LETTER: Questions about the Interstate 15 mess
Beginning on July 26, a segment of Interstate 15 between Barstow and Las Vegas was closed for 48 hours due to an accident that created a chemical hazard when a big rig carrying lithium batteries overturned and caught fire. My wife and I, along with friends, were caught up in that fiasco. We had to divert to even more congested alternate routes, eventually returning after 13 hours.
I’m not a hazmat specialist or someone charged with finding a solution to this disaster. But I have questions.
1.) Why was a big rig, carrying extremely hazardous materials, allowed to travel on one of the busiest highways in the country without proper precautions/contingencies/backup, etc.? Who is responsible for that?
2.) It seems to me that the simplest thing to do would have been to bring in the largest earth excavator around and cover “the burning box” with very cold water mixed into tons of dirt. A simple Google search would have found “you can use sand or a dry powder (such as a dry chemical extinguishing agent) to suffocate the fire. Carefully pour or throw the material onto the fire, covering it completely. Sand or dry powder smothers the fire, cutting off its oxygen supply.” Why did that not happen?
3.) Finally, were all rules and regulations followed as stipulated in U.S. Department of Transportations guide to transporting hazardous materials by highway?
