The challenge of emergency response dispersion models on the meso-gamma urban scale: A case study of the July 26, 1993 Oleum tank car spill in Richmond, California
- EG and G Energy Measurements, Inc., Pleasanton, CA (United States)
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
This paper presents a recent case study that illustrates the difficulty of modeling accidental toxic releases in urban area. On the morning of July 26, 1993, oleum was accidentally released from a railroad tank car in Richmond, California. State and local agencies requested real-time modeling from the Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Although the ARAC`s with the US Department of Energy is for nuclear materials, the team responded to the accident under an Agreement in Principle with the State of California. ARAC provided model plots describing the location and progress of the toxic cloud to the agencies managing the response. The primary protective action for the public was to shelter in place. Highways, rail lines and public transportation were blocked. The incident was significant, enough that over 24,000 people sought medical attention within the week following the release.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48; AC08-93NV11265
- OSTI ID:
- 10114145
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-118082; CONF-9404202-2; ON: DE95006167
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Physical colloquium of Hamburg University,Hamburg (Germany),14 Apr 1994; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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