https://punchng.com/what-should-fg-do-to-avert-accidents-involving-fuel-tankers/
An approximately 1.3 million people die each year due to road accidents (WHO), making it over 3,000 deaths per day. Road accidents also accounted for about 20 to 50 million non-fatal injuries, consequent in all manner of body disabilities. 93% of these road traffic fatalities occur in poor and middle-income countries. In addition, road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product.
Vehicular accident is inherently dangerous, but an accident involving a moving vehicle carrying hazardous and highly inflammable cargo is significantly even more dangerous. Yet such vehicles regularly travel our highways: the tanker trucks conveying petroleum products from one location to another.
In Nigeria, fuel tanker accidents are a regular form of road accident. Over the years, the prevalence of this occurrence has been alarming with attendant great casualties, severe environmental pollution, and large economic losses.
Recent Fuel Tankers Accidents/Explosion in the Month of June 2021 Alone
June 17, 2021 – A tanker conveying Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker crashed and exploded in Ikeja area of Lagos State with no fewer than 13 persons sustained various degrees of injuries, over 25 cars were burnt, and properties were damaged: causing severe harm to the environment.
June 22, 2021 – A tanker loaded with 33,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), exploded on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; two lives were lost, and 13 vehicles were razed.
The recent tanker truck crashes/explosions in the country are a sign of inattention on the part of the stakeholders in proffering adequate measures to curtail this menace and reduce the negative impacts of the accidents to the barest minimum. However, all involved should take the necessary precautions to limit the frequency of these accidents and their associated costs.
Possible Causes of accidents
Human mistake, highway faults, and tanker defects all contribute to tanker accidents. The majority of tanker collisions happen on horizontal and vertical bends and these accidents are heavily influenced by driver health problems, poor tanker maintenance and repair, poor road conditions, bad weather, driver’s attitude, animals on roads among others. Drivers of oil tanker trucks face serious challenge as sloshing of the liquid cargo might cause the driver to lose control and smash into other cars on the road, especially when the tank is not entirely filled. Improper tank loading or maintenance might result in cargo spills or leaks, resulting in a collision. When employees of trucking companies fail to adhere to fuel tanker safety measures and also overload these tanks, spills and accidents may occurs. The following negligence on the part of the driver can result to accidents; Distracted driving, such as texting while driving, and driving while inebriated or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving when drowsy, failure to adequately maintain the vehicle or secure cargo, disobedience to traffic regulations and signs, speeding, tailgating, or monitoring brakes, driving recklessly or aggressively and inability to take measures in bad weather.
Impacts of fuel tanker explosions
Most accidents result in spillage of petroleum products and explosions causing significant damages, loss of lives and adverse environmental effects.
Acid rain
An oil explosion is characterized by a fast rise in volume and an intense release of energy, generally accompanied by the creation of high temperatures and the emission of gases such as SO2, NO2, H2S, NH3, and CO, which create organic acids, culminating in acid rain.
Climate change
The release of CO2 from accident scenes is intensified with the open burning of hydrocarbon before efforts are made to curtail the fire. This imposes devastating environmental effects. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which means it absorbs and reflects heat. Its increase account for around two-thirds of the entire energy imbalance that is driving the earth's temperature to rise thus increasing global warming and making climate change to thrive.
Adverse health effects
Smoke inhalation, shock and burns are among the health hazards associated with being involved in an explosion. Inhaling smoke can harm the delicate tissues of the respiratory system and their regular functioning, as well as restrict oxygen intake in the lungs and raise levels of the gas carbon monoxide, which interferes with the blood's capacity to carry oxygen.
Loss of lives and properties
Lives are often lost in explosions while survivors are injured or disabled for life. With the high demand for petroleum resources, the death tolls associated with fuel tanker accidents is on the increase every year. Most sites of accidents are along areas with thriving human activities, thus, accidents are often accompanied with destruction of houses, cars and other properties.
Recommended Guidelines for Safety Practices in Petroleum Transportation
Accidented road tankers have all been reported as sources of oil spills and pollution. As a result, it is necessary to regulate the behaviours that generate this sort of pollution in order to reduce the negative effects on human health, other living beings, and property. Establishing common rules and standards for such operations is therefore critical.
Routine Checks, Repairs and Maintenance
Each operational cargo tank should be examined and retested on a regular basis in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications or relevant law. An impartial approved testing agency should conduct the inspection. Care should be taken to ensure that all critical components, such as the oil pump, pipeline, valve, and oil discharge valve, are examined for leaks. Checks on the positive and negative pressures of the breathing valve should be done to ensure that they are both at a safe level, and that the valve controlling mechanism is working properly. When a tanker in bad condition is detected, the transportation of oil should be promptly halted.
Strict Safety Technology Implementation.
There should be close regulation of the safe capacity and loading height of the tank to avoid any oil leaks or splashes. Care should be taken when filling the oil drum to ensure that no oil spills from the reservoir. The leftover oil at the bottom of the tank should be sucked while loading and discharging oil.
Use of Standard Containers
Spill-proof containers should be used to prevent air pollution caused by fuel evaporating from overfilled containers, containers that are left open, container leaks, and spilled fuel. Road tankers must be made of fire-resistant materials and compartmentalized. A rear-end protection system should be installed on every road tank wagon. In the case of a rear-end accident, the device should be able to protect the tank and piping while minimizing the likelihood of any component of the colliding vehicle contacting the tank.
Driver Selection and Training
Drivers’ road safety capabilities should be routinely audited and they should be properly trained through a defensive driving course by their employers. This course teaches safe driving methods and behaviour with the goal of lowering driving hazards. Tanker drivers' age and health restrictions should be taken into considerations.
Tanker Routing and Rerouting
Tanker route alignment should be improved. This will limit the movement of these tankers in routes plied by smaller vehicles.
Labeling, Marking, and Placarding
Employees and emergency response workers must label, mark, and placard containers and tanks so that they can quickly identify the contents and respond properly in an emergency.
Fire Extinguishers
Each truck hauling gasoline or other hazardous goods must have appropriate fire extinguisher. The size of the extinguisher required is determined by the amount of hazardous chemicals being transported as well as the capacity of the tanks involved.
Recommended Alternatives for Road transportation of Petroleum Products
As long as oil tankers and other types of tanker trucks travel our highways, there will be accidents, what are the other mode of transporting these hazardous products?
Rail cars
Rail tank vehicles are another option for transporting crude oil across large areas. Between 2010 and 2014, rail transportation in the United States reached a high of over 1 million barrels per day, accounting for a record 10% of total oil output. The oil is put in tank cars, which are then transported across rail tracks by a diesel train to the refinery or the train's intended destination. Using several tank cars, trains can transport a large volume of oil. The flexibility for rail transportation will reduce the demand for road tankers and pipelines capacity. Rail transportation is still the most efficient and cost-effective mode of transportation. Rail tends to have low fixed costs and short construction times, which is advantageous when transporting oil over short distances. The least effective way of delivering oil and gas over land is via tanker truck. In reality, a tanker requires three times the energy of a train to transport the same quantity of oil. However, rail transportation has some substantial disadvantages in terms of speed, carbon emissions, and accidents.
Pipelines
Pipelines are used for domestic, commercial, and industrial transportation. They are utilized in transporting crude oil lines, refined product lines, highly volatile liquid lines, carbon dioxide lines and natural gas liquids. It does not emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which might lead to poor air quality, ozone depletion, and acid rain. Because they are mostly enclosed, they have a lower wildlife impact. Their sealed design causes fewer spills of extremely volatile substances, lowering the risk of an explosion during transit.
Conclusion
To achieve the United Nations General Assembly ambitious target of halving the global number of deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2030, each member state must work to achieve this target in their domain. In Nigeria, preventing road tanker accidents requires a combination of goal-oriented strategies which incorporates managerial, technical, training, policy reviews, staff motivation, and involvement of relevant agencies as an all-inclusive safety stirring approach.
Comentarios