Document GjNqMNZ6ZQvmLr7rVJ387Eo7

c Buffalo, ' Z* Torch ?, 1?' u. folta Dear Boy* Late Sunday afternoon, '"arch lot, I received at ny home a telegram from J?r, K. Tight, resident cho'aiat, McColl frontemc Oil Co. Ltd., Montreal Kaot, 0,ue. statins that a pipeline lad broken near an aviation blending tank while micing a mix and that 5 or A email drums of fluid had probably been pimped out onto the ground. Hie wire naked what they should do. As you know I called you on the phone and after n brief discussion I caught the night train to Montreal, advising hr. light by telegram that X would be there r'onday morning to suggest proper precautions to take in cleaning up the mesa. A.n v,t;s There are arselocod in six aviation, kerosene and base stock upright one h a lf of1 th is , and fluid nixturo ide a strong lead smell could be detected qwItteo some distance awav. "ho gasoline nunned out onto the /"round th ro u f the*break had a lead concentration of probably -200 cca per gallon. They used five small drums of fluid and wore pumping .gasoline through the eductor for 55 ainutos before the break was discovered and the pump chut down. Each drura took five minutes to empty and assuming about 20 gpl. per minute of gasoline through the eductor a concentration of the above figure wpdtld result. While the drum was being wished this concentration would of course be reduced but at times there would probably be that higher concentration gasoline passing through the pipe line and through the break onto the ground. Shortly .after the break was discovered a pumper made a csiatako and pumped about 100 $ctx bblo. of kerosene through an open valve onto the ground covered with the highly concentrated gasoline fluid mix. There is a 3ewer drain inside the dike wail leading to the refinery separator tanks. Investigation showed these tanks to be almost full of slop oil and gasoline, probably 5QO bbls. fho only wav to get rid of this gasoline fluid mixture on the ground was to flush it down this drain. A fire hose -.fas used and the entire area flushed all day l-onday. The ground was frozen hard and there was a layer of ice over the entire area, as well aa covered with snow. layerHie icc was 3olia and the gasoline had not gone through it at any place so the surfr.ee was rather canily cleaned up. A H snow showing any blue stain wao flushed down the sewer. A H of this work was done from the up-wind side and the use of monks was not necessary, but we had to keep everyone away from the area on the down-wind aide. 55 KE 0022698 ; rage -2- HcColl Fire-- lire Freak. Fontreal, A* J. F. The break m s discovered by the pumper v?hcn he cane out of the aviation msnp house and thought he could detect an unusual odor. He went over to the aviation mixing tank and saw the gasoline coding up around tho line to the tank. Doforo he could signal the hthyl mixer the entire five runa had been emptied, A pipe fitter was called and Arrsond teduc, an examined ran, m s sent to the job. He started to dij; around the pipe but the odor was so bbrong that he know it was dangerous so he stopped nod reported to tho office the condition and they in turn notified us. Arnond- said he did not dig more than two or three minutes and did not think ho was around the tarde more than five minutes altogether Tuesday we equipped two men with rubber boots, rubber gloves and clothing and canister 2aa masks and started then d i c i n g up the pipo. The ground was frosen so hard that air banners lad bo be used. Tho dirt dug up from around the pife was completely saturated with the Icad-rpsoline mixture and we had it pub in old sacks and later burned under a still. It took all day Tuesday to dip; up about 10' 399S& of pipe and locate the break at a coupling. V'edneoday the entire pipe was uncovered to the tank and the coupling removed (it had to be cut away with chipping hammer) and the short length of pipo taken out. It m s then discovered that the break m s in the threads of the length of pipe not yet uncovered. This whole length had to be renewed no the dippers uncovered a 20* additional length. Thursday the new pine m s put in and the entire area cleaned up. The dirt m o burned as mentioned above and the pipe taken out of the line m o also burned. 100 lbs. of Chlorinate of time m o mixed with vrater and spread liberally in the hole while being filled arid on the surface of tho ground around the area after filling m o complete. The original installation was at fault causing this break. Ho provision hid been made to alow for expansion and contraction and with-the constant freezing and thawing tho pipe had to buckle slightly. The breakage occurred at the weakest point* -/hen the coupling m s re moved nt the break it was found that only about four threads had beer, caught. I think that in our specifications or on digawing 1000-37 we should state that adequate provision be made for expansion and con traction of all piping carrying a hjfighly concentrated mixture of Fluid in gasoline* A loop or double "L" arrangement would probably bo sufficient to prevent another such, break an v/o had hero. HcColl has had several ouch breaks recently in other lines and are equipping vulnerable linca vrith nomo provision for expansion and contraction. Then we completed tho job there aa no odor noticeable at any point around the tanks or inside of the firewall.