Oddball tankers and chemicals

[Junctionfan]

If you go to the fallen flags website and look up ACFX 77267, it looks like it is a 65 foot tanker with interesting red stripes and is stenciled for hydrocyanic acid.

I don't have nor can I find where I can get easy access to a present day equipment registry so I need you help. What is the number series of thease cars?

Other information I would like is where does this chemical go to?

I also would be interested in knowing who takes the following chemicals as thease are odd chemicals.

Sodium Cyanide (covered hopper) (acfx 46398)
Arsenic Acid Solution (shpx 200833)
Metal Alkyls (acfx 73871)
Potassium Hydroxide (utlx 66097)
Methyl Vinyl ketone (natx 37123)
Maleic Anhydride (hmax 41165)
Ammonium Sulfate (dgcx 2009-2047)
Sodium Hydrochloride (prox 89953)
Hydrogen Peroxide(telx 7839)
Argon (iapx 1032)
Tetrahydrafuran (dupx 29727)
Arasol (racx 51389)
Aluminum Resinate (celx 6400-6458)
Phosphorus Trisulfide (covered hopper) (utlx 80222)

Thankyou for any help you can give me.

Andrew

[tree68]

Let's see...

Sodium Hydrochloride is a bleach. It's in Drano, too.
I have a couple of bottles of hydrogen peroxide on the bathroom vanity. It too is a bleach.
Potassium Hydroxide is also called caustic potash. Also a bleach.
Heard a commercial the other day for replacement windows that had argon between the panes.
Ammonium Sulfate is a fertilizer
Maleic Anhydride is used in hair spray, printing ink, and Sweet-n-Low

I recognize many of the others - they are hardly rare in transport and are used in many manufacturing processes. You'd be amazed what gets carried around these days. Ed B can probably cite sightings of all of them recently...

[corwinda]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Junctionfan
Sodium Cyanide (covered hopper) (acfx 46398)

Ammonium Sulfate (dgcx 2009-2047)

Ammonium Sulfate is fertilizer.

Among other things, Sodium Cyanide is used in gold mining to dissolve the gold from the ore.

[Junctionfan]

Also interested in knowing where tank cars of fromeldehyde could be going.

[Mikeygaw]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68

Let's see...

Maleic Anhydride is used in hair spray, printing ink, and Sweet-n-Low

well, i'm glad I don't use Sweet-n-Low

[edblysard]

Andrew,
The ACFX is hardly a "fallen flag", moved two through the yard last week.
Check closer, you will find it is most likely leased to Hampshire Chemicals..they use hydrocyanic acid to recover certain metals...process would take a long time to explain here.

But note the car is white, with a red stripe lengtheways and one around each end...you will never see any other car painted like this, it is for easy identification from a distance....because under pressure, the contents are a liquid, but at atmosphere, it is a gas, cyanide gas to be precise.

There is no survivability if you are near a leaker.
(for some reason, they warn you if you smell fresh cut grass or hay, or the smell of almonds, you are near a leaking cyanide car, and then tell you if you smell it, it's too late! go figure, I guess they want you to know what killed you)

So, to prevent anyone from accidently walking up on one of these cars in a derailment, it is painted and has signage designed to be reconized from a great distance.

The hydrogen peroxide in tank cars is "industrial strength" that is,100%, as opposed to the brown bottle LC has in his medicine chest, that is 3% peroxide, 97% inert ingredients(water).
Spill the stuff in the tank, it can eat a lot of organic things, like you, to the bone.

Think Clorex bleach is some bad stuff?
For your laundry, it is 6% sodium hydroxide, 94% inert.
Tank car is 100%.
I have seen a leaking chlorine tanker dripping on the ballest, and eating some of the rock...the rail and tie plates were severly rusted next day.

Argon is a inert gas, used as a propellent, among other things, and a coolant also.

We pull and spot Air Products every day,, they get dozens of these, it too is a liquid under pressure, gas at atmosphere.

And Air Liquide gets a lot of them too.

Pretty much harmless on skin contact, the tankcars have a over pressure venting system, shake the car up some, it vents.
Stuck a can of water under the vent on one, froze it pretty good.
You wouldnt want to breath a concentrated amount, though.
It displaces oxygen, as does Haleon, a good deep snort of it would put you in vapor lock, long enough to suffocate.
Luckly, it dissipates quickly.
It is used as a insulation in-between the glass in new, enegry saving windows, and as a gas blanket in other chemical production.

Arsenic acid is used to recover precious metals, again, process would take too long for me to explain, and I would do it badly, as I have only a rough knowledge of how they go about it.

Do a google search on the ones you listed, you will be amazed at how many uses some of them have, and how many household products you have that contain them...

Ed

[Junctionfan]

It's amazing how much chemicals we use now a days...

Thanks Ed, I'll e-mail you later on some questions.

[jeaton]

Ed B,

I have never been over in your neck of the woods, but I have spent a little time (in fact as little as possible) in the IC's Baton Rouge Yard. I think it is the only yard office I have ever been in that had full Haz-Mat protective gear in the closet. Of course being surrounded by chem plants and refineries, as well as the product in tanks off the BR-NOLA line, the convential wisdom was that if anything happened, you wouldn't live long enough to pull on the pants.

Jay

PS Thanks for the Pic. Liked the AC in unit in the cupola. Guess that wasn't OEM.

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard


Do a google search on the ones you listed, you will be amazed at how many uses some of them have, and how many household products you have that contain them...

Which is precisely what I did... You didn't think I was a chemist or anything, did you?

Ed's right about the industrial vs household strengths. I was just citing familiar examples.

[ericsp]

Are you sure it wasn't sodium hypochlorite? As far as I know sodium hydrochloride does not exist.

[edblysard]

Tree68,

Well, nothing said you could only be a EMS/Firefighter...you dont strike me as being dumb as a stump....
(ok, bad, bad pun)

I figure with your firefighting and EMS experience, you would be more aware than most of what these chemicals are, and what they can, and cant do.
I would bet my bottom dollar you have had some extensive training in responding to, and treating the results of a ruptured tankcar.

Ed

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard


Argon is a inert gas, used as a propellent, among other things, and a coolant also.

We pull and spot Air Products every day,, they get dozens of these, it too is a liquid under pressure, gas at atmosphere.

And Air Liquide gets a lot of them too.

Harmless, the tankcars have a over pressure venting system, shake the car up some, it vents.
Stuck a can of water under the vent on one, frozed it pretty good.

Do a google search on the ones you listed, you will be amazed at how many uses some of them have, and how many household products you have that contain them...

Ed

Argon can be an asphyxiation hazard if you are too close to a large leak.

If you do perform a seach, check the spelling first.

[MP57313]

QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard
It displaces oxygen, as does Haleon, a good deep snort of it would put you in vapor lock, long enough to suffocate.
Luckly, it dissipates quickly.
It is used as a insulation in-between the glass in new, enegry saving windows, and as a gas blanket in other chemical production.

At work we have halon fire extinguishers in computer rooms. The halon would be used to smother a fire should one break out in the room.

[edblysard]

Halon is in a lot of fire extinguisher systems now, it "expands" faster than Argon, and dissipates slower.
Not real sure how they displace oxygen, I think Halon somehow attaches to the oxygen mocelue, but I dont know for sure.
Some one with a little more chemical knowledge will have to explain.
My knowledge in chemicals is limited to...
Uh, never mind...

Ed

[bobwilcox]

These are chemical intermediates used for thousands of different end use chemicals. As an example a lot of formaldehide in used to make phenol. Phenol is used more many things including glue for plywood.

Bob Wilcox

[Allen Jenkins]

Argon, is also used in metal inert gas welding(MIG), and tungston inert gas welding(TIG). Argon, creates an atmosphere, around the molten weld puddle, which eleminates oxygen, and the associated contamination (oxidation, rust). Of course, formaldahyde, is also an enbalming fluid. A catastrophic collision, is required to cause one of these pressure vessels to leak. Today's tank car, can roll down a bank, and remain intact, because of the heavy metal construction. The outlets, have check valves, and can withstand testing to assure integrity. High speed collisions, not withstanding. Idler cars, are required, to separate HazMat equipment, from the power unit. Upwind, is a nice place to be, in case of a breached HazMat transport vessel, caused by a collision. .acj.

[Junctionfan]

Do any of the light bulb manufacturing plants take argon tankers?

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard

Tree68,
I figure with your firefighting and EMS experience, you would be more aware than most of what these chemicals are, and what they can, and cant do.
I would bet my bottom dollar you have had some extensive training in responding to, and treating the results of a ruptured tankcar.
Ed

Actually I do have training up to hazmat technician and command, altho the tech part is a little rusty. I firmly believe in upwind and the rule of thumb - If my thumb covers the scene, I'm far enough away.

QUOTE: Halon is in a lot of fire extinguisher systems now, it "expands" faster than Argon, and dissipates slower.
Not real sure how they displace oxygen, I think Halon somehow attaches to the oxygen molecule, but I dont know for sure.

Actually Halon is on the way out as an extiguishing agent. There are several other "clean" agents available. Halon is a halonogated hydrocarbon, thus bad for the ozone layer.