There is currently no evidence that a chemical load played any role in the serious fire that occurred in the Channel Tunnel between England and France last Thursday. However, that will not stop the issue of hazardous loads moving via that link, or indeed any major tunnel in Europe, resurfacing as an issue for debate, particularly among politicians.

For example, one senior French politician has already made reference to the presence of a truck carrying a cargo of phenol on the train involved in last week's incident. Michele Alliot-Marie, the French Interior Minister, was quoted in the press as saying that the "fire only avoided becoming far more deadly because a lorry transporting phenol, a toxic chemical, had not been reached by flames". That comment alone raises the issue.

The French are sensitive to issues involving fires in tunnels. In 1999, a fire in a tunnel under Mont Blanc linking France and Italy killed 39 people. That fire started on board a truck carrying margarine and flour. Prior to that, there was a serious fire in the Channel Tunnel, again involving trucks, although there were no serious casualties in that incident.

Chemical logistics is extraordinarily highly regulated. After a series of horrific accidents in the 1960's, 70's and 80's involving cargoes such as acids and propane, trucks carrying potentially hazardous products must comply with very strict safety processes. Those controls appear to have worked, with lethal accidents having been considerably reduced. None the less, the fact that a politician immediately mentions the presence of a hazardous load in association with a fire in such a sensitive location as the Channel Tunnel should send a warning to those working in the chemical logistics sector.

Such an association may also be unwelcome to Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel. The company has been attempting to attract more road and rail freight traffic through the tunnel by reducing its rates, hoping to gain market share from the ferries which at present move most cross-channel freight.

Politicians and regulators do not necessarily work on evidence. What drives them is a fear that they might be held responsible for some event in the future. Consequently, the probability that action will be taken to prevent or restrict the movement of chemicals through major tunnels in Europe − and possibly elsewhere − is substantial. 

Source Transport Intelligence