Nevada State Health Division’s Truck Wreck Response Program

Association of Food and Drug Officials Louisville, Kentucky

June 10, 2013

Protecting the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Supply from Hazards Associated with Commercial Vehicle Accidents

Cindy L. Ulch, REHS, Supervisor, Environmental Health ProgramNevada State Health Division

Things I Know for Sure...This Horse is Not Running in the Kentucky

Derby.

And...You Will Never See this View Featured in

“America’s Most Scenic Drives.”

The Great State Of Nevada Highway System

Interstate 80 Runs Through Nevada for a Distance of 411 Miles – East to West

2012 Nevada Highway Patrol Safestat Report

• 862 Commercial Vehicle Crashes in Nevada• 662 of Those were Property Crashes (Cargo)• 188 of Those Involved Injury• 13 of Those were Fatalities• NHP Placed 2045 Commercial Vehicles Out of

Service• NHP Placed 1537 Commercial Vehicle Drivers

Out of Service

Factors in Commercial Vehicle Crashes

• Driver Fatigue• Driver Inattention• Road Conditions – Snow, Rain, Winds• Improperly Maintained Tires• Inadequately Trained Drivers• Speeding – Speed Limit on I-80 in NV is 75mph• Motorists Who Crowd Trucks or Cause Accidents

– NHP has an Undercover Ride Along Program in Place for this Issue

2012 NSHD Statistics

• In 2012 EHS Staff Responded to 11 Commercial Vehicle Accidents to Witness Offloading, Monitor Temperatures, Assess Damage to Cargo and/or Condemn or Quarantine the Cargo.

• There Were 8 Accidents That We Opted Not to Respond to. These include breached fresh produce, total loss by fire or NPH loads such as bread and crackers.

Notification of an Accident

• The Majority of Accidents Happen at Night – 3 a.m. is Optimum. (yawn......)

• Nevada Highway Patrol Dispatch from Either Reno, Elko, or Las Vegas Calls and the Decision is Made to Send Staff to the Accident Site or to Verbally Quarantine the Load and Inspect it in the Tow Company Yard the Next Day.

• We Bill the Trucking Company from the Time of Our Chosen Response @ $90.00/ hour.

Staff Training and Equipment

• Staff is Trained on Truck Wreck Response Including How to Approach the Accident, What Measures to Take on Site, etc.

• The Majority of Our Staff Have 4WD Vehicles to Respond in Inclement Weather

• Staff is Equipped with Boots, Reflective Vests or Jackets, IR Thermometers, Cell Phones and Digital Cameras.

Regulatory Authority Food

• State of Nevada Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act• NRS 585.300 – 585.360 Specifies Conditions

Under Which Food is Considered Adulterated and Authorizes Condemnation Authority to Deputy Food and Drug Commissioners – 3 of Us...Me, My Boss Joe Pollock and His Boss Mary Wherry.

Regulatory Authority Drugs

• State of Nevada Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act• NRS 585.370 – 585. 490 Specifies Conditions

Under Which a Drug is Considered Adulterated and Prohibits Introduction of a Drug Into Interstate Commerce without Federal Approval.

Regulatory Authority Cosmetics

• State of Nevada Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act• NRS 585.500 – 585.510 - Specifies Conditions

Under Which a Cosmetic is Considered Adulterated and Prohibits Misbranding of Cosmetics.

Breached Trailer and High Dollar Imported Cheese Everywhere

Load of Parmesan Cheese On Its side. The Offload Crew is Prison Inmates

Quarantine?

Witness and Wait for Off Loading

Seal and Secure the Load

Margaritaville I-80 Style!

Prisoners Are Not Called to Off Load Alcohol or Drugs. State Taxation Gets Notified on These

Loads.

Some Loads Are Not Salvageable

Flour...Gently Used

Voluntary Condemnation

Condemned Cargo is Taken to a Class I Landfill for Burial and to Prevent

Scavenging – We Go Too!

Lessons Learned...The Hard Way

• Do Not Condemn a Load of Alcohol and Send it to a Rural Landfill on a Weekend When There is No Operator on Site. (And we Don’t Care that you Will be Late for your Weekend Get-Away. )

• Do Not Condemn a Load of Expensive Produce and Send it to the Landfill without a Signature When it was Going to be Used for Pig Feed. $$$

• Do Not Quarantine a Load without Notifying the Operator that You are Doing So. Even if this Makes the Tow Company Very Happy. $$$

Drive Safely!

Thanks to Lostra Brothers Towing of Elko Nevada for the Photos - and Thanks to the Environmental Health Staff of Nevada State Health

Division for Answering the Phone at 3:00 a.m.

QUESTIONS??