Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Schools address pipeline safety
Residents pepper officials with their concerns
WEST GOSHEN » The Mariner East 2 Pipeline project - which will ferry hundreds of thousands of barrels of propane, ethane and butane across the Chester County landscape - continues to weigh heavily on the minds of residents. About 100 residents packed a meeting at West Chester East High School Thursday night and peppered emergency responders and members of the Chester County hazardous materials team with more than 50 questions about the pipeline project. Mostly, people wanted to know how to best respond in the event something goes wrong, leading to a hazardous materials spill and leak.
West Chester Area School District Superintendent Dr. Jim Scan-
lon moderated the meeting.
Almost immediately, the superintendent told residents how they can become safer in case of a Sunoco Mariner 2 East Pipeline release, or a train or truck leak or spill.
He lauded the benefits of signing up at www. readychesco.org and www. smart911.com.
Www.readychesco.org allows the county to notify residents via email, cell phone, text, voice message or pager of an emergency.
Smart911 is also free and helps residents when calling 911. First responders will be aware of important information provided by residents concerning medical issues, current location and even about pets, to help police and fire professionals to easier locate and assist.
Bob Fleming, deputy chief of administration at the Goshen Fire Department, said there are 700 miles of existing pipelines in the county, with eight pipelines crossing East Goshen Township.
He said that emergency responders are well trained and well prepared through regular exercises and training.
A hazardous materials response team is based in West Chester and is trained to respond efficiently, safely and effectively.
“When the (911 Center) call taker receives the call, if it even sounds like hazardous materials are involved, the team gets dispatched,” Fleming said.
Bill Turner, deputy chief for Chester County emergency management, stressed that no emergency is the same. He urged residents to be vigilant and not be cautious about reaching out if they suspect something is wrong.
“Know the signs of something that doesn’t look or seem right,” he said. “Error on the side of caution and call 911.”
The school district has posted a hazardous materials emergency protocol online at www.wcasd.net that outlines how a resident would recognize a leak.
Smell should be considered, although Sunoco is not adding anything to create an odor to butane, ethane and propane shipments since some of the materials will be used to make plastic bottles.
The school district also notified residents to visually inspect areas where the pipeline is traversing the landscape. Is there dead or dying vegetation near the pipeline, pools of liquid or fire on the ground? Is there dirt and debris blowing in the air or a dense white cloud or fog?
Noise is another giveaway. Is there hissing, gurgling or a roaring sound?
School district procedures call for the incident commander, usually the principal, to call 911, while considering whether to evacuate or shelter in place.
Head custodians would be notified to shut-off HVAC systems to prevent a spark and the superintendent would be notified.
Students would be reminded to not use cellphones.
All actions should be documented and attendance should be taken. Students should be moved away from the immediate danger and the wind direction should be determined in case evacuating students need to proceed by foot for at least half a mile away from a pipeline, truck or train incident.
A resident wanted to know whether safety drills were taking away from class time.
Scanlon said that the district has regularly performed fire drills and active shooter drills and would now host hazardous materials drills.
“We think that is valuable time spent,” he said.
Jeff Shields, Sunoco Pipeline communications manager responded: “We train extensively with first responders and educate the public on the many ways to recognize a pipeline release, which can generally be heard and/or seen. The addition of odorant is not possible given the potential end uses of the products, such as textiles and plastics. This is one reason why the addition of odorants in transmission pipelines is not required by regulation. “
Shields said that Sunoco pipelines are regularly monitored.
“Mariner East 2 is being built to the highest safety standards, above and beyond federal safety requirements,” he said. “All our pipelines are monitored for pressure, flow and temperature 24/7/365 and can be shut down remotely in minutes. Our systems are built to shut down automatically in response to abnormal changes in pressure and allow us to respond appropriately in coordination with local first responders, who are accustomed to dealing with the many pipelines that have operated in the community safely for decades.”
The Sunoco Mariner East 2 Pipeline is now under construction in the county and will weave 350 miles across the state, West Virginia and Ohio. It will transport Marcellus Shale product, mostly for export, to the former Sunoco Refinery in Marcus Hook, Delaware County.
Smart911 is also free and helps residents when calling 911. First responders will be aware of important information provided by residents concerning medical issues, current location and even about pets, to help police and fire professionals to easier locate and assist.