No Travel Restrictions on Trucking Waste Cargo

The small spill of radioactive waste during an accident on the Santa Ana Freeway this week demonstrates that hazardous waste, unknown to everyone but the hauler, can be just a fender away.

State officials said the firm trucking the barrels of biomedical waste was properly licensed, and the cargo was properly secured, according to the preliminary inspection.

About one-tenth of a cup of radioactive waste was spilled from a drum that was thrown out when the truck was rear-ended by a car about 2 p.m. Wednesday, officials said. The accident shut down southbound traffic at the Orange Crush freeway interchange in Santa Ana for several hours and caused a 10-mile backup at the height of commuting time.

The waste was being hauled by PWN Environmental, which holds a license in good standing with the state Department of Health Services, said Ed Bailey, chief of the radiological health branch. PWN is one of a handful of waste brokers licensed by the state that transport and dispose of materials from hospitals, biomedical industry and other waste producers, he said.

To be licensed, companies must show they have training and experience to handle low-level radioactive waste and can cope with emergencies at their facilities and during transportation, Bailey said.

Once licensed, there are no restrictions on their travel, officials said. Unlike haulers of highly radioactive materials, companies transporting low-level radioactive materials do not need to notify the California Highway Patrol and other transportation officials when their trucks take to the roads, said CHP Sgt. Chuck McCrory.

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Haulers of highly radioactive materials, such as nuclear plant fuel, or special flammable substances such as rocket fuel require special licenses, and they must notify authorities and have routes approved before beginning their journeys, McCrory said.

“Most of these use a route that takes them around the Los Angeles and Orange County area,” he said. “They stay on desert-type roads.”

In Wednesday’s incident, the truck was hauling barrels that contained vials of liquid scintillation material, Bailey said. The material is used by biomedical firms when testing a drug or compound, he said. A small amount of radioactive material is added to the compound in a vial, Bailey said. As the compound is processed, the scintillation material causes a flicker of light, which provides information to the researchers, he said.

One of the drums containing used vials fell off of the truck during the crash and was punctured, he said. When the response team moved the barrel, a small amount of the material leaked out.

The driver of the truck was treated for minor injuries and released Wednesday. The driver of the car that rear-ended the truck suffered a head cut and was released from UCI Medical Center in Orange on Thursday.

Bailey is looking into why there was a 1 1/2-hour delay before the radiological health team was notified of the spill. The team, based in downtown Los Angeles, arrived at the scene about 5:30, navigating the heavy traffic with the assistance of the CHP, he said. The team’s job includes monitoring, measuring and identifying radioactive material.

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The Orange County Health Care Agency used to have radiological health workers, who were on contract to the state, but local officials discontinued the program last summer. Bailey said he hopes to open an Orange County office, although that offers no guarantee of a quicker response.

“There is always the possibility that no one will be in the office when an accident occurs,” Bailey said.

Given the nature of technology and the need to transport the resulting waste, he said, accidents are inevitable.

“It’s hard to guess where they [accidents] are going to occur,” he said. “Basically, we know they will happen in traffic or a main thoroughfare.”