Hazards of Materials
A fire occurred in a transformer vault that supplied power to a pesticide storage warehouse. The warehouse also caught fire. The warehouse was located in a rural area. There was a river adjacent to the warehouse that was the source of drinking water for a town downstream of the warehouse.
The chemical products that were used in the transformer and the chemicals that were stored in the warehouse were all industrial strength and were supposed to be handled with extreme caution. All of these chemicals are either combustible and were themselves, and/or release very hazardous by-products. The by-products of this blaze were immediately dangerous to firefighters that try to stop the fire and are dangerous to the people of the town via airborne chemicals from the fire and chemicals in the water runoff that has contaminated the water supply. These chemicals included; polychlorinated biphenyl, pyridine, 2,4,5-T, and parathion.
PCB
The first chemical to be effected by the fire is the PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl). This chemical is used as an electro conductor in the transformer and cools the transformer. PCB contains hydrogen, carbon and chlorine.
This chemical can cause skin irritation and redness of skin in its original form if skin contact does occur. The LD50 for PCB is 8500 – 11,900 ppm. Exposure to PCB can cause defatting and chlorance. Both of these are from coming in direct contact with the chemical to your skin. These conditions have been known to cause infections and also sometimes become chronic. Infections can lead to death but this chemical, in small amounts is not known to lead to death.
PCB becomes more dangerous in the short term when it decomposes. Decomposition of PCB is caused by heat. When PCB decomposes, the products are much more immediately dangerous. These products include; Hydrochloric acid, Phenolics, and Aldehyde. Hydrochloric acid can be immediately dangerous to life an health, the IDLH is 50ppm. Phenolics or Carbolic acid can
The chemical products that were used in the transformer and the chemicals that were stored in the warehouse were all industrial strength and were supposed to be handled with extreme caution. All of these chemicals are either combustible and were themselves, and/or release very hazardous by-products. The by-products of this blaze were immediately dangerous to firefighters that try to stop the fire and are dangerous to the people of the town via airborne chemicals from the fire and chemicals in the water runoff that has contaminated the water supply. These chemicals included; polychlorinated biphenyl, pyridine, 2,4,5-T, and parathion.
PCB
The first chemical to be effected by the fire is the PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl). This chemical is used as an electro conductor in the transformer and cools the transformer. PCB contains hydrogen, carbon and chlorine.
This chemical can cause skin irritation and redness of skin in its original form if skin contact does occur. The LD50 for PCB is 8500 – 11,900 ppm. Exposure to PCB can cause defatting and chlorance. Both of these are from coming in direct contact with the chemical to your skin. These conditions have been known to cause infections and also sometimes become chronic. Infections can lead to death but this chemical, in small amounts is not known to lead to death.
PCB becomes more dangerous in the short term when it decomposes. Decomposition of PCB is caused by heat. When PCB decomposes, the products are much more immediately dangerous. These products include; Hydrochloric acid, Phenolics, and Aldehyde. Hydrochloric acid can be immediately dangerous to life an health, the IDLH is 50ppm. Phenolics or Carbolic acid can