The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON-Here's the scenario: At 8:00 a.m. a pickup truck pulling a 1,000-pound tank of anhydrous ammonia down South Cottonwood Street in front of Kyle's Towing is backed into by another vehicle, causing the fertilizer tank to overturn. A small leak occurs from a valve at the back of the tank, coming out of the pump.

What happens next?

It is likely that most of us don't know; but it is a sure bet that there are people who do.

On Dec. 9, Columbia County Emergency Management Planner Mike Spring led representatives from Dayton General Hospital, the Columbia County Public Health Department, the City of Dayton, Columbia County Fire District #3, the Columbia County Sheriff's office, the Columbia County Dispatch office and the McGregor chemical company in a role-playing reenactment of the above situation.

According to Columbia County Fire District #3 Chief Rick Turner, there are several reasons for the "table top" exercise.

Turner said the exercise was designed as a self-test of each individual system, and is a useful tool to assess any shortcomings in them.

He said the primary concern is for the safety of the people directly involved, as well as for the public, at large.

"We want to put the most efficient plan in place," he explained.

What is anhydrous ammonia, and why should we care?

According to the National Center for Disease Control anhydrous ammonia is made up of one part nitrogen and three parts hydrogen. It is a fertilizer.

Anhydrous ammonia is pungent, with suffocating fumes that can cause difficulty breathing, irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat. It can also cause burns, or blisters.

When released, the vapors initially move close to the ground, causing greater risk of exposure. High concentrations of it can lead to death.

Trevor Johnson, who represented McGregor Company at the exercise, said that 850 gallons of anhydrous ammonia can expand to 540 times that amount, if it leaks out. He also said that the vapor will boil if it leaks into the atmosphere, and that the vapor is drawn to water.

Chief Turner said that in a scenario like this one, the ammonia vapor could overcome people on the river levee. It could also get into the Touchet River, which would create problems for fish, potentially requiring involvement of the Environmental Protection Agency.

"It also has the potential to get into the city storm drains," he said.

"This is a good one to start with," said Spring. "There are ammonia trucks traveling on Main Street all day and all night at certain times of the year," he added.

During the reenactment exercise many steps were taken between the time the accident was called in to the Dispatch Center at 8:06 a.m. and the time McGregor Company could safely pump the tank.

"It could take as long as seven or eight hours," Spring said.

At the end of the exercise, the representatives discussed and evaluated the exercise.

An After Action Review meeting is planned for December 16, according to County Emergency Management personnel.

There are to be other full-scale, multiple, and limited, table top exercises in 2016, according to Spring. Two of those exercises will emphasize hospital hazmat protocol and wildland fire, he said.