Transporting dangerous viruses

[Lisa]

I honestly thought whenever dangerous viruses like E-boli and Anthrax were transport, no matter in what quantities, that it was a big expansive operation with high security. I never knew that FedEx was the answer :idunno:

This happened in my city. I never knew that they were transporting this stuff by fedex.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/03/03/948522-sun.html

City anthrax alarm
Transportation method defended after accident
By DEAN PRITCHARD, STAFF REPORTER

Federal virology lab officials are defending their method of transporting dangerous biological agents like anthrax after a FedEx van on its way to the Arlington Street lab collided with a car yesterday. The van was carrying five boxes containing samples of anthrax, salmonella, E. coli, influenza and tuberculosis.

The accident occurred shortly after 8 a.m. at the intersection of Sherbrook Street and Logan Avenue and closed down several city blocks as emergency crews ensured none of the packages had been damaged.

No one was injured in the collision.

The incident raised concerns such transportation methods could expose Winnipeggers to fatal viruses or welcome attacks from terrorists.

Dr. Stefan Wagener, the lab's director of bio-safety and environment, said transporting hazardous biological agents by commercial courier is the accepted standard across North America, and Winnipeggers were never at risk.

"It has been proven to be the safest way for transporting dangerous goods," he said. "This was a routine process that happens for us everyday."

TRIPLE PACKAGED

Wagener said the viruses are triple packaged for transport. Test tubes containing the samples are wrapped in plastic inside a tightly sealed plastic container. That container is then sealed in a box. In the event of an accident, an absorbing agent inside the container will absorb whatever is spilled.

Wagener said ratcheting up security procedures would only slow the transportation of samples and hamper the lab's ability to work effectively.

Anthrax is considered a Level 3 virus. Level 4, the highest on the scale, includes the Ebola virus.

FedEx officials said the company routinely deals with hazardous cargo and provides "comprehensive" training for staff who transport it.

"We are the people that can transport that stuff safely," said health safety and environmental manager Peter Balyk.

"The incident has proved that the safest way for those goods to be transported is by the experts, and we are the experts."

But Winnipeg Centre MP Pat Martin said he was shocked by the accident because of promises to beef up security following the accidental spill of cooling water in 2003.

"After the spill two years ago, we really thought that better safety measures would be taken," Martin said yesterday. "Now, as soon as our back is turned, we learn that FedEx is carrying this material in commercial trucks through busy downtown streets."

Transporting anthrax by courier is no more dangerous than transporting gas by tanker truck through the city, said John Lindsay, a professor with the applied disaster and emergency studies program at Brandon University.

"Does it create a risk? Yes, but we balance that against the benefits that we receive," Lindsay said.

"It is one of many, many risks in our communities. We move hazardous materials around our city every day. This may stand out today, because it happened, but we have many things to be concerned about."

 

[Flatlander]

I, ummm, didn't want to know that. Yikes.

 

[ginshun]

I think how it is packaged is more important than what kind of truck it is being carried in. As far as accidents go anyway. An armored truck with a bunch of gaurds isn't any less likely to crash than a Fed-Ex truck.

 

[Lisa]

I think how it is packaged is more important than what kind of truck it is being carried in. As far as accidents go anyway. An armored truck with a bunch of gaurds isn't any less likely to crash than a Fed-Ex truck.

True, what is important is what they are carrying.

This quote kinda freaked me:

FedEx officials said the company routinely deals with hazardous cargo and provides "comprehensive" training for staff who transport it.

Umm... so some guy making $10 an hour knows what to do? Still doesn't sit nicely with me and makes for an uneasy feeling. I was driving along to work when I heard the news over the radio station and the DJ says "so, like were are not in danger, right?" She sounded really convinced.(not!)

People are now worried that terrorists will be marking these FEDEX trucks and stealing the viruses to manufacture more.

 

[Deuce]

I'm not really surprised nor very concerned. As long as the Fed-ex drivers have the proper training and SOPs put in place, serious incidents should be at a minimum when following all relevant TDG procedures.

I don't think the risk of hi-jackings by terrorists is a huge concern either, based on the small amounts of substances and assumed sporadic shipping schedules. If they want Anthrax bad enough, I'm sure they can find a way to get it with less exposure. I'm sure that Fed-ex has implemented some security measures to prevent theft of products they're transporting, or at least I hope so.

 

[Flatlander]

I'm not really surprised nor very concerned. As long as the Fed-ex drivers have the proper training and SOPs put in place, serious incidents should be at a minimum when following all relevant TDG procedures.

I don't think the risk of hi-jackings by terrorists is a huge concern either, based on the small amounts of substances and assumed sporadic shipping schedules. If they want Anthrax bad enough, I'm sure they can find a way to get it with less exposure. I'm sure that Fed-ex has implemented some security measures to prevent theft of products they're transporting, or at least I hope so.

In the case of transporting fuel, there are government mandated standards that must be met before a person can get behind the wheel. I don't imagine that this is the case with the Fed/Ex guy transporting these viruses. I concur, it doesn't really matter whose name is on the truck, but I have difficulty trusting corporations to follow appropriate safety procedures. Furthermore, without (and I'm assuming here) definitive standards in place, I have even less faith in corporations to think of the public safety first.

 

[ginshun]

People are now worried that terrorists will be marking these FEDEX trucks and stealing the viruses to manufacture more.

That could be a valid consern. Pretty unlikely, but valid.

In the case of transporting fuel, there are government mandated standards that must be met before a person can get behind the wheel. I don't imagine that this is the case with the Fed/Ex guy transporting these viruses.

I'd bet they do. I am sure that the people that drive Fed-Ex trucks have to carry a CDL license just like people that drive for any other carrier. I don't think that it is that big of a deal to get the license to let you drive with hazardess materials, over just the regular one. I would bet that the peple that are driving this stuff around are required to take the extra class/test. Which is all it really amounts to.

 

[Deuce]

In the case of transporting fuel, there are government mandated standards that must be met before a person can get behind the wheel. I don't imagine that this is the case with the Fed/Ex guy transporting these viruses. I concur, it doesn't really matter whose name is on the truck, but I have difficulty trusting corporations to follow appropriate safety procedures. Furthermore, without (and I'm assuming here) definitive standards in place, I have even less faith in corporations to think of the public safety first.

I beg to differ. From my experience, corporations are more concerned with public safety and environmental protection than some smaller private companies. There are certain regulations and standards put out by the government that all carriers of dangerous goods must follow. A corporation like Fed-ex is more likely to follow all TDG requirements for transporting this stuff then a smaller company, that may just let it slide or claim ignorance of the regulations. If they carry dangerous goods, then they are likely licensed to do so and maintain the standards set out by the government.

Most household moving companies won't move any dangerous goods at all. Even a can of hair spray is not allowed to go on the truck. So, Im confident that most large and small companies will in fact follow these requirements if they want to stay in business and maintain a good reputation.

 

[shesulsa]

They do it daily. Did you guys read that? Daily.

Did you also know that nuclear warheads are transported on big rigs that look like garbage or moving trucks on our city streets? They also go by rail in cargo cars.

You see, armed security and a planned path draws attention to the transport, hence all the reason why to keep it as low-key as possible.

The other point I wanted to make was that this stuff being transported daily indicates that virus and bacterium production is much more prolific than most of us would guess, I think.

 

[Rynocerous]

I'm with deuce on this one, if they are transporting it,they have to be certified. I don't believe that the government would send dangerous goods out into the public without the proper safety precautions. Also keep in mind that accidents do happen. Oil tankers do spill oil, trains transporting chlorine gas do de-rail, and fed-ex vehicles do get in accidents. We transport numerous hazardous goods in many different ways, there is no way around that.


Rynocerous

 

[OUMoose]

I have to echo the sentiment that while a little unsettling, it's not surprising.

My mother tells me a story from when i was little of coming home on the highway and being stuck in a traffic jam because a Piggly-Wiggly freight truck was in an accident. Instead of canned green beans flowing over the road, the 3rd stage of an ICBM did. Whoopsie!

 

[RandomPhantom700]

As far as terrorists are concerned, I think the store houses would be easier targets for acquiring the biological materials than hijacking a FedEx truck. And I don't think there's much to worry about concerning trusting FedEx with these materials. Their packaging standards, as described, sound pretty safe, and as the article described, the cleanup went without incident, right?

I think that, if you're worried about a private company handling materials, you should look into the company's actual procedures rather than just say "well they're a private corporation, so I don't trust them." Sounds like they handled the materials pretty appropriately, as well as the accident.

 

[ginshun]

The other point I wanted to make was that this stuff being transported daily indicates that virus and bacterium production is much more prolific than most of us would guess, I think.

I don't know if you can infer that the production of them is that prolific, maybe that the research on them is. I don't think that the fact that test tubes of it are being trucked around to different labs necceccarily means that they are stockpiling silo's full of the stuff.

 

[Deuce]

This is another classic example of the media blowing something out of proportion, and needlessly striking fear into the public who don't know the whole story or the specifics of the situation.

The Fed-ex truck crashed. No one was injured by any viruses that it was carrying. Proper procedures were followed after the crash to ensure public safety in the event of dangerous agents being released. No agents were released due to proper packaging standards.

Accidents happen and injuries will occur. The best we can do is try to prevent any incidents and have SOPs in place when things do go wrong. In this case, I think the situation was handled well.

 

[raedyn]

Umm... so some guy making $10 an hour knows what to do?

You don't seriously think that a person's wage is an accurate gauge of their competency, do you? 'Cuz if you take the same guy and pay him $20/hour, he'll still be equally useful/useless.

I'm not really surprised nor very concerned. As long as the Fed-ex drivers have the proper training and SOPs put in place, serious incidents should be at a minimum when following all relevant TDG procedures.

Spoken like a true engineer. =)

Without ... definitive standards in place, I have even less faith in corporations to think of the public safety first.

I beg to differ. From my experience, corporations are more concerned with public safety and environmental protection than some smaller private companies. There are certain regulations and standards put out by the government that all carriers of dangerous goods must follow.

I think you are both right, in a way. The key difference in Flatlander's wariness of and Deuce's trust in corporations is regulation. There are numerous examples of corprations not thinking of public safety first when left to their own devices. Once there are regulations and standards requiring compliance, most companies do comply - and many are pro-active and diligent - in following the rules set out for them. But it's rare that a company voluntarily pulls its own product, or changes its own business practice in the interest of public safety.

A company's ultimate responsibilty is to its shareholders. So if it isn't economically sound, they don't do it. You know, cost/benefit ananlysis? There's some amount of risk that's okay mathematically to a company, but that might not match up with the people living next door's expectations. Until an external force makes it the economically sound choice: through extensive media outcry and public pressure, or the threat of massive fines, etc, corporations don't have any reason to 'think of the neighbours' and they do have many reasons not to.

 

[BrandiJo]

so um the fed ex guy who couldnt even find my work (when me and my mom had a candle store) is able to carry things that could kill us all..... i will sleep a little easyer knowing that!