Wetteren a train is derailed Wilfried Van den

Wetteren: a train is derailed Wilfried Van den Acker Crisismanager Flemish Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy

Wetteren: a train is derailed 1. Scenario 2. Intervention 3. Involvement of the Flemish Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy 4. Conclusion

Wetteren: a train is derailed 1) The scenario: release and diffusion - 4 th May 2013, 02: 00 u: derailment of a freight train - Railway Wetteren – Schellebelle

Wetteren: scenario Railway network:

Wetteren: scenario

Wetteren: scenario Schelde Natural reserve Wetteren centre train Purification plant for sewage Pumping installation for sewage water

Wetteren: scenario • 5 rail tankers with each approximately 60 ton acrylonitril • • Extremely flammable Extremely toxic, release of cyanide after intake in human body Degradation by fire: release of hydrocyanic acid and nitrious gasses Classificied as possibly carcinogenic. • 2 rail tankers with each approximately 60 ton butadiene • • Extremely flammable Can cause cancer • 5 empty railwagons • 1 wagon with 2 containers tri-ethylaluminium (TEAL) • • • Ignite spontaneously on contact with air Reacts violently with water Corrosive

Wetteren: scenario

Wetteren: scenario Pathway dangerous substances after release: - Surface water: - - Through rainwater canal along the railway to the Grotevijverbeek, a small river that flows to the river Schelde Through rainwater canal along the railway to a pumpfacility for sewage water - Sewerage: - From the pumpfacility for sewage water through the sewerage to the purification plant of Aquafin - Air: fluegasses released from the fire - Soil - Groundwater

Wetteren: scenario Pathway surface water

Wetteren: scenario Pathway surfacewater: Grote Vijverbeek

Wetteren: scenario Pathway sewerage: pumpinstallation through sewerage of Wetteren to the purification plan at the other side of Wtteren

Wetteren: scenario Pathway air: Plume direction Wichelen

Wetteren: scenario Pathway soil: - Directly by rainwatercanal aside the railway - fall-out smoke

Wetteren: scenario Pathway groundwater: ground-water flow in the direction of the Schelde

Wetteren: a train is derailed 2. The Intervention - Emergency planning in Belgium - Emergency planning in Wetteren - Intervention strategy

Wetteren: intervention Emergency planning in Belgium - Structure Belgium: different levels of policy: - Federal Regional Provincial Municipal

Wetteren: intervention Royal decree on emergency planning: - 3 levels of coördination: § municipal: mayor, § provincial: governor § federal: minister of Home Affairs - 5 disciplines: § § § discipline 1: firebrigade discipline 2: medical treatment discipline 3: police discipline 4: logistic support discipline 5: information and communication

Wetteren: intervention Emergency during the incident in Wetteren: - Municipal scale, later provincial scale - Fire fighting: - Intervention: - - Railtankers with acrylnitril + wagon with butadiene controled burn out Cooling other wagons Fumegasses captured with water curtain Protection of habitants: - Evacuation riskzone 500 m Stay inside zone 500 m – 1. 000 m Close windows en doors in Wetteren, Serskamp and Schellebelle

Wetteren: intervention Protectionzones:

Wetteren: intervention - Pollution surfacewater: dam on Grote Vijverbeek

Wetteren: intervention - Fumes in the sewerage:

Wetteren: intervention - Fumes in the sewerage - Intervention: - - Closing pumpinstallation Stop emission of the purificationplant Collection contaminated sewage water in basin Flushing sewerage Transport contaminated water with boats to waste processing facility Protection habitants: - Area of evacation expands: 1. 700 habitants leave their houses Continous monitoring of fumes in the sewerage and above surface water

Wetteren: intervention - Removal train: - Intervention: - - Flaring second railwagon with butadiene Remove not derailed wagons Construction of a road to the place of accident Cutting of the wagonwrecks and removing scrap Protection habitants: - Safety zone smaller to 250 m Continous monitoring of fumes in the sewerage and above surface water

Wetteren: intervention - Flaring second wagon with butadiene

Wetteren: intervention - Removing not-derailed wagons

Wetteren: intervention - Construction road to place of wreck:

Wetteren: intervention - After removal train wreck: - Intervention: - - Monitoring airquality in houses and on the site of the accident Protection habitants: - Return of the evacuated people - End of crisisalert: 22 th May 2013

Wetteren: a train is derailed 3. Environmental aspect: the role of the environmental services - The Flemish government - Structure and competence The ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy The script on environmental incidents - Environmental services envolved - Department Environment, Nature and Energy (DLNE): crisismanager, communication service, services Flemish Environment Agency (VMM) Public Flemish Agency for Waste (OVAM) Agency for Nature and Forest (ANB) and the Research Institute for Nature and Forest - Other Flemish services: Flemish Agency for Care and Health, health inspection (TOVO)

Wetteren: environmental aspect The Flemish government: structure and competence 13 policy area’s: 1. Services for the General Government Policy 2. Public Governance 3. Finance and Budget 4. Flemish Foreign Affairs 5. Economy, Science and Innovation 6. Education and Training 7. Welfare, Public Health and Family 8. Culture, Youth, Sport and Media 9. Work and Social Economy 10. Agriculture and Fisheries 11. Environment, Nature and Energy 12. Mobility and Public Works 13. Spatial Planning, Housing Policy and Immovable Heritage

Wetteren: environmental aspect Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy:

Wetteren: environmental aspect Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy: - Departement Environment, Nature and Energy: preparing, following up and evaluating the Flemish environmental policy

Wetteren: environmental aspect Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy: - Agency for Nature and Forests Policy, sustainable management of nature and forests and inspection of nature - Research Institute for Nature and Forest Research and knowledge centre for nature en the sustainable management en use of nature - Public Flemish Agency for Waste - - Sustainable management of waste and materials Prevention of soil pollution Management of soil decontamination Flemish Environment Agency - Prevention, mitigation and remediation of • • - lethal effects in watersystems Pollution of the atmosphere Reporting on the condition of the enverionment Integrated waterpolicy

Wetteren: environmental aspects Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy: - The script on environmental incidents - purpose: - - - Coördination of the environmental services of the ministry of Environment, Nature and Energyduring environmental incidents Crisiscommunication How does it operate? - Crisismanager: - - Management of the script (information of correspondents, procedures) Internal communication Crisiscommunicator: - External communication Appointment depending on the type of incident

Wetteren: environmental aspects Environmental services that were involved - Departement of Environment, Nature and Energy - Crisismanager: - - Warned by the Flemish Environment Agency on May 4 th Notification the Ministrial Cabinet, the Department, the agency for waste, the agency for Nature and Forests and the research Institute for nature and forests Present in the crisiscentre of the governor Consultation with: - Governor of East-Flanders Communication services of East-Flanders and Wetteren Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain Federal Public Service on Health Service Zeeschelde (managening the river Schelde) Aquafin (purification plant) …

Wetteren: environmental aspects - Crisismanager: - Issues at the crisiscentre: - Prohibition for fishing and boats on the river Schelde Prohibition for biking and walking on the dike of the river Schelde The use of rainwater The use of groundwater The disposal of grass from mowing Disposal of food from the houses of the people who were evacuated The presence of perfluorotenside in the contaminated water Engaging a firm for the treatment of the contaminated water Prohibition of sheeps in the nature area De Blakken Ecotoxicologic research on death animals found in the neighbourhood of the Grotevijversbeek

Wetteren: environmental aspects - Crisiscommunicator - Communication service of DLNE assigned Coöperation with the spokespersons of the other environmental services pressreleases (only after validation by the governor): - May 6 th 2013: ‘environmental crisisteam follows up the situation in Wetteren’ May 8 th 2013: ANB: ‘prohibition on fishing in the river Schelde in the neighbourhood of Wetteren’ May 8 th 2013: OVAM: ‘first sampling of soil on the site of the accident in Wetteren’ May 8 th 2013: VMM: ‘Quality of the suface water’ May 9 th 2013: VMM en TOVO: ‘the use of ground water in Wetteren’ May 10 th 2013: VMM en TOVO: ‘rainwater can be used for laundering’

Wetteren: environmental aspects - Crisiscommunicator - Pressreleases (after validation by the governor): - May 10 th 2013: VMM: ‘update quality of surface water’ May 10 th 2013: INBO: ‘no loss on fauna en flora’ May 10 th 2013: OVAM: ‘provisional results of sampling the soil in Wetteren indicate no pollution’ May 11 th 2013: VMM: ‘update quality of surface water’’ May 12 th 2013: INBO: ‘update fauna and flora’ May 14 th 2013: INBO: ‘update fauna en flora’ May 15 th 2013: OVAM: ‘Update results of sampling the soil in Wetteren’ May 15 th 2013: INBO: ‘update fauna en flora’ May 21 th 2013: OVAM: ‘Green light for safety measures for soil in Wetteren’ May 29 th 2013: ANB: ‘End Prohibition for fishing in river Schelde’

Wetteren: environmental aspects - Department Environment, Nature and Energy - Service Legal affairs - - Assembling a legal file Recover the costs made by the ministry from the responsible Service Air, Nuisance, Risk Management, Environment and Health - With health inspection: research for human biomonitoring (follow up, initiative: Federal Public Service on Health)

Wetteren: environmental aspects - Department Environment, Nature and Energy - Environmental inspectorate - Not directly involved: transportaccident Controls done by: - Treatmentplant contaminated soil Treatmentplant contaminated water Scrap plant

Wetteren: het milieuaspect - Flemish Environment Agency (VMM) - Service reporting water: - First contact (manager for rivers not use for watertransport) Monitoring surfacewater: daily sampling - Grote Vijverbeek: before and after the dam Molenbeek: at the point of discharge of the watertreatmentplant of Aquafin Several samplingpoints on the Schelde

Wetteren: het milieuaspect monitoring surfacewater

Wetteren: environmental aspects - monitoring surfacewater - Most importants parameters: - Acrylnitril: - - Total cyanide: - - 5 – 10 mg/l: significant dying of fish 17 µg/l: no effect on the long term is to be expected Quality standard for surface water: 75 µg/l Results: - Downstream the point of discharge of the watertreatmentfacility of Aquafin: negligible Several measureponts on the Schelde: negligible

Wetteren: environmental aspects - monitoring surfacewater - Grote Vijverbeek: - upstream dam: - Downstream dam: increase acylnitril on May 5 th to 480 µg/l, later negligible

Wetteren: environmental aspects - Flemish Environment Agency (VMM): - Service Operational watermanagement: - Controle groundwater extraction - Zone of attention:

Wetteren: environmental aspects - Public Flemish Agency for Waste: - Service Waste and Materials: - Treatment contaminated water: - - Research for treatmentfacilities (treatment, transport, port authorities of Gent and Antwerp) Treatment finished June 11 th at TWZ in Gent Disposal of waste: - Grass from mowing: separate collection at the municipal waste recycle centre Possibly contaminated food (not covered during the incident): separate collection

Wetteren: environmental aspects - Public Flemish Agency for Waste: - Service for intervention, removal and sanitation Service for soilmanagement - Research pollution of the soil: - - Follow-up the soil investigation by expert Infrabel Engage expert for second opinion Safety measurements: - Excavate contaminated soil near the place of the accident and Grote Vijverbeek Install drains, pumping and cleaning groundwater Evaluate degree of pollution in soil and groundwater

Wetteren: environmental aspects - Public Flemish Agency for Waste:

Wetteren: environmental aspects - Public Flemish Agency for Waste: Actual state of pollution of the soil: - At the place of the accident: some concentration of acrylnitril inside the zone covered by the drains Sludge in canals and creeks removed No contamination found due to the parameters of the foam used during the intervention Expert is writing report describing actual condition of the soil

Wetteren: environmental aspects - Agency for Nature and Forests: - victim: - - Zone of important natural value in effectzone Advising authority: - Closing the floodplain downstream the river Schelde Prohibition for fishing on the river Schelde in May - Research Institute for Nature and Forest: - Daily monitoring of fish kill on the Scchelde: none Advice about the effects of acrylnitril on waterorganisms based on international expertise - - Fish kill to be expected from 10 ppm acrylnitril No effects to be expected in the sludge of the Schelde Acrylnitril disappears from water after 3 à 4 weken: temporarly effect on flora en fauna is to be expected Toxicologic research on dead ducs: no link is found with the accident

Wetteren: a train is derailed - Conclusion: - Big human impact: - - habitants Crisisteam: emergency services, experts, supporting services, authorities Little environmental impact: - After remediation still remainig small pollution of the soil that will be cleaned up