UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION IX 75 Hawthorne Street ^ San Francisco, CA 94105 June 2001 San Diego Hazardous Material Commodity Flow Study Fact Sheet Chemical Emergency Prevention and Preparedness Office US EPA Region 9, San Francisco, California In June 2001, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, issued the final report on a hazardous material commodity flow study of the San Diego, California area. A commodity flow study is an analysis of the goods that are moving through a particular area. In March, the study was presented to the California Border Emergency Planning and Response Task Force. The study describes the identity and quantity of hazardous materials traveling through San Diego, and provides recommendations for reducing risks that these materials pose to the community. The study identifies the nature, quantities and routes of hazardous substances transported in or near San Diego, including exports to and imports from Mexico. Purpose of the study. USEPA conducted this study to create a useful reference document for hazardous material emergency planning, prevention and response efforts at the US/Mexico border. A better understanding of the chemical safety risks posed by transportation in San Diego will enable federal, state and local officials to make more informed decisions on the allocation of resources and the management of hazardous substances in the community. The cities of San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, are one of the six Sister City pairs designated for contingency planning and emergency response assistance under USEPA Region 9's US/Mexico Program. Data sources. Commodities are tracked as imports and exports through two federal agencies, U.S. Customs Service (imports) and U.S. Bureau of Census (exports). Import and export information is available by type of commodity, mode of transportation, port of entry/exit, volume, shipment weight, and value. Hazardous waste import quantities are available through the Haztraks database. Haztraks was created jointly by the USEPA and the Mexican Environmental Ministry to track the movement of hazardous waste between the U.S. and Mexico. ------- Traffic data included daily truck counts at key local intersections provided by the California Department of Transportation. The study also considered data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Geographic and environmental data came from San Diego city and county publications, a visit to the city by study personnel, and interviews with local authorities. Key results. Tables 1 -5 below show the annual number of trucks and railcars carrying hazardous materials through San Diego, divided between imports and exports and the ports of entry (Otay Mesa, Tecate and San Ysidro). According to the data, no hazardous materials were imported through San Ysidro (the only rail link) in 1998 or 1999. Hazardous material exports through San Diego are significantly more numerous than hazardous material imports, measured by the number of trucks. This is because exports are often raw materials or partial products intended for the maquiladoras or production plants, in Tijuana. Finished goods returning to the US dominate imports. Finished goods are less likely to be hazardous than the raw materials used in production. Exports may pose a greater risk to the San Diego area than imports for other reasons. Materials to be exported tend to remain in the region longer than imports. Imports cross the border and proceed immediately north on Interstates 5, 15 and 805 or east on Interstate 8 to their final destination, simply passing through San Diego. In contrast, exports often remain in San Diego warehouses or parking lots for consolidation or export clearance. This extended time in the region increases the risk of an incident occurring locally. The traffic network in the region was analyzed in order to identify problem areas or hot spots. The areas of most concern are the intersections along the interstates most traveled by trucks. The top two intersections are I-8 with I-5, and I-805 with 1-15. These intersections are located within densely populated areas of San Diego. The most sensitive parts of the environment in the San Diego region are the local water resources. Many waterways in San Diego drain into the harbor and Pacific Ocean. Up to 20 percent of the drinking water supply is from local sources captured in local reservoirs. For example, the Upper Otay Reservoir and the Lower Otay Reservoir cover over 1,000 surface acres when full. Located between the Tecate and Otay Mesa ports, they are two of the reservoirs for the City of San Diego's municipal water supply system. Possible actions. Many communities have improved the safety of their residents by placing restrictions on truck traffic carrying hazardous materials, and by enacting zoning measures to prevent the storage and shipment of hazardous materials in sensitive or high risk areas. The San Diego region has few options to affect the current movement of hazardous materials through residential areas in the city. Hazardous material traffic flows on major interstates. Essentially all of the interstates travel directly through densely populated areas of San Diego. There are no real alternatives to these routes. Restricting hazardous material traffic on the interstates would effectively transfer the trucks onto local surface roads, which would increase the risk of a spill. Awareness of the nature of hazardous material flows, and the nature and location of spills, will assist emergency preparedness by San Diego County's existing Hazardous Materials Incident Response Team and other local authorities. ------- Table 1 - Truck Imports by Commodity Description for Otay Mesa in 1998 and 1999 Description Inorganic chemicals Organic surface-active agents Miscellaneous chemical products Paints Explosives Ores, slag, and ash Fertilizers Mineral fuels Organic chemicals Photographic or cinematographic goods TOTALS 1998 Annual # of Trucks 2,429 1,351 70 57 66 2 0 2 0 0 3,976 1999 Annual # of Trucks 1,771 1,104 126 61 43 6 2 1 0 0 3,113 Table 2 - Truck Imports by Commodity Description for Tecate in 1998 and 1999 Description Explosives Ores, slag, and ash Organic surface-active agents TOTALS 1998 Annual # of Trucks 2 0 0 2 1999 Annual # of Trucks 180 0 0 180 [No hazardous materials were imported through San Ysidro in 1998 or 1999.] Table 3 - Truck Exports by Commodity Description for Otay Mesa in 1998 and 1999 Description Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials Gas, natural and manufactured Plastics in primary forms Inorganic chemicals Crude minerals (excluding coal and petroleum) Fertilizers Organic chemicals Chemical preparations for photographic uses Chemical materials and products Dyeing, tanning and coloring materials Perfume materials, polishing and cleansing preparations Ash and residues containing metals and metallic compounds Coal, coke and briquettes TOTALS 1998 Annual # of Trucks 8,764 4,933 3,058 492 412 487 288 175 119 132 19 6 0 18,885 1999 Annual # of Trucks 7,907 5,836 3,958 732 567 551 268 238 196 172 30 11 2 20,468 ------- Table 4 - Truck Exports by Commodity Description for Tecate in 1998 and 1999 Description Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials Plastics in primary forms Dyeing, tanning and coloring materials Inorganic chemicals Fertilizers Organic chemicals Coal, coke and briquettes Chemical materials and products Perfume materials, polishing and cleansing preparations TOTALS 1998 Annual # of Trucks 760 78 53 30 17 9 0 9 2 958 1999 Annual # of Trucks 308 89 40 40 21 16 13 9 3 538 Table 5 - Rail Exports by Commodity Description for San Ysidro in 1998 and 1999 Description Plastics in primary forms Chemical materials and products Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials Inorganic chemicals Organic chemicals Gas, natural and manufactured Dyeing, tanning and coloring materials Ash and residues containing metals and metallic compounds Perfume materials, polishing and cleansing preparations Fertilizers Chemical preparations for photographic uses Crude minerals (excluding coal and petroleum) TOTALS 1998 Annual # of Railcars 557 19 69 25 20 10 5 3 0 1 0 5 715 1999 Annual # of Railcars 225 47 16 15 13 11 3 3 1 0 0 0 334 For more information about chemical safety and US EPA's US/Mexico Border Program, please consult the following: 1. http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder/ef.htm 2. http://www.epa.gov/swercepp/ip-bopr.htmtfmexico 3. USEPA Region 9 San Diego Border Office: Tel 619.235.4765 4. USEPA Region 9 Chemical Emergency Prevention & Preparedness Office: Tel 415.744.2405. ------- |