Oscar Torres, a fire captain working on the incident, said the temperature readings were “trending in a positive direction” but had not dropped enough to allow further action.
On Friday evening, Cal Fire officials said the tanker had been filled 50 days ago in Texas. Battalion Chief Mark Scoville said he was told that it is recommended that the substance be offloaded within 45 days.
The working theory, Scoville said, is that a stabilizing chemical injected to prevent the styrene from heating up failed at some point, resulting in a chemical reaction that caused the styrene to heat up to more than 300 degrees. It usually sits at about 85 degrees.
“The contents are basically boiling in a closed container,” Torres said. Pouring water on the tanker would not cool it down because it is insulated, officials said.
The working theory, Scoville said, is that a stabilizing chemical injected to prevent the styrene from heating up failed at some point, resulting in a chemical reaction that caused the styrene to heat up to more than 300 degrees. It usually sits at about 85 degrees.
“The contents are basically boiling in a closed container,” Torres said. Pouring water on the tanker would not cool it down because it is insulated, officials said.
Styrene typically stays at about 85 degrees; the chemical in the rail car had reached at least 323 degrees.
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