Question: If one tanker exploded, will there be a great environmental problem?

Stuart Atkinson answered on 10 Mar 2016:

It depends on what is in it! It sounds funny but if a tanker of milk leaked all over the motorway, it’s a much more serious environmental problem than a tanker of acid.

Acid can be neutralised and then washed away to the drains – the sewage system is able to cope with that as when it gets to the treatment plant the waste water can be processed. Even if it gets into a river it will eventually be diluted. However, if milk gets into the river or the drains it can cause serious problems. Bacteria start to digest the milk and take oxygen out of the water, meaning that loads of fish and other creatures are killed.

If a tanker explodes, the hazards to health would depend on what was in it. A tanker of milk, although not likely to explode (!) would not be a health risk to people. However a gas tanker explosion can be extremely energetic and serious. See the video below of a gas tanker exploding after catching fire (there are explosions at 0:50 and 1:27)

The gas will eventually all burn away into carbon dioxide and water. Even more serious, if the tanker contains something highly toxic like chlorine gas, the environment could be hazardous for miles around.