Some 1000 people were rail accidents. Residents of all three hadn't been allowed to return to the evacuated. But*there was no leak and areas were evacuated. "central core" around the accident the car was put back on the track the same day. • Just after midnight on Sunday, site. Nov. 11,26 cars of a 106-car Canadian Pacific freight train derailed in Mississauga, Ont., 20 miles southwest Nuclear execs fret over 1 Dubled future of Toronto. Among them were 12 tank cars, 11 filled with propane and Haunted by Three Mile Island, be- recommendations already had been one with chlorine. At least seven of sieged by critics, and angry over the implemented, he says. In addition, a the propane cars caught fire and ex- Nuclear Regulatory Commission's principal vehicle for reform is the ploded. The fchlorine car was leaking recent moratorium on new reactor Institute of Nuclear Power Operaslightly. licenses, some 1200 executives of the tions (INPO), launched on the recIt was feared that additional ex- nuclear industry gathered at the an- ommendation of AIF's own Three plosion^ could rupture the chlorine nual meeting of the Atomic Industrial Mile Island review committee. car, possibly causing dangerous Forum in San Francisco to ponder According to the INPO organizachlorine concentrations in the sur- their industry's troubled future. tional plan, it will evaluate utility rounding area. Police ordered the "On March 28,1979, the course of performance against industrywide area evacuated. By Sunday night, an nuclear power was inalterably "benchmarks of excellence" and will estimated 220,000 people had left. changed," declares Herman Dieck- run training programs to help everyAccording to all accounts, the evacu- amp, president of General Public one from reactor operators to utility ation Went smoothly. Police patrolled Utilities, the owner of the Three Mile executives to achieve them. INPO will the deserted area and there were no Island plant. "The accident revealed compile abnormal operating experireports of looting. significant problems within the fabric ences for feedback into the training By Tuesday, the propane fires were of the nuclear industry [and] is chal- programs and will maintain a catalog under control. A "Chlorep" emer- lenging the ability of our regulatory of people and resources available for gency team from Dow Chemical of and political institutions to handle help in case of an accident. Scheduled to begin operations in Atlanta in Canada approached the chlorine car the concept of risk." tb make repairs. It had been thought The theme was echoed again and mid-1980, INPO will have a staff of until then, Dow says, that there was again. "The industry has learned that about 200 and a budget of $12 million only a small leak in the tank car; at no a problem at any plant is a problem at per year. time had the chlorine concentration every plant," says Byron Lee Jr., vice The nuclear industry's frustration in the area exceeded 0.03 ppm. How- president of Commonwealth Edison over the NRC licensing moratorium Co. "There is a dedication on the part was voiced most forcefully by Robert o of everyone in the nuclear industry to E. Kirby, board chairman of Westa. I inghouse Electric Co. "Needlessly QII do whatever is needed to make nuclear power as near perfect as humans delaying the operation of completed plants serves only to accelerate energy can." There was general agreement at the inflation and prolong [U.S.] depenmeeting that the industry has fallen dence on foreign oil," he says. "The far short of this goal in the past, and events in Iran make the point drathat the criticisms leveled against it matically. Americans held hostage as by the President's Commission on the ransom for the extradition of the Accident at Three Mile Island (the Shah are almost symbolic of our naKemeny Commission) are basically tion, hostage to foreign oil supplies. There are many ways to twist slowly, valid (C&EN, Nov. 5, page 7). "If there is one deficiency in the slowly in the wind." Kemeny report," says AIF president Meeting participants were fully Carl Walske, "it is a lack of recogni- aware of their public relations probtion for the tremendous remedial ef- lem, as evidenced by the ready swell fort that has been mounted in the of boos from the audience at every seven months since the accident by mention of the news media. A whole Firemen work to extinguish fire in propane the industry and NRC." morning was devoted to the topic of tenk cars in Mississauga accident D Many of the report's technical public perspectives. at-large. New members of the board will be Friedman and whoever re)laces Zettlemoyer as director-atarge. In addition to these elections, ACS members overwhelmingly ratified all six constitutional amendments appearing on the mail ballots. •
[
8
C&EN Nov. 19, 1979
