"Blocks of metal scattered across (highway)...."

We are always surprised when a series of incidents involving the same hazard occur around the world. We have recently posted incidents involving transportation of the road. Here is another incident reinforcing the importance of proper strapping of any item on a trailer:

BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio — Traffic is being let through at a crawl on Interstate 70 in Belmont County on December 19, 2019.

According to the St. Clairsville Ohio State Highway Patrol, a two-vehicle accident involving commercial vehicles forced the closure of both westbound lanes Thursday evening.

The accident happened at 8:57 p.m. at Milepost 211. Police say a tank-truck, used in the gas and oil industry, was parked on the side of the highway. It tried to merge back onto the highway where it came in contact with a tractor-trailer.

The tractor-trailer was hauling 2,400 lb blocks of aluminum. During the crash, police say that 18 or more of these objects came loose and scattered along the roadway.

Officials are using a tow-truck with a crane to pickup the blocks. I-70 has since reopened. Heavy delays are expected as cleanup is underway.

We are joyous that no one was injured in this incident. As we have seen in the past there could have easily been an accident if a motorist hit one of these ingots.

Even worse than a vehicle hitting one of these ingots is if an ingot during the accident hit a vehicle in the passenger compartment. A fatality could have easily resulted. Thankfully that did not occur. This incident may not have occurred if the ingots were properly secured to the floor of the trailer. It would be our assumption that due to their weight they were either loaded on pallets (not banded down to them) or laid directly on the trailer bed. All loads should be properly secured to a pallet and/or to the bed of a trailer.

We can agree to the hazards our industry mitigates on a daily basis. In no particular order and not limited to the following: moveable equipment, confined space, lock out tag out, molten metal spills/explosions, chlorine leaks, etc. Would we agree that proper securement of loads be considered as a hazard our industry needs to acknowledge ?

Lastly, we need to find where those ingots were cast. Why? We want to ask the aluminium company their recommendations on proper securement of those ingots. Please post a reply if you know the country origin of the ingots.

Please comment.