Ashtabula, Ohio Ship Disaster

Highlighting the dangers with lack of information on shipments and relying on local emergency services for major issues the is afire in Ohio. Black smoke that may be diesel mixed with coal is burning the 81 year old ship.

The had a fire in the engine room early last year, but, like many ships on the Great Lakes or operating in international waters, they are loosely guided for safety by general notions in international law but local laws and regulations, if even in place, are not considered.

In this case the ship is bulk carrier that reportedly carries iron ore, coal and other materials from time to time. Without knowing exactly what is on board it is difficulty for local authorities to respond effectively.

If we look at the images the smoke we see might easily be a mixture of coal and diesel mixed with steam. The ship itself, having been built in 1943, and in the present state it is in might contain asbestos, which was used liberally in the past. Ships built prior to 2002 may contain asbestos as long as it is 'contained correctly'.

According to a maritime testing facility, with information drawn between 2011 and 2020, over 55% of in-service vessels and 50% of newly built ships as well were found to contain asbestos materials.

In the United States, marine paint can contain as much as 50-90% lead by weight, as opposed to household paints which are limited to 0.009% lead.

If we use as ship like the Cuyahoga as an example, let us, for the sake of argument, imagine that the current cargo is composed of coal or some other flammable or semi-flammable materials. Add then in the asbestos coatings throughout the ship. Then consider the layers of lead paint and other chemicals that have applied to the ship are still clinging to it and part of the superstructure.

Now imagine this floating metal hulk filled with coal and other flammable materials is on fire and spewing smoke composed of coal smoke and fumes, other chemical residues, lead, asbestos and other unknown contaminants.

In this particular case we are informed that the full force of the Ashtabula County and local fire department have been extended to deal with the blaze and that the Coast Guard is on site to watch (monitor?) the situation.

It's not clear what sort of equipment that Ashtabula County has, but it seems that the county handles emergency calls and may coordinate other departments in the county of 97,000 when there is a need. For example, not long ago, the county coordinated a response to a 50 acre fire in a forest.

The City of Ashtabula, for fire fighting equipment, has an ambulance, a ladder truck and a fire engine. One of the trucks can be seen the below photos.

According to reports crowds have gathered to watch the fire. There is no indication that anyone in those crowds, let alone those downwind from the smoky, oily plume have been warned of the potential inhalation hazards from a cloud of particulates and fumes that are a mixture of petroleum products, coal, lead, asbestos and other unknowns.

I have seen no indication that anyone from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency nor Governor DeWine's office. That may have changed at the time of this writing.

I would have thought those responsible for dealing with these things might have learned something from the East Palestine Rail Disaster and the secret transfer of toxic materials to Michigan and other states. To my knowledge Governor Whitmer of Michigan has not addressed the issue.

In this case the fire is burning and the plan to put it out seems to be the method used in East Palestine, Ohio, which is to just let it burn.

It would be interesting to know what will happen to the hulk of the Cuyahoga after it stops smoking and cools enough for it to be taken apart or towed away.

For that matter, I wonder what happened with all the contaminated rail cars and equipment that were involved in the East Palestine Rail Disaster.

Article from CBC News