Wetteren: a train is derailed

Wetteren: a train is derailed

Wilfried Van den AckerCrisismanager Flemish Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy


1. Scenario2. Intervention3. Involvement of the Flemish Ministry of Environment,

Nature and Energy4. Conclusion


1) The scenario: release and diffusion

- 4th May 2013, 02:00u: derailment of a freight train- Railway Wetteren – Schellebelle

Wetteren: scenario

Railway network:

Wetteren: scenario

Wetteren: scenario

trainPurification plant for sewage

Schelde

Natural reserve

Pumping installation for sewage water

Wetteren centre

Wetteren: scenario

• 5 rail tankers with each approximately 60 ton acrylonitril• Extremely flammable• Extremely toxic, release of cyanide after intake in human

body• Degradation by fire: release of hydrocyanic acid and

nitrious gasses• Classificied as possibly carcinogenic.

• 2 rail tankers with each approximately 60 ton butadiene• Extremely flammable• Can cause cancer

• 5 empty railwagons• 1 wagon with 2 containers tri-ethylaluminium (TEAL)

• Ignite spontaneously on contact with air• Reacts violently with water• Corrosive

Wetteren: scenario

Wetteren: scenario

Pathway dangerous substances after release:- Surface water:

- Through rainwater canal along the railway to the Grotevijverbeek, a small river that flows to the river Schelde

- Through rainwater canal along the railway to a pumpfacility for sewage water

- Sewerage:- From the pumpfacility for sewage water through the

sewerage to the purification plant of Aquafin- Air: fluegasses released from the fire- Soil- Groundwater

Wetteren: scenario

Pathway surface water

Wetteren: scenario

Pathway surfacewater: Grote Vijverbeek

Wetteren: scenario

Pathway sewerage: pumpinstallation through sewerage of Wetteren to the purification plan at the other side of Wtteren

Wetteren: scenario

Pathway air: Plume direction Wichelen

Wetteren: scenario

Pathway soil:- Directly by rainwatercanal aside

the railway- fall-out smoke

Wetteren: scenario

Pathway groundwater:ground-water flow in the direction

of the Schelde


2. The Intervention- Emergency planning in Belgium- Emergency planning in Wetteren- Intervention strategy

Wetteren: intervention

Emergency planning in Belgium- Structure Belgium: different levels of policy:

- Federal- Regional- Provincial- Municipal


Royal decree on emergency planning:- 3 levels of coördination:

municipal: mayor, provincial: governor federal: minister of Home Affairs

- 5 disciplines: discipline 1: firebrigade discipline 2: medical treatment discipline 3: police discipline 4: logistic support discipline 5: information and communication


Emergency during the incident in Wetteren:- Municipal scale, later provincial scale- Fire fighting:

- Intervention:- Railtankers with acrylnitril + wagon with butadiene controled

burn out- Cooling other wagons- Fumegasses captured with water curtain

- Protection of habitants:- Evacuation riskzone 500m- Stay inside zone 500m – 1.000m- Close windows en doors in Wetteren, Serskamp and

Schellebelle


Protectionzones:


- Pollution surfacewater: dam on Grote Vijverbeek


- Fumes in the sewerage:


- Fumes in the sewerage- Intervention:

- Closing pumpinstallation- Stop emission of the purificationplant - Collection contaminated sewage water in basin- Flushing sewerage- Transport contaminated water with boats to waste

processing facility- Protection habitants:

- Area of evacation expands: 1.700 habitants leave their houses

- Continous monitoring of fumes in the sewerage and above surface water


- Removal train:- Intervention:

- Flaring second railwagon with butadiene- Remove not derailed wagons- Construction of a road to the place of accident- Cutting of the wagonwrecks and removing scrap

- Protection habitants:- Safety zone smaller to 250m- Continous monitoring of fumes in the sewerage and above

surface water


- Flaring second wagon with butadiene


- Removing not-derailed wagons


- Construction road to place of wreck:


- After removal train wreck:- Intervention:

- Monitoring airquality in houses and on the site of the accident

- Protection habitants:- Return of the evacuated people

- End of crisisalert: 22th May 2013


3. Environmental aspect: the role of the environmental services- The Flemish government

- Structure and competence- The ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy- The script on environmental incidents

- Environmental services envolved- Department Environment, Nature and Energy (DLNE):

crisismanager, communication service, services- Flemish Environment Agency (VMM)- Public Flemish Agency for Waste (OVAM)- Agency for Nature and Forest (ANB) and the Research

Institute for Nature and Forest- Other Flemish services: Flemish Agency for Care and

Health, health inspection (TOVO)

Wetteren: environmental aspect

The Flemish government: structure and competence13 policy area’s:1. Services for the General Government Policy2. Public Governance3. Finance and Budget4. Flemish Foreign Affairs5. Economy, Science and Innovation6. Education and Training7. Welfare, Public Health and Family8. Culture, Youth, Sport and Media9. Work and Social Economy10.Agriculture and Fisheries11. Environment, Nature and Energy12.Mobility and Public Works13.Spatial Planning, Housing Policy and Immovable Heritage


Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy:


Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy:- Departement Environment, Nature and Energy:preparing, following up and evaluating the Flemish environmental policy


Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy:- Agency for Nature and Forests

Policy, sustainable management of nature and forests and inspection of nature

- Research Institute for Nature and ForestResearch and knowledge centre for nature en the sustainable management en use of nature

- Public Flemish Agency for Waste- Sustainable management of waste and materials- Prevention of soil pollution- Management of soil decontamination

- Flemish Environment Agency- Prevention, mitigation and remediation of

• lethal effects in watersystems• Pollution of the atmosphere

- Reporting on the condition of the enverionment- Integrated waterpolicy

Wetteren: environmental aspects

Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy:- The script on environmental incidents

- purpose:- Coördination of the environmental services of the ministry of

Environment, Nature and Energyduring during environmental incidents

- Crisiscommunication- How does it operate?

- Crisismanager:- Management of the script (information of correspondents,

procedures)- Internal communication

- Crisiscommunicator:- External communication- Appointment depending on the type of incident


Environmental services that were involved- Departement of Environment, Nature and Energy

- Crisismanager:- Warned by the Flemish Environment Agency on May 4th- Notification the the Ministrial Cabinet, the Department, the

agency for waste, the agency for Nature and Forests and the research Institute for nature and forests

- Present in the crisiscentre of the governor- Consultation with:

- Governor of East-Flanders- Communication services of East-Flanders and Wetteren- Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain- Federal Public Service on Health- Service Zeeschelde (managening the river Schelde)- Aquafin (purification plant)- …


- Crisismanager:- Issues at the crisiscentre:

- Prohibition for fishing and boats on the river Schelde- Prohibition for biking and walking on the dike of the river

Schelde- The use of rainwater- The use of groundwater- The disposal of grass from mowing- Disposal of food from the houses of the people who were

evacuated- The presence of perfluorotenside in the contaminated water- Engaging a firm for the treatment of the contaminated water- Prohibition of sheeps in the nature area De Blakken- Ecotoxicologic research on death animals found in the

neighbourhood of the Grotevijversbeek


- Crisiscommunicator- Communication service of DLNE assigned- Coöperation with the spokespersons of the other

environmental services- pressreleases (only after validation by the governor):

- May 6th 2013: ‘environmental crisisteam follows up the situation in Wetteren’

- May 8th 2013: ANB: ‘prohibition on fishing in the river Schelde in the neighbourhood of Wetteren’

- May 8th 2013: OVAM: ‘first sampling of soil on the site of the accident in Wetteren’

- May 8th 2013: VMM: ‘Quality of the suface water’- May 9th 2013: VMM en TOVO: ‘the use of ground water in

Wetteren’- May 10th 2013: VMM en TOVO: ‘rainwater can be used for

laundering’


- Crisiscommunicator- Pressreleases (after validation by the governor):

- May 10th 2013: VMM: ‘update quality of surface water’- May 10th 2013: INBO: ‘no loss on fauna en flora’- May 10th 2013: OVAM: ‘provisional results of sampling the soil

in Wetteren indicate no pollution’- May 11th 2013: VMM: ‘update quality of surface water’’- May 12th 2013: INBO: ‘update fauna and flora’- May 14 th2013: INBO: ‘update fauna en flora’- May 15th 2013: OVAM: ‘Update results of sampling the soil in

Wetteren’- May 15th 2013: INBO: ‘update fauna en flora’- May 21th 2013: OVAM: ‘Green light for safety measures for

soil in Wetteren’- May 29th 2013: ANB: ‘End Prohibition for fishing in river

Schelde’


- Department Environment, Nature and Energy- Service Legal affairs

- Assembling a legal file - Recover the costs made by the ministry from the

responsible- Service Air, Nuisance, Risk Management, Environment and

Health- With health inspection: research for human biomonitoring

(follow up, initiative: Federal Public Service on Health)


- Department Environment, Nature and Energy- Environmental inspectorate

- Not directly involved: transportaccident- Controls done by:

- Treatmentplant contaminated soil- Treatmentplant contaminated water- Scrap plant

Wetteren: het milieuaspect

- Flemish Environment Agency (VMM)- Service reporting water:

- First contact (manager for rivers not use for watertransport)- Monitoring surfacewater: daily sampling

- Grote Vijverbeek: before and after the dam- Molenbeek: at the point of discharge of the

watertreatmentplant of Aquafin- Several samplingpoints on the Schelde

Wetteren: het milieuaspect

monitoring surfacewater


- monitoring surfacewater- Most importants parameters:

- Acrylnitril: - 5 – 10 mg/l: significant dying of fish - 17 µg/l: no effect on the long term is to be expected

- Total cyanide:- Quality standard for surface water: 75 µg/l

- Results:- Downstream the point of discharge of the

watertreatmentfacility of Aquafin: negligible- Several measureponts on the Schelde: negligible


- monitoring surfacewater- Grote Vijverbeek:

- upstream dam:

- Downstream dam: increase acylnitril on May 5th to 480 µg/l, later negligible


- Flemish Environment Agency (VMM):- Service Operational watermanagement:

- Controle groundwater extraction- Zone of attention:


- Public Flemish Agency for Waste:- Service Waste and Materials:

- Treatment contaminated water:- Research for treatmentfacilities (treatment, transport, port

authorities of Gent and Antwerp)- Treatment finished June 11th at TWZ in Gent

- Disposal of waste:- Grass from mowing: separate collection at the municipal

waste recycle centre- Possibly contaminated food (not covered during the incident):

separate collection


- Public Flemish Agency for Waste:- Service for intervention, removal and sanitation- Service for soilmanagement

- Research pollution of the soil:- Follow-up the soil investigation by expert Infrabel- Engage expert for second opinion

- Safety measurements:- Excavate contaminated soil near the place of the accident

and Grote Vijverbeek- Install drains, pumping and cleaning groundwater- Evaluate degree of pollution in soil and groundwater


- Public Flemish Agency for Waste:


- Public Flemish Agency for Waste:Actual state of pollution of the soil:

- At the place of the accident: some concentration of acrylnitril inside the zone covered by the drains

- Sludge in canals and creeks removed- No contamination found due to the parameters of the foam

used during the intervention- Expert is writing report describing actual condition of the soil


- Agency for Nature and Forests:- victim:

- Zone of important natural value in effectzone- Advising authority:

- Closing the floodplain downstream the river Schelde- Prohibition for fishing on the river Schelde in May

- Research Institute for Nature and Forest:- Daily monitoring of fish kill on the Scchelde: none- Advice about the effects of acrylnitril on waterorganisms

based on international expertise- Fish kill to be expected from 10 ppm acrylnitril- No effects to be expected in the sludge of the Schelde- Acrylnitril disappears from water after 3 à 4 weken:

temporarly effect on flora en fauna is to be expected- Toxicologic research on dead ducs: no link is found with

the accident


- Conclusion:- Big human impact:

- habitants- Crisisteam: emergency services, experts, supporting

services, authorities- Little environmental impact:

- After remediation still remainig small pollution of the soil that will be cleaned up

Wetteren: a train is derailed

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