Trains.com

Hazardous Cargo

6049 views
50 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 9,610 posts
Posted by schlimm on Friday, October 14, 2016 7:22 PM

RME
Methy Ethyl Ketone

Not smart to breathe the MEK vapors in enclosed areas with exposure to concentrations >200ppm.  It has been linked to some neuropsychological damage (severe chronic headaches, memory loss, peripheral neuropathy).

C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan

  • Member since
    January 2002
  • From: Canterlot
  • 9,528 posts
Posted by zugmann on Friday, October 14, 2016 8:59 PM

schlimm
Not smart to breathe the MEK vapors in enclosed areas with exposure to concentrations >200ppm. It has been linked to some neuropsychological damage (severe chronic headaches, memory loss, peripheral neuropathy).

It's handy for putting together models. 

 

At least I think was putting together models. 

 

 

  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.

  • Member since
    December 2007
  • From: Georgia USA SW of Atlanta
  • 11,852 posts
Posted by blue streak 1 on Friday, October 14, 2016 9:29 PM

Can imagine that RRs would not like amonia and chlorine close together ?  If you don't  know what the mixture is well  --  just say WW-1. 

However the worse one we know is Bopal, India  --  MIC (?) 

My evacuaion plan is simple   ---   drive through a deliberate  frangible section of my fence in the rear so don't have to drive downhill towards the RR track.

  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: S.E. South Dakota
  • 13,567 posts
Posted by Murphy Siding on Friday, October 14, 2016 9:58 PM

zugmann

 

 
schlimm
Not smart to breathe the MEK vapors in enclosed areas with exposure to concentrations >200ppm. It has been linked to some neuropsychological damage (severe chronic headaches, memory loss, peripheral neuropathy).

 

It's handy for putting together models. 

 

At least I think was putting together models. 

 

 

 

Who doesn't fondly remember the smell of airplane glue? Stick out tongue

(Oops!  Did I say that out loud? Whistling)

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

  • Member since
    January 2002
  • From: Canterlot
  • 9,528 posts
Posted by zugmann on Friday, October 14, 2016 10:04 PM

Murphy Siding
Who doesn't fondly remember the smell of airplane glue? Stick out tongue (Oops! Did I say that out loud? Whistling)

We get the occasional styrene tank here.  One came in with a leaking seal.  It was reported, proper authorites responded, and the one environmental guy asks me what I smelled:

"Styrene".

"No, what did you smell? Was it a fruity smell?"

"It was styrene."

"But, what did it smell like..airplane glue?"

"Styrene."

 

They had to replace the seal. 

  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.

  • Member since
    May 2015
  • 5,134 posts
Posted by ericsp on Friday, October 14, 2016 10:13 PM

The most remarkable thing in the train was the boxcar that was a few years old and nearly graffiti free.

"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)

  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: S.E. South Dakota
  • 13,567 posts
Posted by Murphy Siding on Friday, October 14, 2016 10:20 PM

zugmann

 

 
Murphy Siding
Who doesn't fondly remember the smell of airplane glue? Stick out tongue (Oops! Did I say that out loud? Whistling)

 

We get the occasional styrene tank here.  One came in with a leaking seal.  It was reported, proper authorites responded, and the one environmental guy asks me what I smelled:

"Styrene".

"No, what did you smell? Was it a fruity smell?"

"It was styrene."

"But, what did it smell like..airplane glue?"

"Styrene."

 

They had to replace the seal. 

 

Fruity smell?  That was the citrus scented glue they made to replace the good stuff.  It didn't stick worth a darn.  People (teenagers mostly) that were big into plastic models were darned near buying real airplane glue on the black market. Now the airplane "dope" used on paper over balsa wood framed airplane models- that was an aroma all it's own. Stick out tongue

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

  • Member since
    January 2002
  • From: Canterlot
  • 9,528 posts
Posted by zugmann on Friday, October 14, 2016 10:49 PM

Murphy Siding
Fruity smell? That was the citrus scented glue they made to replace the good stuff.

Yeah, those stupid blue-labeled tubes.  May as well be filled with water.

 

I use MEK and some Faller stuff with the needle applicator.  I have this truck model, that at the rate I work on it, will be done (hopefully) by the time I retire.

  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, October 15, 2016 7:50 AM

Fruity smell? I had gone on to other things, such as trains and railroading by the time that came out. I had not thought of the good ol' airplane glue with its smell until this morning when I read the latest on this thread. 

Johnny

RME
  • Member since
    March 2016
  • 2,073 posts
Posted by RME on Saturday, October 15, 2016 2:09 PM

Citrus-scented?  What I remember they added was allyl isothiocyanate, to give it that irritating mustardy tang.  Before that, the 'best' glue for models in my early childhood was something called Styro-Weld, back in the days that glue came in a soft metal tube that had to be opened and then kept sealed with a pin.  That stuff had a wonderful ethereal scent, which rapidly got engineered out of circulation (either for health or 'sniffing-prevention' reasons).  When I got to orgo I sampled a few of the solvents to figure out what awful liver-cancerizing substance might have had such a good smell, but never did discover the answer.  Does anyone here know for sure?

 

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, October 15, 2016 2:22 PM

Oh, yes, that was the stuff--take one of your mother's pins and keep it in the tube. Yes, I remember something about the dangers of sniffing the glue.

Johnny

  • Member since
    January 2014
  • 8,155 posts
Posted by Euclid on Saturday, October 15, 2016 3:13 PM

It is hard to describe what something smells like if nothing else smells like it. 

I have had experience with MEK, but more with Methylene Chloride which is used to solvent bond A.B.S. plastic.  Here are some descriptions of various chemical odors from on-line references.  The description for A.B.S. is mine:

Styrene: A Sweet, floral odor.

MEK:  A mint-like odor.

Methylene Chloride:  A sweet, pleasant chloroform odor.   

Chloroform:  A pungent smell similar to ether.

Ether:  pungent, sweet, nauseating, or fruity.

A.B.S plastic:  A sharp, acrid, burning plastic odor when cutting.

Acrylic:  Only references are how to not encounter it.

Ammonia:  Like you have been punched in the nose.

Xylene:  A strong, sweetish odor.

Vinegar:  A vinegar-like odor. 

RME
  • Member since
    March 2016
  • 2,073 posts
Posted by RME on Saturday, October 15, 2016 3:37 PM

Shouldn't that last one be "Acetic acid" (or glacial acetic acid or acetic acid anhydride)?

And the reference to acrylic does have some answers (as anyone who has bought plexiglas sheet knows when they work with it) but a number of the chemicals used to produce it hydrolyze (in the presence of water) to release something else you should have put in your table:

Hydrogen cyanide:  Almonds or bitter almonds.

If you smell it, stop in the middle of that breath and get away.  A full breath of it can be enough to kill you even if you start breathing clean air immediately (it works metabolically by affecting mitochondria so your cells stop breathing and don't start again). 

Insidiously, quickly-fatal concentrations of HCN or other cyanides/producers can be masked by other chemical smells, for example burning acrylonitrile -- the "A" in the ABS plastic you're overheating when cutting (and as encountered in a recent accident where a broken axle set a tank-car on fire).

  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: S.E. South Dakota
  • 13,567 posts
Posted by Murphy Siding on Saturday, October 15, 2016 5:31 PM

RME

Citrus-scented?  What I remember they added was allyl isothiocyanate, to give it that irritating mustardy tang.  Before that, the 'best' glue for models in my early childhood was something called Styro-Weld, back in the days that glue came in a soft metal tube that had to be opened and then kept sealed with a pin.  That stuff had a wonderful ethereal scent, which rapidly got engineered out of circulation (either for health or 'sniffing-prevention' reasons).  When I got to orgo I sampled a few of the solvents to figure out what awful liver-cancerizing substance might have had such a good smell, but never did discover the answer.  Does anyone here know for sure?

 

 

He's snifing the Testors wood glue in the green & white tube.  It had a lot more pleasant aroma than the Testors plastic model glue in the orange and white tube.....or, so I have been told.Whistling

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

  • Member since
    January 2014
  • 8,155 posts
Posted by Euclid on Saturday, October 15, 2016 5:55 PM

RME
Insidiously, quickly-fatal concentrations of HCN or other cyanides/producers can be masked by other chemical smells, for example burning acrylonitrile -- the "A" in the ABS plastic you're overheating when cutting (and as encountered in a recent accident where a broken axle set a tank-car on fire).

Yes, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.  I have made quite a few product models out of that plastic mostly by cutting and fabricating from sheet stock in the range of .125-.250 thick.  Once you get the hang of how to apply the solvent and squeeze the joint, it welds beautifully, and makes assemblies that are incredibly strong. 

But that acrid odor when cutting or machining ABS is a bit annoying.  I could not get a straight answer from G.E. as to what the odor was or whether it was harmful. 

I have also worked with polycarbonate and acrylic, but ABS is my favorite.    

  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: S.E. South Dakota
  • 13,567 posts
Posted by Murphy Siding on Saturday, October 15, 2016 6:00 PM

Euclid

It is hard to describe what something smells like if nothing else smells like it. 

 

Vinegar:  A vinegar-like odor. 

 

Yup.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

  • Member since
    October 2016
  • From: Sacramento, CA
  • 6 posts
Posted by AMTK 281 on Sunday, October 16, 2016 4:27 PM

BaltACD

 

 
Convicted One
I'd find it interesting to know if there are specific chemical combinations fobidden to be near one another in the same consist?  For instance something highly toxic (acetone cyanohydrin) next to something highly explosive (ethylene oxide), stuff like that.

 

There are spcific HAZMAT placement restrictions to observe when building trains.  They are too involved to repeat here.

 

 

A similar question I have always wondered about is are tankers washed out after each use so that the next product isn't contaminated/possible big boom? Or do they mostly go between two locations carrying the same thing for long periods of time unit-train style?

  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Burlington, WI
  • 1,418 posts
Posted by rvos1979 on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 7:48 PM
I always kept an eye out for the orange placards, because if that stuff goes up, there is usually a large hole where it used to be...........

Got the new Orange Book this year, the old one in the truck went home, makes for interesting reading...........

Randy Vos

"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings

"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: US
  • 24,991 posts
Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 8:06 PM

AMTK 281
BaltACD
Convicted One

There are spcific HAZMAT placement restrictions to observe when building trains.  They are too involved to repeat here.

A similar question I have always wondered about is are tankers washed out after each use so that the next product isn't contaminated/possible big boom? Or do they mostly go between two locations carrying the same thing for long periods of time unit-train style?

Railroad tank cars are normally leased by tank car leasing companies to the shipper.  They remain in captive service as long as that shipper maintains the lease; we are not talking trip leases.  If and/or when the shipper decides to terminate the lease, the car owner will have the car thoroughly cleaned before leasing again (I have no idea if the car owner knows what particular substance(s) the car was hauling when under the lease).

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Madawaska Maine
  • 27 posts
Posted by traildoctor on Saturday, October 22, 2016 4:02 PM

1170 is elthanol.  Plenty of free apps for smartphones that are easy to use.  I use Hazmat Pocket Guide and DOT Lookup.  

I fish, therefore I am.
  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Winnipeg, Mb
  • 628 posts
Posted by traisessive1 on Sunday, October 23, 2016 5:32 AM

blue streak 1

Can imagine that RRs would not like amonia and chlorine close together ?  If you don't  know what the mixture is well  --  just say WW-1.  

 

There is no issue with those two being next to each other. 

The placement rules for different types of dangerous goods being next to each other really aren't that strict. 

 

10000 feet and no dynamics? Today is going to be a good day ... 

Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

Search the Community

Newsletter Sign-Up

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy