N&O details hazmat handling problems in North Carolina

The Raleigh News & Observer ran an important story on Sunday about "a series of dangerous handling errors at chemical depots around the state." The piece was the latest in the paper's series of stories about hazmat safety issues since the Oct. 5 explosion and fire at the EQ Industrial Services facility in Apex, N.C.

Reporters Toby Coleman and Wade Rawlins used regulators' files to document waste handling errors at three N.C. companies. Besides EQ, which from July 2004 to December 2005 was cited for eight waste-handling problems at its Apex facility, they are the Ashland warehouse in Charlotte, cited for nine storage mistakes in the past six years, and Heritage Environmental Services, another Charlotte company that was cited for seven storage and handling errors at its warehouse.

Chemical storage problems are potentially disastrous, as illustrated by the Apex incident, in which fire may have been started by a reaction between incompatible wastes. Compounding the problem is the reality that such facilities are often located near residential neighborhoods, child care centers or churches -- and nearby residents are often unaware of the potential hazards in their midst.