Paul:
bikemonkey:
When I was doing my ADR training our trainer told us of an accident on the M6 a few years ago involving a tanker carrying Oleum (potent sulphuric acid)and a number of other vehicles,the some or all of the acid spilled on the carriageway…a nurse was passing and got out to try an help,as she did she came into contact with the acid and within minutes all that was left of her was her badge on her uniform
Dunno how true it was,or how much was exaggerated,quite scary though.Believe me its no urban myth although I dont know how much has been exagggerated over the years. The driver of that truck was working at my place up until a couple of months ago when he retired. Ive been off work since the beggining of June but when I hopefully start back next week I will try and get in touch and ask him the full details. He has told us that it was himself driving but we could still see that it upset him to talk about it so have never asked him the full story.
youtube.com/watch?v=F5jfRjzXLbE
Thats only a few drops of Sulfuric, (H2SO4 + H2O = Dead sponge.) Oleum would react more than this, the wetter the sponge the more of a reaction, You can get nearly 30 tonnes of this in a roadbarrel these days so you can maybe imagine the cosequence of a chemical reaction accident,
bullitt:
Abit more concerning the above. Click the link and scroll to page four…
Funnily enough that is where i got the pictures from 
There has been some confusion about the date, for years. I know that the police files are correct but the myth has even reached the printed media.
The accident wasn’t a myth, just the stories told surrounding it. A bit like the Herald of Free Enterprise, many tanker companies crashed on the M6 that foggy, wet, sunny, icy morning… The nurse / nurses were in an ambulance, a bus, a green Morris 1000 or in the tanker cab.
so does anybody have the actual story of what happened with this nurse then?
I work with corrosives on ADR and believe me that stories true. I also load Hydrochloric Acid on the bay next to the Oleum loading point and I have never seen anyone walk underneath it. It has the same effect as the blood of the film ALIEN. Make no mistake that is bad [zb]
To be honest mate, I only ever drive under. I don’t walk under any corrosive loading bay, walking around is a better option. Oleum, HCL, sulphuric, hypo, caustic whatever it all has an allergic affect on me.
matizerSCANIAR480:
so does anybody have the actual story of what happened with this nurse then?
The short version of the story is that a tanker carrying oleum (see below) was in collision with a scaffold truck.
As a result of the collision, the tanker jack-knifed and a scaffold pole caused a gash in the tanker allowing oleum to leak onto the carriageway.
An off-duty nurse (in a Morris 1,000) stopped to render assistance and was overcome by the fumes from the oleum, (which will render a person unconscious very quickly) she then fell forwards into the oleum and as a result, she died.
“Oleum” is a trade word for:
UN 1831 SULPHURIC ACID, FUMING, 8 (6.1), PGI
ADR says that oleum is highly corrosive AND toxic, AND reactive to water.
It really isn’t very nice stuff at all.
dieseldave:
matizerSCANIAR480:
so does anybody have the actual story of what happened with this nurse then?The short version of the story is that a tanker carrying oleum (see below) was in collision with a scaffold truck.
As a result of the collision, the tanker jack-knifed and a scaffold pole caused a gash in the tanker allowing oleum to leak onto the carriageway.An off-duty nurse (in a Morris 1,000) stopped to render assistance and was overcome by the fumes from the oleum, (which will render a person unconscious very quickly) she then fell forwards into the oleum and as a result, she died.
“Oleum” is a trade word for:
UN 1831 SULPHURIC ACID, FUMING, 8 (6.1), PGI
ADR says that oleum is highly corrosive AND toxic, AND reactive to water.
ok cheers for the reply so now everybody knows what happened
Always found it ironic that you need a ADR to haul a barrel full off whisky/ vodka etc , buy take the same volume and bottle it and ANYONE can haul it !
Fallmonk:
Always found it ironic that you need a ADR to haul a barrel full off whisky/ vodka etc , buy take the same volume and bottle it and ANYONE can haul it !
Hi Fallmonk,
Yes mate, the truth is often stranger that fiction. 
To count as dangerous goods, the whisky/vodka would meet one of the following criteria:
If it has >70% alcohol by volume, then it is:
UN 3065 ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, Class 3, PGII
If it has >24% but <70% alcohol by volume, then it is:
UN 3065 ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, Class 3, PGIII
ADR threshold limits per vehicle for UN 3065 ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES in packages:
PGII =333L
PGIII = 1,000L
If the literage exceeds these limits, then ADR applies in full.
If the whisky/vodka doesn’t meet the above alcohol % criteria, it isn’t regarded in law as “dangerous,” so anybody could then carry it no matter how it’s packaged, or even by the tanker load.
Strange, but true.
If it does meet the above criteria, and it’s carried in <5L bottles in cardboard boxes, it then comes under the Limited Quantity rules, and there’s no limit per vehicle that triggers the rest of ADR into action.
i did my ADR course recently and we were shown the photo of the nurse. There was a bit more than her belt buckle left but not idetifiable as a body. As said it shoudnt be shown on here. Even we were asked whether any of us would have a problem with it. Really made you realise how dangerous some of the stuff we carry can be.